Katherine Rundell is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Impossible Creatures and The Poisoned King. Her other books for children include Rooftoppers, Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms, The Wolf Wilder, The Explorer, and The Good Thieves. For adult readers, Rundell has written Vanishing Treasures: A Bestiary of Extraordinary Endangered Creatures and Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne, which won the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction. She was the recipient of the British Book Award for Book of the Year and Author of the Year. She grew up in Zimbabwe, Brussels, and London, and is currently a Fellow of St. Catherine's College, Oxford.

Ashley Mackenzie is a Canadian artist and illustrator with a special affinity for dragons, dryads, and all magical creatures.

A CCBC Choices List Selection!

"Rundell is back with a sequel....which offers magical thrills for young readers and adults alike." --The New York Times

"A brilliantly imaginative, wildly adventuresome, heartstring-tugging sequel in a series destined to become a classic....With many moments of deadly peril, luminous triumph, deep grief, and sweet wisdom, it's a thrilling, emotional ride." --Common Sense Media

★ "A spectacular return to a magical world." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★ "Rundell's ability to render the nobility and pathos of the human experience will take readers on a profoundly affecting journey that they will remember long after the book is closed." --The Horn Book, starred review

"A high-energy and imaginative sequel....Rundell expertly shapes another magical adventure in The Poisoned King." --Shelf Awareness

Publisher: Yearling Books

Pub date: 2026-08-04

Length: 304 pages