Darien and the Lost Paints of Telinoria

Darien book 1 (Ages 8–14)
Hardcover, 192 pages, 30 b/w illustrations, 5.5″ x 8.5″

Overview
Darien is a creative ten-year-old girl who wishes to escape her dull and predictable life. She loves to read, draw, and daydream, despite her parents’ efforts to teach her to be practical. But when a stormy day brings Darien together with her peculiar neighbor, strange things begin to happen. Miss Mildred–or Miss Mildew, as she is called behind her back–lives across the street from Darien. Old-fashioned and stern, Miss Mildred agrees to babysit Darien for the day and shares her secret box of mysterious paints. Using the power of her imagination and her painting skills, Darien creates a doorway to another world; a world full of turmoil and unrest. She unexpectedly finds herself in the other world, caught up in a quest to find justice for dragons and humans alike.

Come along with Darien on a magical adventure as she encounters bizarre creatures, confronts a bad-tempered dragon, flees from a wicked king, attempts a daring rescue, and tries to find the courage to believe in something real–herself.

Reviews
School Library Journal—With obvious nods to Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and C. S. Lewis’s “The Chronicles of Narnia,” this slim volume is a quick read and suspenseful start to a fantasy series. Readers may appreciate Darien’s workaholic and preoccupied parents. They may also relate to underlying themes of racism and bullying. Black-and-white illustrations interspersed throughout help move the story along. A strong debut with a confident female protagonist.
Publishers Weekly—First-time author Jeanna Kunce creates a thoughtfully developed universe with medieval and fantastical elements (the walls of an underground city are lit by tubes filled with luminescent fish). Craig Kunce’s delicately etched b&w illustrations help add to the magic of a fantasy starring a heroine empowered to do the right thing. Ages 8–up.

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