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'Tis a slithery story...

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Yes-s-s, a serpentine tale...

When a suspicious fire destroys everything in ten-year old Wil Wychwood’s life, he leaves Toronto to live with his aunts and a cousin he has never met. With nothing but his pet snake Esme and his grandmother’s gift of a mysterious black medallion and a gold ring, Wil boards a train destined for adventure. A magical portal reveals that his new  family lives in the hidden city of MiddleGate, where nothing is as it appears.

Cousins Wil and Sophie become entangled in a case of serpicide [snake murder] in the ancient caves of Narcisse. They must learn to master the magical power of shadows, but will it be enough? Can Wil and Sophie decipher the mystery of the medallion in time to save the snakes—and themselves?

Book I of The MiddleGate Books
New and revised edition 2021 [2006]

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• THE SERPENT'S SPELL is also available in print, eBook, and audiobook editions from your favourite online retailer; order through your local bookstore; or ask your local library
  

ISBN
Hardcover
978-1-5255-8590-6
Paperback
978-1-5255-8589-0
eBook
978-1-5255-8591-3
Audiobook
978-1-03-915197-0

French edition:
Éditions AdA Inc.
978-2-8956-5526-8

Chinese edition:
People's Literature Publishing House
978-7-02-008598-9

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✰The Town Crier's Proclamation✰

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HONOURABLE MENTION
The 2023 Incipere Awards
(Children’s)

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HONOURABLE MENTION
2024 Readers' Favorite Book Award
(Children - Audiobook)

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FINALIST
2024 Ozma Awards
(Fantasy Fiction)

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FINALIST
2024 Gertrude Warner Book Award
(Middle Grade Fiction)

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FINALIST
McNally Robinson Book for Young People Award
Manitoba Book Awards

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Honouree
2024 A B.R.A.G. Medallion

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• RARE & RAVE REVIEWS •

"captivating tale launches a promising saga"

"a quaint little novel that is
perfect for a rainy day"

"superb page-turning flight of fancy"

"enticing, mysterious and captivating"

"a unique feel" and "in a class of its own”

"sentence after sentence of melodiously evocative language"

"in fiction for young readers, the quality of prose does not get better than this"

"characters are exciting and fresh and the plot is fast paced and creative"

"an ancient story with a modern twist"

• READ ALL THE REVIEWS •

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Take a hidden secrets MAGICAL TOUR...

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RESOURCES

• The Serpent's Spell Teachers' Guide
• The Serpent's Spell Trivia Quiz
• Snake idioms that feature in The MiddleGate Books
  
• Places in MiddleGate inspired by real places in Winnipeg - take a tour
  

Learn about the Snakes of Narcisse, Manitoba

• NatureNorth's Narcisse snake dens (great video footage here); Snake Eyes (CBC News)
  
• The Snake Scientist by Sy Montgomery (photos by Nic Bishop)
• A 95-page teaching resource (for grades 4 to 10), Les couleuvres rayées de Narcisse, Manitoba: Cahier Pédagogique (The Red-Sided Garter Snakes of Narcisse, Manitoba: Teachers' Guide). (See also the small brochure Les couleuvres de Narcisse.)
  

Other Snakes in Canada

• The Canadian Wildlife Federation has created a poster about snakes for their Wild About poster series. It introduces Canada's 24 snakes, their behaviours and habitats. And it explains how snakes are a boon to gardeners and why they should be welcomed, not feared. (It also offers advice on how to prepare for a snake encounter—"should you be so lucky!")