Misrule magic, Midwinter's magic ... Byron Thorn's twelfth birthday is no ordinary day. The western wolves are howling and the animals have broken their winter sleep. The centaur Ravinath and his sinister followers are uneasy and the king's Chief at Arms is keeping watch on the Fencewood. The sign of an ancient prophecy suddenly appears, and before his Misrule's Day is over, Byron Thorn will be running for his life.

In a land of mythical creatures, Byron Thorn, a satyr, is sent to invite the dwarf king to re-establish the dwarf people in their forgotten ancestral home.

One of the New York Times’s Ten Best Books of the Year: These traditional stories of Italy, retold by a literary master, are “a treasure” (Los Angeles Times). Filled with kings and peasants, saints and ogres—as well as some quite extraordinary plants and animals—these two hundred tales bring to life Italy’s folklore, sometimes with earthy humor, sometimes with noble mystery, and sometimes with the playfulness of sheer nonsense. Selected and retold by one of the country’s greatest literary icons, “this collection stands with the finest folktale collections anywhere” (The New York Times Book Review). “For readers of any age . . . A masterwork.” —The Wall Street Journal “A magic book, and a classic to boot.” —Time