Krael, the Wither King, has been trapped deep underground, ending his reign of terror, and all the NPCs of the Far Lands have all put away their swords in peace except Watcher; the young archer still suspects Krael has bigger plans. He’s right. In the darkness of the Cave of Slumber, Krael awakens the imprisoned wither horde, and with the help of creepers and endermen, the wither army is released from their rocky jail. They spread across the Far Lands, searching for the ancient Vault of Weapons which will make the army of withers indestructible. But one man alone holds the secret to the Vault’s whereabouts: the Far Land’s last living NPC wizard. Watcher and his friends must race to find the wizard before Krael and his army of monsters. But if they fail, a wave of destruction, led by the King of the Withers, will sweep across the landscape, destroying everything—and everyone—they know.

Life is peaceful and calm in the Far Lands, a mysterious area on the edge of the Overworld in Minecraft. The monster warlords have been destroyed, and the NPC villages are flourishing. But an old warning still echoes in the young NPC Watcher’s mind: “Krael, the new Wither King, will bring back his army, as the monster warlocks predicted, and take their revenge on all of the Far Lands.” Watcher is right to be suspicious. Krael, the self-proclaimed King of the Withers, and wearer of the Crown of Skulls, has a plan to bring back the vast army of withers that lie imprisoned in the ancient Cave of Slumber. With the help of a dozen ancient zombie warriors rescued by Krael, they seek to release the withers from their slumber and wreak havoc on the Far Lands. And the only thing in his path is a skinny little archer named Watcher.

In the concluding third book of a new Minecraft adventure series from New York Times bestselling author Mark Cheverton, Watcher fights the wither king’s army to save Minecraft itself from destruction. With Krael, the king of the withers, trapped in another world, the young wizard Watcher thinks the Great War is finally over. . . . but he’s wrong. Intent on destroying all villagers, Krael has found a way to bring his army to the Far Lands. Now, with Krael’s vicious horde chasing them, Watcher and his friends must save as many villages as possible before making their final stand. But, outnumbered by monsters stronger than they’ve ever seen, it seems hopeless. It will be left to Watcher to save them, and, with a secret weapon of mass destruction, the young wizard will be forced to make a decision: Should he destroy millions of monsters, or should the villagers stand and fight, knowing they’ll die? What Watcher doesn’t know is that a secret built into the ancient weapon could change the course of the war . . . for better or for worse.

Gameknight999 is hot on the trail of Entity303, who has kidnapped Weaver. He follows the mysterious villain into the strange mod world of Mystcraft, with green skies, trees with blue leaves, floating islands, and a blood-red moon. Entity303 makes his way to a tower made of sparkling blue crystals, where he steals a linked book from the User-that-is-not-a-user, disappearing into one of Mystcraft’s many ages. Without the linked book, Gameknight has no way of ever leaving Mystcraft and returning to the Overworld. And besides, he can’t leave with rescuing Weaver and sending him back to the past, which would repair Minecraft’s timeline, making things right in the game once again. The User-that-is-not-a-user has no choice but to visit each age, in hopes of finding the right one. But in the process he’ll discover an unsettling truth about Entity303, and the deadly monsters the villain has left in wait for him. Sky Pony Press, with our Good Books, Racehorse and Arcade imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of books for young readers—picture books for small children, chapter books, books for middle grade readers, and novels for young adults. Our list includes bestsellers for children who love to play Minecraft; stories told with LEGO bricks; books that teach lessons about tolerance, patience, and the environment, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Based on little-known true events, this astonishing account from Emmy and Peabody Award-winning journalist Jack Ford vividly recreates a treacherous journey toward freedom, a time when the traditions of the Old South still thrived—and is a testament to determination, friendship, and courage . . . Two decades before the Civil War, a middle-class farmer named Samuel Maddox lies on his deathbed. Elsewhere in his Virginia home, a young woman named Kitty knows her life is about to change. She is one of the Maddox family’s slaves—and Samuel’s biological daughter. When Samuel’s wife, Mary, inherits her husband’s property, she will own Kitty, too, along with Kitty’s three small children. Already in her fifties and with no children of her own, Mary Maddox has struggled to accept her husband’s daughter, a strong-willed, confident, educated woman who works in the house and has been treated more like family than slave. After Samuel’s death, Mary decides to grant Kitty and her children their freedom, and travels with them to Pennsylvania, where she will file papers declaring Kitty’s emancipation. Helped on their perilous flight by Quaker families along the Underground Railroad, they finally reach the free state. But Kitty is not yet safe. Dragged back to Virginia by a gang of slave catchers led by Samuel’s own nephew, who is determined to sell her and her children, Kitty takes a defiant step: charging the younger Maddox with kidnapping and assault. On the surface, the move is brave yet hopeless. But Kitty has allies—her former mistress, Mary, and Fanny Withers, a rich and influential socialite who is persuaded to adopt Kitty’s cause and uses her resources and charm to secure a lawyer. The sensational trial that follows will decide the fate of Kitty and her children—and bond three extraordinary yet very different women together in their quest for justice.

Gathers poems that recast the ancient Greek story of Demeter and Persephone in a variety of settings, from a patio in Arizona to the pyramids in Mexico, as they explore the complex mother-daughter bond