Mystery, adventure, riddles and romance in an inspirational YA novel. First of 7 series titles.
Book I in the allegorical "King of the Trees" series, The King of the Trees introduces the reader to Rolin son of Gannon, a young man who lives with his father in a rustic log cabin nestled in the foothills of the rugged Tartellan Mountains. Together, they have been eking out a living growing potatoes and keeping bees. They sell their honey and potatoes at the spring and fall outdoor markets held in Beechtown, the largest village for miles around.
Rolin senses he is different from the other boys his age, but he's not sure why. He and his father have led a lonely life since Rolin's mother and grandmother passed away of unknown causes a short time apart. The two women died before they could give Rolin an ornate wooden box, an heirloom that he accidentally discovers while rummaging around in the cellar for his father's money box.
Among other items, the wooden box holds a silver pendant inlaid with a striking ruby. (Part of the piece has been melted—by dragonfire, as it turns out later.) The pendant was placed there—along with the box's other contents—as tokens of royalty. Rolin decides to wear the pendant when he and Gannon visit the spring market, where the clannish "Greencloaks" spot Rolin's jeweled medallion and chase him into the forest in an attempt to reclaim this long-lost symbol of royalty.
It is then that Rolin's adventures begin, for he is led to climb a "torsil tree," a tree of passage that transports him into the world of Lucambra. Home of the pendant's original owner, Lucambra also abounds in griffins, dragons and other mythological creatures.
Like all its sequels, The King of the Trees is equipped with a glossary/pronunciation guide at the back for reading aloud and/or easier reading. Illustrated. 233 pages.
Other titles in the "King of the Trees" series: Torsils in Time, The Golden Wood, The Greenstones, The Downs, Kyleah's Mirrors, The Birthing Tree.
Amazon review: This is a wonderful book that you and your children will absolutely love. We read this every night together before going to bed and every night I was begged if we could read just one more chapter. This imaginative book will draw you and your children in and you will love the characters you come to know and the places you will go. I highly recommend this book and we are anxiously awaiting another to follow.
"May your sythan-ar ever flourish!" (K. Andersen)