There May Be a Castle

Author(s): Piers Torday

9-11yrs

A remarkable story about love and death from the winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize


Eleven-year-old Mouse is travelling to see his grandparents on Christmas Eve with his mother and two sisters. But it's snowing, and visibility is bad, and the car goes off the road, and crashes.


Mouse is thrown from the car.


When he wakes, he's not in his world any more. He meets a sheep named Bar, who can only say Baaa, and a sarcastic horse named Nonky, who is a surprising mix of his beloved toy horse and his older sister.
So begins a quest to find a castle in a world of wonder - a world of monsters, minstrels, dangerous knights and mysterious wizards; a world of terrifying danger but also more excitement than Mouse has ever known.


But why are they looking for a castle? As the cold grows, we realise it might just have something to do with the family he's left behind; and that Mouse's quest is more important than ever.


This is a novel about love and death. It's about the power of stories to change the way we view the world - and it's about the power of a child to change their own world. Emotionally arresting but ultimately uplifting, this is a remarkable novel for our times.


Product Information

Shows the power of imagination to help us conquer fear, and the importance of friends and family even if they are not physically present, or indeed are a toy horse and a robot dinosaur. An outstanding book and a future classic * School Librarian * Piers Torday...is the new master of books for children who like magic and modernity with their lust for adventure. * The Times * It's an adventure set on the moors. It's very funny but the end was unexpectedly emotional and it stays with you * Ham & High * A remarkable story of about love and loss from the winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize * Hexham Courant * The narrative is skillfully strung together and the ending deeply surprising, challenging the norms of what might be expected in a children's novel, which is all to the good. -- Philip Womack * Literary Review * A magical new adventure from the winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction prize. We're loving the cover illustration too by Rob Biddulph * WRD About Books * A gripping, memorable adventure which celebrates the power and scope of our imagination * TheSchoolrun.com * Mouse wakes up in a magical world complete with a full-sized version of his beloved toy horse * Scottish Daily Express * A moving and very original children's book ... investigating the subject of love and loss in the way a child can understand * Hexham Courant * Piers Torday continues to demonstrate that he is one of the best writers for children working today * The Guardian * Piers Torday ... is the new master of books for children who like magic and modernity with their lust for adventure ... Torday understands the lot of the younger sibling, the power of the imagination to heal and the strong, irregular rhythms of grief * The Times * A gripping, memorable adventure which celebrates the power and scope of our imagination * The School Run * Original in its accurate representation of the actual experience of children and its satirical approach to the fantastical...this novel works emotional truth and tension into its adventure and comedy * The Sunday Times * Piers Torday...is the new master of books for children who like magic and modernity with their lust for adventure. * The Times * Full marks [...] for a story not afraid to take on some of the fundamentals of life while still managing to preserve the lightest of touches * Books For Keeps * Heartbreaking, surprising, uplifting - Mouse's snowbound journey is one you'll remember for a long, long time. There May Be a Castle proves that stories matter. They really do * The Bookbag * Torday's story is alternately sombre, thrilling, and silly, filled with eccentric human and animal characters with distinctive voices * Publishers Weekly on The Last Wild Trilogy * A whimsical yet thoughtful tale that brings to mind the smarts and silliness of Roald Dahl and Norton Juster * New York Post on The Last Wild Trilogy * Wildly inventive, moving and gripping ... full of suspense without ever sacrificing warmth * The Guardian on The Last Wild Trilogy * An excellent, punchy adventure tale with vivid characters and an impassioned eco message * Financial Times on The Last Wild Trilogy * A must-read: brings to mind the smarts and silliness of Roald Dahl * New York Post on The Last Wild trilogy * Written in vivid and urgent style ... As thrilling as James and the Giant Peach ... The Last Wild may be as critical to the new generation as Tarka the Otter * The Times on The Last Wild trilogy * Gripping, original and memorable * Francesca Simon on The Last Wild trilogy *

Piers Torday began his career in theatre and then television as a producer and writer. His bestselling first book for children, The Last Wild, was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Award and nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal as well as numerous other awards. His second book, The Dark Wild, won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. The third book in the trilogy, The Wild Beyond, was published in 2015 to critical acclaim. His next book for children, There May Be A Castle, will be published in October 2016. The son of the late Paul Torday (author of Salmon Fishing in the Yemen) Piers recently completed his father's final unfinished novel, The Death of an Owl.In regular demand as a speaker at schools and festivals, Piers is also a reading helper with Beanstalk, a former judge on the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, a Patron of Reading at Heathmere School and a trustee of the Pleasance Theatre.Born in Northumberland, Piers now lives in London with his husband and hopefully a cat.

General Fields

  • : 9781784292744
  • : Quercus
  • : Quercus Children's Books
  • : 270.0
  • : February 2017
  • : 19.80 cmmm X 12.60 cmmm
  • : United Kingdom
  • : October 2017
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Piers Torday
  • : Paperback
  • : 1
  • : en
  • : 823.92
  • : 368
  • : YXG