Blake and Duck are stuck in England for the year while their mother carries out research. They miss their father and life in America, and Blake especially feels out of place amidst the austere Oxford University environs where his precocious little sister seems to flourish. Accidentally stumbling upon a strange old book in the stacks of the Bodleian Library, Blake soon finds himself at the center of a mystery that stretches back five hundred years, to the time of Johann Gutenberg. Can Blake protect the book—the coveted source of all knowledge—from the legacy of Gutenberg’s foe? As he uncovers more information, Blake realizes he has a responsibility to prevent the book from falling into nefarious hands in the present day—but who can he trust? Matthew Skelton’s narrative moves back and forth between the contemporary story of Blake in Oxford and the story of a boy named Endymion Spring, apprentice to Johann Gutenberg. It is Endymion who first realizes the book’s power—and danger—and he who faces the challenge of smuggling it out of Germany from under the nose of its ominous owner, a man named Johann Fust. Skelton weaves a blend of fantasy and mystery that will appeal to fans of both genres. (Ages 10–14)

Endymion Spring is a complex double fantasy that occurs concurrently in modern-day Oxford, England, and fifteenth century Mainz, Germany. Johannes Gutenberg, inventor of the modern printing press, and his appren tice, Endymion Spring, create a magical book that disappears then eventu ally resurfaces in Oxford. Only certain readers can see the book’s print, and Blake Winters, who lives in Oxford with his sister and his mother, a visiting academic, is one. The plot turns dark when members of the Ex-Libris Society realize Blake has located the book they lust after. Mystery, historical fic tion, contemporary fantasy adventure— Endymion Spring integrates each in a seamless plot that will keep readers turning pages. 2008 Red Maple Award (Canada). lmp

Originally published by Puffin Great Britain, in 2006.

"You've stumbled on to something much larger than you can possibly imagine."

In the dead of night, a cloaked figure drags a heavy box through snow-covered streets. The chest, covered in images of mythical beasts, can only be opened when the fangs of its serpent's-head clasp taste blood.

Centuries later, in an Oxford library, a boy touches a strange book and feels something pierce his finger. The volume is blank, wordless, but its paper has fine veins running through it and seems to quiver, as if it's alive. Words begin to appear on the page--words no one but the boy can see.

And so unfolds a timeless secret . . . .