International Rights

Grave Robber’s Apprentice, The

  • ISBN 9780571284078, Paperback
  • 288 Pages | Ages 8-12

A smart, funny reimagining of the fairytale genre that highlights the power of imagination and discovering who we are.

All is not well in the kingdom of Waldberg . . . The orphan Hans is desperate to escape his master, the grave robber Knobbe the Bent. The young countess Angela von Schwanenberg must rescue her parents from the mad archduke. But when fate flings them together, they find themselves on a daring quest, hurtling through haunted forests, racing down mountains in a coffin and sneaking along underground passageways with a travelling circus. And at every turn, the archduke’s Necromancer is there to thwart their progress.

Will Angela save her parents? Will Hans escape his past and find out who he truly is? Or will the evil Necromancer capture them first?

AWARDS AND CITATIONS

  • A Junior Library Guild selection, US
  • Austin Waldorf Children’s Choice Award, US
  • Nominee, Black-Eyed Susan Book Award, US
  • Pearson Foundation/ Writer’s Trust “Read for my School” inaugural selection, UK
  • Times of London, Book of the Week, UK
  • Honour Book, Canadian Library Association, Book of the Year for Children Award
  • Nominee, 2012 Governor General’s Literary Award, Canada
  • Nominee, Ontario Library Association Silver Birch Award, Canada
  • Nominee, Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award, Canada
  • Nominee, Manitoba Young Readers’ Choice Award, Canada
  • Best Books 2012 (Starred), Canadian Children’s Book Centre
  • Ontario Library Association’s Best Bets for Middle Grade Fiction, Canada
  • Nominee, Diamond Willow Award, Canada
  • Nominee, Red Cedar Award, Canada

Rights Sold

  • English
  • Chinese Simplified
  • French
  • Portuguese
  • Turkish

Selling Points

“Stratton tells (his tale) all in language as rollicking as a song, with almost as many amusing moments as there are heart-stopping ones. He also slips in some important messages: the power of imagination; the redeeming quality of kindness; and no matter how dire the straits, the need to believe in happy endings.”    Booklist (starred review)

“Stratton offers up a rambunctious new take on an old fairy-tale theme in this hugely engaging, humorous and exciting novel that is ideal for readers at upper primary level.”      Booktrust, UK

“Allan Stratton’s The Grave Robber’s Apprentice is perfect for 8+… Fans of Philip Pullman’s Clockwork and Ken Oppel will delight in Stratton’s wit and zest, and his jokes, twists, ghosts, wolves, prophecies and gothic tropes.”   The Times of London (Children’s Book of the Week)

“A classic adventure story… This clever tale hits all the right notes … A fast-paced, entertaining historical fantasy.”           Publisher’s Weekly, USA

“Funny, imaginative.”     Quill and Quire (starred review)

“A playfully dramatic adventure with swashbuckling kids, mountain hermits, avalanche sledding and circus bears… Clever and funny… fresh and cheeky.”        Kirkus Reviews

“This is an exhilarating, swash-buckling adventure that’s full of humour and heart and bursting with breakneck action, set in a fantastical world with haunted forests, avalanche sledding and circus bears.”       Lovereading4kids, UK (featured book)

“Fresh, funny and more than a little gruesome.”             The Bookbag (5 stars)

“Stratton has created a cast worthy of both farcical comedy and terrible tragedy… A highly entertaining read and a cracking, madcap adventure.”     We Love This Book Magazine, UK

“Highly original… sublime… Sure to become a Canadian classic of the genre.” CM Magazine (4 stars out of 4)

“A rollicking and enchanting fairy tale for the 21st century.”    Kenneth Oppel, author of the Airborn trilogy and the Silverwing Saga

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Curse of the Dream Witch
The Way Back Home