Familiars

For fans of Warriors and The Magic Thief comes a magical adventure story about a street cat who's mistaken for a wizard's familiar. When Aldwyn, a young alley cat on the run, ducks into a mysterious pet shop, he doesn't expect his life to change. But that's exactly what happens when Jack, a young wizard in training, picks Aldwyn to be his magical familiar. Finally off the tough streets, Aldwyn thinks he's got it made. He just has to convince the other familiars-the know-it-all blue jay Skylar and the friendly tree frog Gilbert-that he's the telekinetic cat he claims to be. But when Jack and two other wizards in training are captured by the evil queen, Aldwyn will have to use all of his street smarts, a few good friends, and a nose for adventure to save the day! And don't miss the exciting sequel to this Indie Next List pick, The Familiars: Secrets of the Crown.

Prepare for the unfamiliar When every bit of human magic disappears suddenly from Vastia, it falls on the familiars-Aldwyn the telekinetic cat, Skylar the know-it-all blue jay, and Gilbert the gullible tree frog-to find the Crown of the Snow Leopard, an ancient relic that can reverse the curse. They learn that the only way to do this is by following in the paw prints of Aldwyn's missing father, who went searching for the Crown several years earlier. This magical spirit trail extends into the Beyond, where our heroes encounter new enemies and danger, while Aldwyn learns about his mysterious past. Full of high-flying adventure and heartwarming friendships, Secrets of the Crown will make readers want to get even more familiar with The Familiars!

Aldwyn, a street-smart alley cat, pretended he had telekinetic powers so young wizard Jack would chose him as a familiar. Aldwyn then learned that he and two other familiars-Skylar the blue jay and Gilbert the tree frog-were destined to undertake a perilous quest to defeat Paksahara, an evil hare who'd been familiar to the queen. In Circle of Heroes, the third book of The Familiars series for middle-grade readers, Paksahara and her undead animal army control the Shifting Fortress. Aldwyn and his friends have to recapture it to return magic to the queendom of Vastia. Fans of The Guardians of Ga'hoole series and Erin Hunter's Warriors books will love the mix of humor, magic, and animal adventure story in Circle of Heroes by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson.

The familiars Aldwyn the cat, Skyler the blue jay, and Gilbert the tree frog are off on an all-new adventure With inventive magic, laugh-out-loud humor, and a mysterious conspiracy that will take all the familiars' wits to unravel, Palace of Dreams is the familiars' most extraordinary adventure yet. Peace has returned to the queendom of Vastia. Paksahara has been defeated, and the three familiars Aldwyn, Skyler, and Gilbert are the heroes to thank. But when a birthday celebration at the palace goes dreadfully wrong, and Queen Loranella falls victim to a curse, it seems the familiars are the prime suspects. After narrowly escaping the palace dungeons, they'll have to embark on a quest to clear their names-a quest that will lead them across Vastia and even into the magical land of dreams.