Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo named to the
2006 Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List
Publishers Weekly hails it as, “Imaginative and entertaining … palpable excitement and suspense. Kids and adults alike will enjoy this charming tale.”
Kirkus Reviews said Leven Thumps has “Splendidly unpredictable plot twists . . . culminating in a literally explosive climax.” (Starred review)
The buzz continues for the first volume in the new children’s fantasy series, Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo (Shadow Mountain, $17.95, hardback). Fourteen year-old Leven Thumps lives a wretched life at the Rolling Greens Deluxe Mobile Home Park in Burnt Culvert, Oklahoma. But his life is about to change and his destiny fulfilled. First, Lev learns he has a powerful gift, and then about the existence of a secret gateway bridging two worlds—the real world and Foo, a place created at the beginning of time making it possible for mankind to dream and hope, aspire and imagine.
But Foo is in chaos, and three transplants from that dream world—Clover, a mischievous, fuzzy, foot-high sidekick; Winter, an odd girl who can freeze things; and Geth, the rightful heir to the monarchy of Foo—have been sent to retrieve Leven. They let Leven know that his mission in life is to destroy the hidden gateway before the evil Sabine can escape from Foo and reign supreme in this world.
Unfortunately, the gateway is on the other side of the world, time is running out, and reaching the gateway is only one of many ominous tasks. Destroying it will require an act of great courage and daring, something Leven is not at all certain he is up to.
Children reading this book, and the series, will learn the value of dreams and aspirations in their own lives, and just like Leven, they must fight to protect them and make them come true. The message of hope and courage contained in Leven Thumps is more important today than it ever has been.
The author embarked on a national book signing and school assembly tour, visiting more than 120 schools and approximately 75,000 students. He will be visiting another 25 cities this coming spring, as book two of the series launches, Leven Thumps and the Whispered Secret (Shadow Mountain, $18.95, hardcover, ISBN-13: 978-1-59038-490-9, ISBN-10: 1-59038-490-3).
Select Texas cities are intended as part of the spring itenerary. The purpose of the tour is for the author to connect with children across the country and help them understand what it takes to aspire to greater things and how to become the author of their own lives. One of many tour giveaways is an imagination journal for children to record their own dreams.
For more information on the series, please visit LevenThumps.com. Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo is available nationwide.
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About the Author
The elusive Obert Skye was born a number of years ago in a town just about the size of the one you are living in. Obert read his first book at age two. He wrote his first story at age four. And he was nearly trampled by a herd of water buffalo at age six. For a short time, he lived on the Isle of Skye out of Scotland where he spent time as a candy-taster. Besides traveling and writing, Obert enjoys solving mysteries and collecting old maps. He also enjoys roller coasters and water polo. Several years ago Obert Skye says he discovered the existence of Foo. Since then, Obert spends every chance he gets helping children discover and use their imaginations. As Obert Skye would say, “Impossible is not a word. You have the potential to do great things.”
About the Award
The Texas Bluebonnet Award was established in 1979 “to encourage Texas children to read more books, explore a variety of current books, develop powers of discrimination, and identify their favorite books.” After receiving recommendations from publishers, librarians, teachers, parents, and students, the Texas Bluebonnet Committee pares down the suggestions to a master reading list of twenty finalists. Students in grades 3–6 across Texas will read the books on the Master List during the 2007-2008 school year and vote for their favorites in spring of 2008. The winning author and illustrator will be presented with an award medallion at the 2008 Texas Library Association (TLA) annual conference.
