Scholastic Presents The Anticipated New Installment In The Bestselling Land of Elyon Trilogy 2006

Scholastic Presents The Anticipated New Installment In The Bestselling Land of Elyon Trilogy

Scholastic, the worlds largest publisher and distributor of childrens books, proudly presents Beyond the Valley of Thorns (Orchard Books/Scholastic; $11.99; Ages 9-12) the second book in Patrick Carman’s best-selling Land of Elyon trilogy. The first title, The Dark Hills Divide, instantly became a national bestseller when it was published in January 2005. Described as intriguing and convincing in a Publishers Weekly starred review, The Dark Hills Divide catapulted Patrick Carman into the limelight of children’s literature.Carman’s ability to relate and reach out to children made his 22-city cross-country tour, where he visited over 200 schools, an unprecedented success and left the minds of his readers eagerly anticipating the next installment of The Land of Elyon. In Beyond the Valley of Thorns, 12-year old Alexa Daley is once again on the brink of adventure. An unexpected threat has risen from outside of Elyon, and Alexa finds herself involved in a battle much, much larger than her own life.In order to help good defeat evil, Alexa and her friends must venture farther than they’ve ever gone before confronting giants, bats, ravenous dogs, and a particularly ghoulish mastermind in order to bring back peace to The Land of Elyon.A Pacific Northwest native, Carman lives in Washington State with his wife, Karen, and daughters, Reese and Sierra, now six and eight.Having already built four successful businesses from the ground up before adding “novelist” to his resume, it wasn’t until he began trading places once a week with his wife, so she could have a night out, and he took over reading to their daughters, that Carman began thinking about writing a novel. From the fantastic success of the original self-publication, to his unconventional first author-tour and his quest to reach out to children everywhere, the story of Patrick Carman is inspiring.Starting this September, Patrick will once again be touring nationally to promote Beyond the Valley of Thorns. For more information, visit www.landofelyon.com.