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The front cover of Lucy and the Polyclops: A Friend in the Forest by Owen Black. Lucy, seen from behind, holds a glowing flower at the mouth of a glowing pink cave, with Mr. Toad, Lady Bird and a broken wooden bridge nearby.

The first book in the series

A Friend in the Forest

Far below the rim of a great crater, where the sun visits for only a few hours a day, lies the tiny village of Penumbra.

Lucy lives in the smallest house there. She is curious about everything, kind to everyone, and not very good at staying out of trouble.

Every night, something tiptoes out of the forest and into the village. Something enormous.

Everyone says it is a monster. Everyone tells Lucy to stay away. But Lucy knows better.

What she finds in the forest will change everything.

Ages 3 to 7 · 32 pages · 8.5 x 8.5 in paperback · $12.99

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Pages 6 and 7. She climbed onto her chair and pressed her nose to the cold glass. Something enormous was moving through the street outside. It was too dark to see clearly. Then, in a heartbeat, it was gone. Opposite, Lucy at her window by lamplight, looking out over the dark village.
Pages 12 and 13. The next day, Lucy sat in her clearing and thought about what she had seen. “Maybe the Polyclops is just hungry,” she told Mr. Toad. Lady Bird landed on her knee. So she left her sandwich on the old stump and went home. Opposite, Lucy in her rosy forest clearing with Mr. Toad, the sandwich on the stump.
Pages 22 and 23. They skipped stones and chased frogs along the river. Lucy had never had a friend like him. One day a great tree fell across the water. Bubblegum looked at it and his eyes glowed. The tree rose up and settled on the bank. “You can do that?” said Lucy. “B-b-Bubblegah helps,” he said, and smiled. Opposite, Bubblegum lifts a fallen tree from the river in ribbons of pink and blue light while Lucy watches.

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The front cover of Lucy and the Polyclops: First Light by Owen Black. Lucy and Bubblegum, in a snowy forest at night, look up at a tiny blue star on the crater rim.

What happens next

First Light

High on the crater’s rim, a magical flower blooms at first light. But there is no way up. Not yet.

Hardcover gift edition

The Lucy and the Polyclops Collection

The first three stories in one hardcover. Made for gifting.

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