A positively ingenious story about a mysterious island, long-lost secrets, and a young girl’s quest in the world of mad science!
THE PRISONER OF SHIVERSTONE
by Linette Moore
Amulet/Abrams, April 2022
In Linette Moore’s debut, middle-grade graphic novel, THE PRISONER OF SHIVERSTONE, eleven-year-old Helga Sharp is found unconscious in a drifting rowboat near the coast of Utley Island. Utley, as Helga finds out when she awakens in the hospital, is forbidden territory: it’s a prison island to which the Mainland has exiled troublesome mad scientists for generations. Helga is questioned by the island’s guards and though they’re suspicious of her story, they agree to let her stay until they find her family.
The truth is, it’s no accident that Helga landed here. She is a keen inventor, but the Mainland is suspicious of all scientists and inventors. While working on her projects in secret, Helga made radio contact with Erasmus Lope, a mad genius who everyone thought had died in a lab experiment gone spectacularly wrong. But Lope is alive, and Helga is on a mission to rescue him from the prison island.
Now Helga must find a way to break Lope out, right under the noses of the family of famous heroes that run Utley Island. There’s only one big problem—Lope’s trapped inside a giant crystal in the mad scientists’ museum!
Fans of Red’s Planet and Suee and the Shadow are sure to love THE PRISONER OF SHIVERSTONE, a charismatically illustrated mad science adventure for readers of all ages.
Linette Moore is a painter and cartoonist based in Massachusetts. She works primarily in gouache and watercolor on paper. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, TheNib, and Popula, among other places.
Hakim is traveling up the mountain to visit his friend Daisy, but the fog is so thick that he can’t see the road ahead. Then an old goat appears out of nowhere and delivers a sinister warning: “Beware! Beware! There are monsters up there!” Hakim trots with caution, until he hears an awful groan, growing closer and closer. And out of the mist comes the strangest creature Hakim has ever seen. . . .
Daisy is new to the garden and just opening her petals to the sun when Rose tells her that she’s just a weed. What’s a weed? Rose explains that weeds aren’t planted on purpose and only get in the way. As Daisy compares herself to other plants in the garden, she begins to feel even worse: she isn’t tall like Sunflower, nor sweet like Strawberry, nor fragrant like Rose. Just as Daisy worries that Rose might be right—that she is a weed after all—a strange and beautiful plant offers a new perspective. Maybe Daisy does have a purpose! And why do others get to decide who she is? This sweet and empowering story shows the inner strength it can take to define ourselves on our own terms, and how supporting one another can help us grow.
The very first passengers to ride in a hot air balloon were a sheep, a rooster, and a duck in 1783. And while hot air balloons are indeed wondrous, ten-year-old Emile is too busy being the fastidious caretaker of ambassador Benjamin Franklin’s château in Paris to think much about them. But forces both good and nefarious are after the wonderful—and sometimes dangerous—inventions in Franklin’s notebook. Soon, young Emile finds himself right in the middle of a sinister plot. And right in the middle of the secret headquarters for France’s undercover heroes—the same sheep, rooster, and duck that piloted the first hot air balloon. If Emile can muster his courage and be bold, he may be the key to helping the heroes save both Benjamin Franklin and the world. 
Meet the Terribles! They’re your friendly neighborhood vampires, ghosts, werewolves, and mummies! They go to school, do homework, play hide-and-creep, start a band with an alien from outer space, and bring monsters to life with a bit of lightning. Ya know, the usual stuff. Basically, the Terribles are completely normal kids, just like YOU! Well, sort of. In the first book, we get to know a monstrous class at Stubtoe Elementary as they prepare for the coronation (read: fancy birthday party) of Emma (Emmanatenkhamen XIII). She’s a kid mummy. You’ll also meet Vlad, a vampire who schemes to see the sun, and Griff, a boy who’s shy, not to mention invisible. There’s a kid kaiju, a young (mad) scientist, and a horde more!