The Lightning Key: The Wednesday Tales No. 3 - Hardcover

Berkeley, Jon

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 006075513X ISBN 13: 9780060755133

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2009

Synopsis

Now that Miles Wednesday has discovered his link to a magical Tiger's Egg, he's suddenly at the wheel of a great voyage. Determined to recover the stolen stone and free the trapped soul within, Miles sets off with Little, a Song Angel, and the wisecracking blind explorer Baltinglass of Araby. Their destination points far across sea and desert to the home of Miles's aunt Nura, who may be their only hope in releasing the Egg's true power.

But along the way, their travels are quickly riddled with thrills and near catastrophes—from soaring across the sky in an airborne schooner to run-ins with the twisted circus ringmaster, the Great Cortado, and his bumbling sidekick, Doctor Tau-Tau. Most threatening is a dark Sleep Angel who's descended from the Realm to seize the Egg and forfeit Miles's life. Will Miles crack the secrets of the Egg and stand up to the Realm in the face of grave danger? And above all, will he ever be able to bring back his father?

Jon Berkeley's masterful, witty finale to The Wednesday Tales completes the spectacular adventure of Miles Wednesday and his remarkable search to uncover the secrets of his own identity.

About this title

About the Author:

Jon Berkeley was born in Dublin when TV was black-and-white and airplanes still had propellers. He was the worst football (um, soccer) player in the entire parish, and his favorite food was spaghetti bolognese. Some things never change.

Jon has worked as a freelance illustrator for a quarter of a century and more recently has taken to writing. He is the author and illustrator of chopsticks, a story about the friendship between a mouse and a dragon, and has illustrated several books by other authors.

He is the author of the Wednesday Tales series—The Palace of Laughter, The Tiger's Egg, and The Lightning Key, which have been praised for their vivid storytelling, humor, and one-of-a-kind characters. Publishers Weekly said of the palace of laughter: "Berkeley weaves painterly details into his depiction of this night-shaded world but also injects an ample measure of humor."

Brandon Dorman lives in Puyallup, Washington, and is the creator of Pirates of the Sea! and Santa's Stowaway, and the illustrator of Jack Prelutsky's Be Glad Your Nose Is on Your Face, as well as Halloween Night, by Marjorie Dennis Murray.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 4-7–The final volume of the series hits the ground running as Miles Wednesday is robbed of the rare and powerful Tiger's Egg by the Great Cortado and his buffoonish sidekick. Accompanied by his friend Little and the blind explorer Baltinglass of Araby, Miles races the villains to the home of Nura, his mother's twin sister, who may know the secret of unlocking the Egg's power. The rousing pursuit sends the 12-year-old sailing on fantastic airships, trekking across desert sands, and even into the Realm of Angels, where he must defend himself against the Sleep Angels and the death sentence they have passed on him. The various plot threads and colorful characters from The Palace of Laughter (2006) and The Tiger's Egg (2007, both HarperCollins) are pulled together for a grand, albeit chaotic, finish. The final chapters are especially hectic, as Berkeley races to make sure all the loose ends are tied up. The journey there is a fine one, however, filled with the evocative description and engrossing narrative style that have typified the series, and the conclusion is on the whole satisfying.–Christi Esterle, Parker Library, CO
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About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 006075513X
• ISBN 13: 9780060755133
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 416
• Illustrator: Dorman Brandon