The Land of Stories: Beyond the Kingdoms is the fourth children's fiction novel in The Land of Stories series written by Chris Colfer. The book was published on July 7th by Little, Brown and Company (a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.), New York.
Click here for a preview from TLOS 4 (chapter 1) on the official website: http://thelandofstories.com/book-four-preview
The Prologue and chapter 1 can be read with Apple devices via iTunes here.
Publisher's Summary & Jacket Interior Summary
Publisher's Summary : "The Masked Man posesses a powerful magic potion that turns every book it touches into a portal, and he is recruiting an army of literature's greatest villains! So begins a race through the magical Land of Oz, the fantastical world of Neverland, the madness of Wonderland, and beyond. Can twins Alex and Conner catch up to the Masked Man?"
'Jacket Interior Summary : '"Fairy tales are just the beginning.
The Masked Man is on the loose in the Land of Stories, and it's up to Alex and Conner Bailey to stop him...except Alex has been thrown off the Fairy Council, and no one will believe they're in danger.
With only the help of the ragtag group of Goldilocks, Jack, Red Riding Hood, and Mother Goose and her gander, Lester, the Bailey twins discover the Masked Man's secret scheme: He possesses a powerful magic potion that turns every book it touches into a portal, and he is recruiting an army of literature's greatest villains!
So begins a race through the magical Land of Oz, the fantastical world of Neverland, the madness of Wonderland, and beyond. Can Alex and Conner catch up to the Masked Man, or will they be one step behind until it's too late?
Fairy tales and classic stories collide in the fourth adventure in the bestselling Land of Stories series as the twins travel beyond the kingdoms!"
Dedications, Literary Quotes & Acknowledgements
Dedication: "To my parents, for always loving and supporting me. There wasn't a parenting book in the world that could have prepared you for my eccentricity. I'm sorry for denting the coffee table with my ninja swords. Yes, it was me."
Epigraph: "Books are a uniquely portable magic." -Stephen King.
Acknowledgements: A big thank you to Rob Weisbach, Alla Plotkin, Rachel Karten, Derek Kroeger, Glenn Rigberg, Lorrie Bartlett, Meredith Wechter, Joanne Wiles, Meredith Fine, Christian Hodell, Marcus Colen, Jerry Maybrook, and Heather Manzutto. Everyone at Little, Brown, especially Alvina Ling, Bethany Strout, Melanie Chang, Nikki Garcia, Megan Tingley, and Andrew Smith.
All my friends and family: Will, Ashley, Pam, Jamie, Fortune, June, Jen, Melissa, Babs, Char, Charles, Dot, and Bridgette, Romy and Stephen, Rick and Gale, Frank and Jo, Roberto, Gloria, Jannel, Kelly, Jenny, McCoy, Maureen, Kevin, Lexi, Lita, Paris...the list goes on! I couldn't do it without your support!
I'd like to give a special thanks to the incredible Brandon Dorman for bringing my stories to life. Four books later, your artwork continues to amaze me.
Also, to the main inspiration behind Mother Goose, my dear friend Polly Bergen. Thank you for sharing your stories and your humor, and leaving such an impact on me. I will miss you greatly.
Main Plot
Plot by Chapter
Prologue: The Other Son
1845: Hans Christian Andersen goes for a walk to gather inspiration for his next story, and meets with his old friend the Fairy Godmother. As they talk, the Fairy Godmother is the one getting inspired instead - after telling Hans about her problems with her youngest son Llyod, she decides to try and make a potion that will allow him to travel into the books he loves so much. When it's finished, Llyod doesn't want to try it. Devastated, the Fairy Godmother goes to the Hall of Dreams to find out what her son's dream is, and finds out he means to destroy the kingdoms.
Chapter One: The Witches' Brew
At their monthly meet in Dead Man's Creek, the witches from the Dwarf Forests are unsure what to do: 24 children from two kingdoms have been kidnapped and the witches think that the world will blame them and start a witch hunt. Then the Masked Man comes in with soldiers from the Grande Armée and tries to convice them to fight with him. Goldilocks, Jack, Red, the Third Little Pig, Froggy, Alex and Conner interrupt them and try to seize the Masked Man, but when Alex' powers get the better of her, he vanishes.
Chapter Two: "Do You Accept The Charges?"
Bree calls Emmerich and tells him that she has been plotting a way back into the fairy-tale world through Neuschwanstein castle. Emmerich reminds her that they don't have magic in their blood so they can't play the panpipe. Bree than asks how could the we travel so quickly through the portal compared to the Grande Armee? Bree answers her own question by saying " They could cross through the portal without problems because they had magic in their blood! Meaning you and I must have magic in our blood, too!" Bree than explains that Mother Goose transferred some of her blood to Wilhelm Grimm so he could play the panpipes to trap the Grande Armee in the portal. Bree then says good-bye after she tells him that she is going to do some research on her family tree. After she hangs up, Bree is caught by Mindy, Lindy, Wendy, and Cindy who are now the hall monitors this semester. The girls let Bree off the hook for talking on her phone at school if Bree tould them were the Baily twins really are. Bree is off the hook but she tells the girls that she'll them eventually.
Chapter Three: The Ungodmothering
First, Conner's and Alex's mom gets mad because both of them haven't talked to her over a week. Then when Conner is done being yelled at by his mom, he walks into a heated conversation between the Fairy Council, Alex's "gang" and Alex. The fairies think that Alex should stop looking for the Masked Man. She says she saw her dad but the fairies think that she was just delirious, losing her grandma (ect..). Then they ask Conner if he thinks that his sister saw their dad. Conner had a very hard time, but in the end, he thought that Alex might've just been seeing things. Alex is mad at her brother and more determined than ever to find the Masked Man and prove to them that she is right. She says that she won't stop looking, even if they think it is her father. Next, the Council was avoiding this, but, they say that continuing searching is a crime and they "Ungodmother" Alex. She grows mad and loses herself to plain rage and starts floating up in the air and reaching toward the sky. Then she shoots thunderbolts and they destroy all of the poduims the fairies were standing right behind. Then they try capturing her but she forms a wall of fire around herself. She then disappears into thin air and the fairies decide the best way for Conner to help is to capture his own sister. They cease all contact to Alex with the Royals and are now trying to find her.
Chapter Four: Goose on the Lam
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Chapter Five: Potions and Predictions
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Chapter Six: The Bad Fairies
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Chapter Seven: Answers in the Attic
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Chapter Eight: The Only Objection
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Chapter Nine: A Moth of Memories
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Chapter Ten: Making Amends
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Chapter Eleven: The Cave
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Chapter Twelve: The Cyclone
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Chapter Thirteen: The Tin Woodman
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Chapter Fourteen: Trouble on the Yellow Brick Road
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Chapter Fifteen: The Witch's Castle
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Chapter Sixteen: Ditching the Darlings
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Chapter Seventeen: Adventures with the Lost Boys
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Chapter Eighteen: Mermaid Lagoon
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Chapter Nineteen: Down the Rabbit Hole
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Chapter Twenty: The Storybook Grill
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Chapter Twenty-One: The Wizard and his Apprentice
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Chapter Twenty-Two: The Merry Men of Sherwood Forest
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Chapter Twenty-Three: Lost Advice
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Chapter Twenty-Four: The Lady of the Lake
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Chapter Twenty-Five: The Witch of Paplenick
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Chapter Twenty-Six: The Basement
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Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Sisters Grimm
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Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Unexpected Good-bye
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Chapter Twenty-Nine: Another Moon, Another Midnight
Morina comes to the witches and explains to them that there is a door to connect the two worlds. The Snow Queen then comes with The Sea Witch and explains that they need to capture Alex in order to do that.
Chapter Thirty: A World At Stake
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Reception
Praise for the Land of Stories Series:
"It will hit big with its combination of earnestness and playful poise." (The New York Times Book Review).
"It's hard not to love [the book]...Colfer gets off many good lines [and] the nifty ending ties the plot's multiple strands up while leaving room for further fairy tale adventures." (Publishers Weekly).
"A magical debut." (Family Circle).
"Captivating." (Teen Vogue).
"In The Land of Stories, Colfer showcases his talent for crafting fancifully imaginative plots and multidimensional characters." (Los Angeles Times).
"There's more in Colfer's magic kingdoms than Disney has dreamt of." (USA Today).