(Philomel Books)

This first book in a trilogy follows Basil, a strange creature who is part lizard and part bat, as he searches for the wizard Merlin to warn him of impending evil. This new series, for ages 8 to 15, is connected to Barron’s other series, The Lost Years of Merlin and The Great Tree of Avalon, by being part of the same mythic world. Recently School Library Journal called Basil a “prickly and entertaining hero.”