This awesomely illustrated new middle-grade trilogy from the creators of Rickety Stitch is Dungeons & Dragons meets The Last Kids on Earth and Fablehaven!
DUNGEONEER ACADEMY
by James Parks & Ben Costa
Aladdin/Simon & Schuster, Summer 2022; 2023; 2024
Coop Cooperson is the only human kid at Dungeoneer Academy, a school for future explorers in the Land of Eem, a world of monsters, mazes, mayhem—and even magic! Coop is surrounded by great friends—Oggie (hulking, sensitive bugbear), Mindy (whiz kid imp), and Daz (would-be class superstar boggart, if she only applied herself). Together, they become literal lifesavers when a school-trip-gone-wrong flings the kids into an adventure that puts all their Dungeoneer skills to the test. As Coop and his misfit friends try to find their way home, they’ll face more than their own fears to overcome a menagerie of dangerous creatures, obstacles, and a mysterious enemy from the Academy’s past.
James Parks & Ben Costa have been friends since the 2nd grade, and always loved making stuff together. It all began in grade school, drawing superhero comics with crayons and construction paper. In high school, they spent hours making wacky homemade movies, and as college roommates, they wrote comics and short fiction, coming up with the idea that would become Rickety Stitch and the Gelatinous Goo, their first published graphic novel series. They love fantasy, and strive to craft tales that celebrate the adventures of unlikely heroes. They grew up playing tabletop roleplaying games like Dungeons and Dragons, creating countless characters and collaborative worlds. It’s a pastime that’s paved the way for their creative careers, and they still play with the same friends to this day.
What starts as a boring class project takes an intergalactic turn when Ben, Akemi, and Charlotte discover that the elderly woman they’ve been assigned to interview is a member of the super secret Gateway Society—and she’s in trouble. Agatha gives them a box to keep safe and then disappears! Of course they open the box—and learn about Sneaks: interdimensional malsprites that can slip through the seals between worlds and wreak havoc. The Gateway Society usually handles Sneak attacks, but Sneaks are converging on the town in alarming numbers, and they are after the notebook and strange statue the kids found in Agatha’s box. And they want something else too: to pull a more dangerous creature through the seal. Can three misfit kids work together to decode the notebook and stop an intergalactic takeover? Can they find Agatha? Can they get their class project done on time?
Taken in the night and delivered to the flying city of Highgate when he was a small child, Milo Quick has never known another home. Now almost thirteen, Milo survives one daredevil grift at a time, relying only on his wits, speed, and an unfailingly loyal band of friends. War is coming to Highgate. As a massive armada surrounds the city, a small ship, the Halcyon, slips through the blockade. Led by a charismatic captain, the unconventional crew of the Halcyon has come to collect Milo for a bounty. But they too are being watched. As threats begin to close in on Milo, the truth will soon be revealed that he is not the true prize they seek, and that the stakes go far beyond the borders of the city, and time, as he knows it. In his debut novel for young readers, Jason Sheehan cleverly weaves together multiple points of view, creating a richly imagined world filled with danger, heart-racing adventure, and no shortage of wit.
In darkness, a song can lead the way. Beware which one you listen to. On the day of the spirits festival, the old woman who lives in the forest appears in Abeni’s village with a terrible message: “You ignored my warnings. It’s too late to run. They are coming.”
We matched each other, my dagger and I. The dagger was sharp, I was sharp. Together we were sharp, together we were wild.