The Secret of the Water Knight

While vacationing on an island with her parents, a young girl must overcome her greatest fear in order to rescue the local animals and sea life from the magical curse of a villainous toad. Beloved by fans for her beautifully written stories and interesting characters, Rusalka Reh has penned yet another fun and fantastical tale that is sure to enchant young readers the world over.

When Kat’s mom suggests a family vacation to the beach, her ten-year-old daughter is less than thrilled. In fact, the idea sounds downright lousy, considering the fact that Kat is terrified of the water. Yet from the moment they arrive, Kat senses there is something very unusual about the island. Her hunch turns out to be right: moments after discovering a strange whistle in the surf, she realizes she can hear the island’s animals talking to her. She doesn’t understand why…until a dolphin known as the Water Knight tells her about a curse cast upon the island by a villainous toad. Only a child can break the spell and only during a special full moon that shines once every forty years. The dolphin tells Kat that just such a night is rapidly approaching, and it’s up to her to free the island from the curse. But to do so, she must dive down into the toad’s lair, deep beneath the ocean’s dark waters. Packed with adventure and suspense, this story about a plucky girl conquering her greatest fear makes for a rousing—and heartwarming—read.

A worthy follow-up to her novel Pizzicato: the Abduction of the Magic Violin, Rusalka Reh’s newest tale, The Secret of the Water Knight, is sure to be praised for its excitement and suspense and hailed as a “compelling story of adventure…in the vein of a classic story, enjoyable by young and old alike.”

Rusalka Reh was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1970 and grew up in Germany. She studied special education, rehabilitation, and art therapy in Cologne. She began her career as a scientific assistant at the university’s fine arts program and later worked as an art therapist in municipal children’s homes. Since 2000, she has worked as a freelance author, writing lyrics and prose. In addition to books for children and adults, she has published several texts in anthologies and magazines.

Katy Derbyshire is a London-born translator based in Berlin. She has translated various contemporary German writers including Clemens Meyer, Inka Parei, and Helene Hegemann. She also co-edited a book of writing on her new home, City-Lit Berlin.