'Wow! John Claude Bemis hides new magic in old stories.' - Tom Angleberger, New York Times best-selling author of the Origami Yoda series In a masterful reimagining of Pinocchio, John Claude Bemis weaves an enchanting, thrilling adventure for middle-grade readers in the first installment in the Out of Abaton duology. With the emperor's airmen closing in fast, Lazuli learns the only hope for saving her father-and her beloved home-lies in Pinocchio and Geppetto. Her father, Prester John, has been captured by the Venetian Empire, and Lazuli is desperate to rescue him. Meanwhile, Princess Lazuli, the daughter of the ruler of a magical kingdom called Abaton, is also on a quest through the emperor's territory. Determined to find Geppetto again, Pinocchio begins a harrowing journey across the Empire, where danger in the form of half-beast outlaws and winged airmen abounds for a lost automa.

Before Geppetto and Pinocchio can uncover the mystery surrounding the automa's transformation, Pinocchio is stolen away. But most curious is the way Pinocchio seems to be changing from a wooden servant into a living, human boy. So when Pinocchio finds himself locked in a trunk and delivered to a new master-a wanted criminal and alchemist named Geppetto-he is curious about everything around him. The automa Pinocchio has always been duty-bound to serve in the floating palace of Venice's emperor.

The Wooden Prince by John Claude Bemis