The Emperor's Ostrich
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Magic and mayhem abound in this fantasy adventure from the author of The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place.
Young dairymaid Begonia has lost her cow Alfalfa. So she has set off on a search across the countryside even though she has nothing but a magical map to guide her. Along the way she meets a mother and baby, a woodcutter, a very dirty young man, and an eight-foot ostrich.
Meanwhile, the emperor has gone missing from the royal palace in a most mysterious manner. Was it murder? Was it magic? It will take all of Begonia's wits to save the empire and get Alfalfa home safely.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Berry (The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place) creates a lively, magic-laced folktale featuring a self-centered emperor, a dairymaid, a farmer boy with grand romantic ideals, and two very stubborn animals. It begins when two ancestral spirits decide to teach the 21-year-old bully of an emperor a lesson, kidnapping him and leaving him on the road with no companion except an eight-foot-tall ostrich. In a nearby village, Begonia is searching for her wandering cow when she runs into Key, who has left home to seek his fortune. Believing Begonia is a damsel in distress, Key insists on being her escort, and they soon cross paths with the unrecognizably bedraggled emperor. Disastrous predicaments ensue, and the travelers find themselves on a mission to save the empire, which has been usurped by a scoundrel who makes the original emperor "look like a saint." Whimsical details, including an enchanted map and a pot of mustard that changes flavor, will delight readers, and the nonstop action will keep them on the edge of their seats. Ages 9 12.
