Tom Trueheart and the Land of Dark Stories

Twelve-year-old Tom Trueheart is not happy about wearing the all-white page boy outfit his mother has prepared for him. Since five of his six older brothers are getting married on the same day, Tom is trapped by obligation. But the youngest son of a family of adventuring men shouldn't have to wear blinding white knickers and white silk stockings when he could be out looking for his long-lost father, Jack Trueheart, the original Trueheart adventurer who used to work for the Story Bureau in the Land of Stories. When their father didn't return from a Story Bureau assignment all those years ago, Tom's siblings took over the responsibilities. And then Tom had to rescue them when they were captured by the Giant above the beanstalk. But today is wedding day for the brothers and their princesses, and Tom can see no way out of his duties. Being an experienced adventurer now, Tom doesn't leave home without his pack, magic birthday sword and supplies. He may be dressed in a silly white suit but that doesn't mean he's leaving the house without his equipment. The ride with his brothers, their princess brides and his mother appears uneventful, as does the start of the ceremony. The Master of the Story Bureau himself is saying the appropriate words for a wedding as he stands in front of Jacquot, Jake, Jackie, Jackson, Jacques and their lovely brides --- Snow White, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Princess Zinnia and Sleeping Beauty. (Princess Zinnia was the one who kissed a frog that was really Jackson Trueheart under a spell!) As bad luck would have it, former Story Bureau scribe and outcast Brother Julius Ormestone crashes the ceremony and kidnaps all the brides-to-be and their husbands intended by binding them together with enchanted chains. Ever since being banished from the Land of Stories for writing unhappy endings, Ormestone vowed to gain control of the Story Bureau and its people and spread his evil throughout. His magic is very powerful, and he has a host of wicked helpers, like bats, wolves, crows and sprites, to do his bidding. Nearly forgetting that there is one more Trueheart brother who didn't get caught in the chains, a curse is left on young Tom, reducing him to the size of a man's thumb, white suit and all. Now how will he rescue his brothers and their princesses? That's what friends are for! Good pal and powerful sprite Jollity is once again transformed into a crow by the Master, and together he and Tom will somehow save the Trueheart boys again. Does Tom's tiny body hold enough bravery, might and brains to find his family and bring them home? What can a little boy who rides on the back of a swift flying black bird do against overpowering evils in the Land of Dark Stories where Ormestone has taken his captives? In a make-believe world where stories are started by the Bureau but the endings are written by the Trueheart adventures, little Tom will discover that brains, magic and friends go a long way to solving even the biggest problems. However, To