'Katherine Rundell returns with a perfect fantasy' Telegraph

** BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS' AWARD WINNER **

The unmissable new story in the No.1 Sunday Times bestselling Impossible Creatures series, for fans of Philip Pullman, Percy Jackson and Skandar.

'There was Tolkien, there is Pullman and now there is Katherine Rundell' – Michael Morpurgo

When Christopher Forrester is unexpectedly woken by a miniature dragon chewing on his face, his heart leaps for joy. For months he’s dreamed of returning to the Archipelago – the secret islands where all the creatures of myth still live. But he did not know it would involve a rescue mission on the back of a sphinx, or a plan to enter a dragon’s lair. Nor did he imagine it would involve a girl with a flock of birds at her side, a new-hatched chick in her pocket and a ravenous hunger for justice...

Awards and praise for Impossible Creatures
WINNER Waterstones Book of the Year
WINNER British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year
WINNER Foyles Children's Book of the Year
WINNER Books Are My Bag Readers Award

'A book stuffed full of fantastical, magical delight' – Cressida Cowell

'Readers will seize this with delight' – Philip Pullman

'A masterpiece to rival Tolkien' – Daily Telegraph

'Every sentence sparkles ... Magnificent' – The Times

Impossible Creatures Sunday Times bestseller, December 2023

Katherine Rundell returns with a perfect fantasy * Telegraph *
Rundell is back with a sequel to her runaway middle-grade fantasy hit “Impossible Creatures,” which offers magical thrills for young readers and adults alike. * New York Times *
An exquisitely written, expertly plotted, emotionally affecting and totally immersive triumph! * LoveReading4Kids *
A mythical and magical world, the Archipelago is full of colour and opportunity for children to lose themselves in their imaginations. Katherine Rundell delights with this sequel: Exceptional * Children's Books Ireland *
Few writers today channel the wild heart of children’s literature quite like Katherine Rundell. The award-winning author of Rooftoppers, The Explorer and Impossible Creatures, Rundell has a rare gift: she writes with both intellectual muscle and reckless wonder. * iNews *
The fantasy world is richly imagined, the dialogue sharp and witty and short chapters drive the pace. This series is pure class. * Daily Mail *
Dazzling ... the imaginative scope of this series remains colossal * The Times *
A treasure chest of myths * Spectator *
One of our finest authors * Observer *
Enthralling adventures – a sphinx-back rescue, a harpy-guarded library, a glimpse of a terrifying future – ensue, while characteristically humorous, elegant prose exhorts the reader to defend the frail and precious, remembering that “love is the greatest weapon against the world’s cruelties”. -- Imogen Russell Williams * The Guardian *

Katherine Rundell is a multi-million-bestselling author whose novels for children have won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, the Blue Peter Book Award and the Costa Children’s Book Award, among many others. Impossible Creatures was Waterstones Book of the Year 2023, and in 2024 Katherine was named the British Book Awards Author of the Year and Impossible Creatures won the Children’s Fiction Book of the Year. She is a Quondam Fellow of All Souls College and a Fellow of St Catherine’s College, Oxford, where she works on Renaissance literature. Her books for adults include Super-Infinite, winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize. Very occasionally she goes climbing across the rooftops of Oxford, late at night.