The Dyerville Tales

"If you enjoyed the travels and adventure in The Hobbit, you'll love the action-packed pages of The Dyerville Tales" (Brightly.com).

The Dyerville Tales is a powerfully imaginative middle grade novel that blurs the line between fairy tale and reality.

Vince Elgin is an orphan, having lost his mother and father in a fire when he was young. With only a senile grandfather he barely knows to call family, Vince was interned in a group home, dreaming that his father, whose body was never found, might one day return for him.

When a letter arrives, telling Vince his grandfather has passed away, he is convinced that if his father is still alive, he'll find him at the funeral. He strikes out for the small town of Dyerville, carrying only one thing with him: his grandfather's journal.

The journal tells a fantastical story of witches and giants and magic, one that can't be true. But as Vince reads on, he finds that his very real adventure may have more in common with his grandfather's than he ever could have known.

Vince Elgin is an orphan, having lost his mother and his father in a fire when he was young, but beyond that, his life hasn't been much of a fairy tale. With only a senile grandfather he barely knows to call family, Vince was interned in a group home, where he spun fantastical stories and dreamed that his father, whose body was never found, might one day return for him. But it's been a long time since the fire, a long time since Vince has told himself a story worth believing in.

That's when a letter arrives, telling Vince his grandfather has passed away. Vince cannot explain it, but he's convinced that if his father is somehow still alive, he'll find him at the funeral. He strikes out for the small town of Dyerville carrying only one thing with him: his grandfather's journal. The journal tells a tale that could not possibly be true: the story of his grandfather's young life with witches, giants, magical books, and evil spirits. But as Vince reads on and gets closer to Dyerville, fact and fiction begin to intertwine, and Vince finds that his very real adventure may have more in common with his grandfather's than he ever could have known.

M. P. Kozlowsky, author of Juniper Berry, has crafted a powerfully imaginative novel of the spaces in life where fantasy and reality intersect, and a touching story of the things we give up to recover the things we've lost.

“Kozlowsky deftly intertwines imagination and adventure with sobering realities; while the story arc itself engrosses and the grandfather’s fairytale-like quest enchants, he underpins the novel with an unceasing melancholy that remembers the human heart, its pain, and its need for hope.” - Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)

“In a story at once harrowing and touching, Kozlowsky enlivens the narrative with a deft hand, melding imagery that recalls the work of Neil Gaiman, Lemony Snicket, and Hans Christian Andersen. . . . This compelling read promises to draw reluctant and avid readers alike.” - ALA Booklist, about Juniper Berry

“The quirky plot (who knew brightly colored balloons could represent such dire consequences?) is nicely accented with a slightly out-of-time feel. . . . Kozlowsky wisely builds toward a rich and complex climax worth these often-splendid characters. - Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, about Juniper Berry