The Bag of Bones: The Second Tale from the Five Kingdoms (Tales from the Five Kingdoms) [Hardcover]

Vivian French (Author), Ross Collins (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: Tales from the Five Kingdoms

When the quill writes GO GO GO frantically on the wall, and the House of the Ancient Crones heaves Gracie Gillypot outside onto the path, it can mean only one thing: there’s Trouble in the Five Kingdoms. This time it’s in the form of a beady-eyed, green-tongued witch named Truda Hangnail, who with her banished Deep Magic has vowed to succeed Queen Bluebell on the throne. Now that her horrible spell has shrunk the good witches of Wadington to the size of, well, rats, can anything stop her? Will the strengths, smarts, and charms of a spunky trueheart, a sweet-natured orphan, a scruffy prince, a substantial troll, and two squabbling bats be enough to foil her insidious plot?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4–6—After their first tantalizing adventure in The Robe of Skulls (Candlewick, 2008), Gracie, Prince Marcus, Marlon the talking bat, and Gubble the Troll are tapped once again to restore peace in The Five Kingdoms. Like its predecessor, this story captivates readers with its hilarity, action, and touch of romance. Deep magic is afoot, with an evil witch, Truda Hangnail, trying to scheme her way to becoming Queen in Wadingburn. Loobly Dirty, an orphan, sees Truda shrink her "Auntie," head of the infamously ineffectual but good witches of Wadingburn, and her coven down to rat size. Meanwhile, Gracie is staying with the Ancient Crones, who send her and faithful Gubble out to try to fix the Deep Magic stain that is quickly spreading on their magic web. Through several meandering paths, all the returning heroes and the newest ones, Loobly, her rat friends, and Alf, come together to defeat the Deep Magic. Readers unfamiliar with the first book may not understand all of the plot and character interactions, but they will find this an amusing jaunt to a land in which good is rewarded and evil is punished.—Jessica Miller, New Britain Public Library, CT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

The Tales from the Five Kingdoms series returns with the story of Trueheart (that is, very good person) Gracie Gillypot, identical twin princes, talking bats, and a slow but brave troll. The witches who tried to wreak havoc in the first tale (The Robe of Skulls, 2008) are back, and readers will also be introduced to a nasty orphanage overseer and a pack of friendly rats. Collins’ spidery black-and-white illustrations amplify characters’ inner traits as well as the tall-tale nature of the story. Readers of the first book won’t likely be disappointed by this fractured fairy-tale follow-up. Grades 3-5. --Francisca Goldsmith

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick; 1 edition (July 28, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076364255X
• ISBN-13: 978-0763642556
• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 1 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,332,047 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Vivian French is an acclaimed children's author with a long and respected list of titles to her name. She lives in Edinburgh and is a regular attendee at the Edinburgh Book Festival where she hosts events with illustrators of picture books.