"I loved every page. This is middle grade fiction at its best."-- Ann Patchett

 

 

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Magicians comes a must-read, wholly original middle-grade debut perfect for fans of The Chronicles of Narnia and Roald Dahl.

 

Dear Uncle Herbert,

You've never met me, but I'm your niece Kate, and since it is my birthday tomorrow and you are super-rich could you please send me a present?

 

Kate and her younger brother Tom lead dull, uninteresting lives. And if their dull, uninteresting parents are anything to go by, they don't have much to look forward to. Why can't Kate have thrilling adventures and save the world the way people do in books? Even her 11th birthday is shaping up to be mundane -- that is, until her mysterious and highly irresponsible Uncle Herbert, whom she's never even met before, surprises her with the most unexpected, exhilarating, inappropriate birthday present of all time: a colossal steam locomotive called the Silver Arrow.

 

Kate and Tom's parents want to send it right back where it came from. But Kate and Tom have other ideas -- and so does the Silver Arrow -- and soon they're off to distant lands along magical rail lines in the company of an assortment of exotic animals who, it turns out, can talk. With only curiosity, excitement, their own resourcefulness and the thrill of the unknown to guide them, Kate and Tom are on the adventure of a lifetime . . . and who knows? They just might end up saving the world after all.

 

This thrilling fantasy adventure will not only entertain young readers but inspire them to see the beautiful, exciting, and precious world around them with new eyes.

凱特和她的弟弟湯姆的生活平淡無奇。如果以他們沉悶無趣的父母作為參考，他們未來也沒什麼好期待的。為什麼凱特不能像書中的人物一樣，經歷驚險刺激的冒險，拯救世界呢？就連她的十一歲生日也看起來很普通，直到她從未見過的神秘又不負責任的大叔赫伯特送了她一份最出乎意料、最刺激、最不適當的禮物——一輛名為「銀箭號」的巨型蒸汽火車。

 

凱特和湯姆的父母想把它送回原來的地方，但凱特和湯姆有不同的想法——銀箭號也有自己的想法——不久之後，他們便在神奇的鐵路線上，和一群會說話的奇異動物們一起前往遙遠的土地。只有好奇心、興奮、他們自己的足智多謀和對未知事物的興奮來引導他們，凱特和湯姆踏上了一生的冒險……誰知道呢？畢竟他們最終可能會拯救世界。

（文字整理/羅美文）