"I loved every page. This is middle grade fiction at its best."-- Ann
Patchett
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Magicians
comes a must-read, wholly original middle-grade debut perfect for fans
of The Chronicles of Narnia and Roald Dahl.
Dear Uncle Herbert,
You've never met me, but I'm your niece Kate, and since it is my
birthday tomorrow and you are super-rich could you please send me a
present?
Kate and her younger brother Tom lead dull, uninteresting lives. And if
their dull, uninteresting parents are anything to go by, they don't have
much to look forward to. Why can't Kate have thrilling adventures and
save the world the way people do in books? Even her 11th birthday is
shaping up to be mundane -- that is, until her mysterious and highly
irresponsible Uncle Herbert, whom she's never even met before, surprises
her with the most unexpected, exhilarating, inappropriate birthday
present of all time: a colossal steam locomotive called the Silver
Arrow.
Kate and Tom's parents want to send it right back where it came from.
But Kate and Tom have other ideas -- and so does the Silver Arrow -- and
soon they're off to distant lands along magical rail lines in the
company of an assortment of exotic animals who, it turns out, can talk.
With only curiosity, excitement, their own resourcefulness and the
thrill of the unknown to guide them, Kate and Tom are on the adventure
of a lifetime . . . and who knows? They just might end up saving the
world after all.
This thrilling fantasy adventure will not only entertain young readers
but inspire them to see the beautiful, exciting, and precious world
around them with new eyes.
