Charlie Bone and the Hidden King

The fifth book in the New York Times bestselling CHILDREN OF THE RED KING series!When Charlie turns twelve on New Year's Eve, the Flame Cats give him a grave warning: Something ancient has awoken, and Charlie must be watchful. Soon Charlie learns that the shadow from the Red King's portrait has been released, and that it will do anything to keep Charlie from finding his father. Meanwhile, pets are mysteriously vanishing from the city, and Olivia is in danger of revealing her newfound powers.From School Library JournalGrade 5–8—In the fifth installment (Orchard, 2006) of the series by Jenny Nimmo, Charlie Bone has a whole new set of mysteries to figure out—and his father is still missing. The boy discovers that the shadow from the portrait of the Red King that hangs in his school has disappeared, and everyone's pets are vanishing as well. Charlie meets Naren, a strange girl who claims to know the whereabouts of the pets. As if this wasn't enough, Charlie's mother seems to have forgotten about his father and fallen in love with an enchanter. Charlie needs his friends now more than ever if he's finally going to get to the bottom of things. To fully understand the characters and situations, the books should be read in sequence. Narrator Simon Russell Beale gives each character a distinct and recognizable voice. A must for science fiction/fantasy collections where the previous volumes are popular.—Traci Glass, Southeast Regional Library, Gilbert, AZ Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. About the AuthorJenny Nimmo lives in a converted watermill in Wales. Her husband, David, is a painter and print-maker, and all three of her children speak Welsh fluently. She finds Wales, a land of legends, a very inspiring place to live. For as long as she can remember, Jenny has loved books. She feels passionately that every child should have access to as many books as they want. Jenny enjoys writing about magic because it is inexplicable and unpredictable, and anything can happen. In 1986 her book, The Snow Spider, won the Smarties Grand Prix, and in 1987 it was awarded the Tir na n-Og by the Welsh Arts Council. The Rinaldi Ring, was chosen as Guardian Book of the Week and was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and received a commendation.