Synopses & Reviews
In the little village of Castle Down, in a kingdom plagued by war, lives a peasant girl called Bella. Blessed with a kind family and a loving friend, she manages to create her own small patch of sunlight in a dark and dangerous world. Bella is a blacksmith's daughter; her friend Julian is a prince -- yet neither seems to notice the great gulf that divides his world from hers.
Suddenly Bella's world collapses. First Julian betrays her. Then it is revealed that she is not the peasant she believed herself to be: She is Isabel, the daughter of a knight who abandoned her in infancy. Now he wants her back, so Bella is torn from her beloved foster family and sent to live with her deranged father and his resentful new wife. Soon Bella is caught up in a terrible plot that will change her life -- and the kingdom -- forever. With the help of her godmother and three enchanted gifts, she sets out on a journey in disguise that will lead her to a destiny far greater than any she could have imagined.
About the Author
Diane Stanley is the author andillustrator of beloved books for youngreaders, including
The Silver Bowl, whichreceived three starred reviews;
Saving Sky,winner of the Arab American Museum'sArab American Award and a Bank StreetCollege of Education Best Book of the Year;
Bella at Midnight, a
School Library JournalBest Book of the Year and an ALA
BooklistEditors' Choice;
The Mysterious Case of the Allbright Academy;
The Mysterious Matter of I. M. Fine; and
A Time Apart. Well knownas the author and illustrator of award-winningpicture-book biographies, she isthe recipient of the Orbis Pictus Awardfor Outstanding Nonfiction for Childrenand the
Washington Post-Children's BookGuild Nonfiction Award for the body ofher work.
Ms. Stanley has also written andillustrated numerous picture books, includingthree creatively reimagined fairy tales: The Giant and the Beanstalk, Goldie and the Three Bears, and Rumpelstiltskin's Daughter.She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.