Author Description

Winner of the 2017 Newbery Medal A New York Times Bestseller An Entertainment Weekly Best Middle Grade Book of 2016 A New York Public Library Best Book A Chicago Public Library Best Book An Amazon Top 20 Best Book A Publishers Weekly Best Book A School Library Journal Best Book A Kirkus Reviews Best Book A Booklist Youth Editors’ Choice With more than a million copies sold, acclaimed fantasy author Kelly Barnhill’s Newbery Medal winner is a must-read for fans of classic children's literature or timeless fantasy fables, described as “impossible to put down… As exciting and layered as classics like Peter Pan or The Wizard of Oz” (The New York Times Book Review). Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the Forest, Xan, is kind. She shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon. Xan rescues the children and delivers them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey. One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary child with extraordinary magic. Xan decides she must raise this girl, whom she calls Luna, as her own. As Luna’s thirteenth birthday approaches, her magic begins to emerge—with dangerous consequences. Meanwhile, a young man from the Protectorate is determined to free his people by killing the witch. Deadly birds with uncertain intentions flock nearby. A volcano, quiet for centuries, rumbles just beneath the earth’s surface. And the woman with the Tiger’s heart is on the prowl... DON’T MISS THESE OTHER ACCLAIMED BOOKS BY KELLY BARNHILL: The Mostly True Story of