From one of Mexico's foremost authors comes a wondrous adventure story
of a boy who goes to live with his kooky, book-obsessed uncle in a
library where books have supernatural powers.
"We walked toward the part of the library where the air smelled as if
it had been interred for years..... Finally, we got to the hallway where
the wooden floor was the creakiest, and we sensed a strange whiff of
excitement and fear. It smelled like a creature from a bygone time. It
smelled like a dragon."
Thirteen-year-old Juan's summer is off to a terrible start. First, his
parents separate. Then, almost as bad, Juan is sent away to his strange
Uncle Tito's house for the entire break! Who wants to live with an
oddball recluse who has zigzag eyebrows, drinks fifteen cups of smoky
tea a day, and lives inside a huge, mysterious library?
As Juan adjusts to his new life among teetering, dusty shelves, he
notices something odd: the books move on their own! He rushes to tell
Uncle Tito, who lets his nephew in on a secret: Juan is a Princeps
Reader, which means books respond magically to him, and he's the only
one who can find the elusive, never-before-read Wild Book. But will Juan
and his new friend Catalina get to The Wild Book before the wicked,
story-stealing Pirate Book does?
An unforgettable adventure story about books, libraries, and the power
of reading, The Wild Book is the young readers' debut by beloved,
prize-winning Mexican author Juan Villoro. It has sold over one million
copies in Spanish.
