Jumbies

A spine-tingling tale rooted in Caribbean folklore about an ordinary girl who must use her extraordinary bravery--and a bit of magic--to save her island home from jumbies, the scary spirits that haunt the forest. Corinne La Mer isn't afraid of anything. Not scorpions, not the boys who tease her, and certainly not jumbies. They're just tricksters parents make up to frighten their children. Then one night Corinne chases an agouti all the way into the forbidden forest. Those shining yellow eyes that followed her to the edge of the trees, they couldn't belong to a jumbie. Or could they?   When Corinne spots a beautiful stranger speaking to the town witch at the market the next day, she knows something unexpected is about to happen. And when this same beauty, called Severine, turns up at Corinne's house, Corinne is sure that danger is in the air. She soon finds out that bewitching her father, Pierre, is only the first step in Severine's plan to claim the entire island for the jumbies. Corinne must call on her courage and her friends and learn to use ancient magic she didn't know she possessed to stop Severine and to save her island home. PRAISE FOR THE JUMBIES:   "Endlessly addictive and hypnotic . . . Baptiste has a lot of fun remixing the classic Haitian folktale The Magic Orange Tree, while adding her own original touches." -Essence   "A well written tale full of action with enough scary elements to satisfy fans of Adam Gidwitz's A Tale Dark and Grimm." -School Library Journal              "It's refreshing to see a fantasy with its roots outside Europe . . . This is a book worth reading simply for its originality." -Kirkus Reviews "Entrancing and engaging . . . Baptiste enters an all-new folktale adaptation into our regular fantasy lore . . . Original. Haunting." -A Fuse #8 Production     A Washington Post Kids Post Book Club Selection A Junior Library Guild Selection   When eleven-year-old Corinne stumbles into the forest on her Caribbean island home, she rouses a jumbie--a malevolent spirit--who emerges to wreak havoc. Corinne must call on her courage and her friends and use ancient magic to stop the jumbie and save the island. Tracey Baptiste lived in Trinidad until she was fifteen; she grew up on jumbie stories and fairy tales. She is a New York Times bestselling author of Minecraft: The Crash, and a former teacher who works as a writer and editor. Visit her online at traceybaptiste.com and on Twitter: @TraceyBaptiste. "A scary but cheerful tale that draws on Caribbean folk traditions. A great update on the 'town under supernatural attack' story, with a marvelous setting." -The Baltimore Sun Corinne La Mer claims she isn't afraid of anything. Not scorpions, not the boys who tease her, and certainly not jumbies. They're just tricksters made up by parents to frighten their children. Then one night Corinne chases an agouti all the way into the forbidden forest, and shining yellow eyes follow her to the edge of the trees. They couldn't belong to a jumbie. Or could they? When Corinne spots a beautiful stranger at the market the very next day, she knows something extraordinary is about to happen. When this same beauty, called Severine, turns up at Corinne's house, danger is in the air. Severine plans to claim the entire island for the jumbies. Corinne must call on her courage and her friends and learn to use ancient magic she didn't know she possessed to stop Severine and to save her island home. "Entrancing and engaging . . . Baptiste enters an all-new folktale adaptation into our regular fantasy lore. Original. Haunting."-Fuse 8 "Endlessly addictive and hypnotic." -Essence   "Tracey Baptiste scares up new audiences to learn about jumbies . . . She builds a fairy tale about a brave girl and her adventures among Caribbean creatures." -Washington Pos

The second installment of the action-packed, fantasy-adventure series, The Jumbies.  Deep beneath the waves, a great enemy awakens . . . Corinne LaMer defeated the wicked jumbie Severine months ago, but things haven't exactly gone back to normal in her Caribbean island home. Everyone knows Corinne is half-jumbie, and many of her neighbors treat her with mistrust. When local children begin to go missing, snatched from the beach and vanishing into wells, suspicious eyes turn to Corinne.   To rescue the missing children and clear her own name, Corinne goes deep into the ocean to find Mama D'Leau, the dangerous jumbie who rules the sea. But Mama D'Leau's help comes with a price. Corinne and her friends Dru, Bouki, and Malik must travel with mermaids across the ocean to fetch a powerful object for Mama D'Leau. The only thing more perilous than Corinne's adventures across the sea is the jumbie that waits for her back home.   With action-packed storytelling and inventive twists on Caribbean and West African mythology and fairy tales, Rise of the Jumbies is a breathlessly exciting tale of courage and friendship. An NPR Best Book of 2017 A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2017 A School Library Journal Best Book of 2017 Tracey Baptiste lived in Trinidad until she was fifteen; she grew up on jumbie stories and fairy tales. She is a former teacher who works as a writer and editor. Visit her online at traceybaptiste.com and on Twitter: @TraceyBaptiste. "The novelty of the fantasy elements, the complex characters, and the superb world-building combine in a tale well worth reading, both as a sequel and a stand-alone. A stellar recommendation for fans of edgy fantasy such as Aaron Starmer's The Riverman Trilogy or Adam Gidwitz's A Tale Dark and Grimm series, and, of course, fans of the first book." -School Library Journal, starred review   "Baptiste's colorful, rich Caribbean characters return triumphantly in this sequel, and the mythos of the island continues to expand. Baptiste deepens what could be a light and charming undersea adventure with ties to African religions and the historical legacy of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. As other young children of the African diaspora sort out their feelings about and relationships with slavery, so do Corinne and her loyal friends. While other tales may address it with a casual aside or scrub out the grimiest bits, leaving history in a shiny, tidy package removed from reality, Baptiste allows her characters to find and create ways to grapple with uncomfortable truths. A stirring and mystical tale sure to keep readers thinking past the final page." -Kirkus Reviews, starred review   "Rise of the Jumbies is a captivating tale that hooks readers from the onset and doesn't let go. The imagery is crisp and nuanced, the leading characters are gutsy yet kindhearted, and the villains are just the right amount of wicked for middle schoolers . . . If you're looking for a story that's original, action packed and inspiring, look no further than Rise of the Jumbies." -BookPage   "Young readers are probably familiar with Greek myths, thanks to Rick Riordan, and other enduring European classics, so this series with twists on Caribbean (particularly Haitian and Trinidadian) and West African tales is a welcome change." -Booklist   "This highly enjoyable story captures the culture and the atmosphere of the small island community with beautiful descriptions and natural, flowing dialogue . . . a welcome addition to the juvenile menagerie of mythological creatures." -Foreword Reviews   "Thrilling." -Bookish "Kids who can't get enough of legends or fantastical stories will be wide eyed at both story and action, the latter of which is truly heart-pounding . . . Savvy readers ages 8-12 may be able to jump into Rise of The Jumbies feet first without reading its pred

The scariest and most heart-pounding installment of the highly praised and popular Jumbies series! Huracan summons the wind and rain and wields lightning like a sword. He doesn't miss and he never falters. He will destroy everything in his path if he desires. When an out-of-season hurricane sweeps through Corinne's seaside village, she knows it's not an ordinary storm. At first Corinne believes Mama D'Leau, the powerful and cruel jumbie who rules the ocean, has caused the hurricane. Then an even more ferocious storm wrecks the island, sending villagers fleeing their houses for shelter in the mountains, and Corinne discovers the chaos wasn't caused by a jumbie, but by an angry god, Huracan. Corinne, with the help of her friends and even some of her enemies, must race against time to find out what has angered Huracan and try to fix it before her island home is destroyed forever. The Jumbie God's Revenge blends Caribbean and West African tales to present powerful themes of community and heroism in a thrilling action adventure. The third book in the highly praised and popular Jumbies series is the scariest and most heart-pounding yet as Corinne must unlock newfound power to confront the jumbie god Huracan-who is bent on destroying her island.