120,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿

Overnight NZ-wide delivery 🚀 Auckland Bookstore • Open 7 days, 8:30am–5pm

The Glorious Race of Magical Beasts

By Alex Bell
0.0 (0 reviews)
4.35 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating. ( 116 ratings, 25 reviews)
Brief Description
Twelve-year-old Eli is an apprentice librarian at the largest library in the world. But when his grandmother falls ill, he enters the Glorious Race of Magical Beasts to raise money for her treatment. This annual race is always held in the most perilous places and is... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$1999
OVERNIGHT NZ-WIDE DELIVERY

Found a better price? Request a price match

An out of this world magical adventure with talking animals, risk-taking and friendship aplenty! A new standalone magical story from the best-selling author of the Explorers' Club series.

An out of this world magical adventure with talking animals, risk-taking and friendship aplenty! A new standalone magical story from the best-selling author of the Explorers' Club series.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description
Twelve-year-old Eli is an apprentice librarian at the largest library in the world. But when his grandmother falls ill, he enters the Glorious Race of Magical Beasts to raise money for her treatment. This annual race is always held in the most perilous places and is full of spiky dangers. Most participants seek out unicorns and dragons to help them on their conquest. But not Eli. He embarks on this journey with his trusted pet and friend, Humphrey, his moon tortoise. Moon tortoises aren't suited to racing and Eli is no natural adventurer. But he soon finds himself in an unlikely partnership with Raven, a rule-breaker and skilled archer, and her ice hare - one of the fastest animals in the world. If the two children put aside their differences and work together, they might just reach the finish line!

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780571382231

Publisher: Faber & Faber

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 February 2024

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Faber & Faber

Edition: Main

Contributors:

  • Illustrated by Tim McDonagh

Audience: Children

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 22.0mm

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 291g

Pages: 352

Collections

Alex Bell Best Sellers at Book Hero Children's Books Children's Fiction Children’s, Teenage and Educational Classic Fiction In Stock Books In Stock Kid's Books Young Adult

About the Author

Alex Bell has published many books including Frozen Charlotte and the bestselling Explorers' Club series. She always wanted to be a writer but had several back-up plans. After training as a lawyer, she now works at the Citizens Advice Bureau. She spends most of her spare time catering to the whims of her Siamese cat.

Also by Alex Bell

View all
  • A Most Peculiar Toy Factory
    Bestselling author Alex Bell serves up mystery and dark humour aplenty in this Willy Wonka-esque middle-grade tale of toys brought to life. Shadows of teddy bears flit across windows. Dolls whisper behind closed doors. Something has gone very wrong at Hoggle's Happy Toys. But five years after shutting its doors, the toy factory is opening again, and Tess Pipps has...
    By Alex Bell
    Paperback
    $1799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Hunt for the Cursed Unicorn
    All aboard for The Train of Dark Wonders! The second book in the magical must-read middle-grade series. Bess can’t wait to see her friends from the Train of Dark Wonders and head off on another adventure together. But she has her duties as owner of the Odditorium to think about. Most importantly, the gateway to other worlds needs a new...
    By Alex Bell
    Paperback
    $1999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Explorers on Witch Mountain
    Explorers on Witch Mountain by Alex Bell follows Stella Starflake Pearl, who is eagerly anticipating her next expedition. Suddenly, disaster strikes when Stella's father, Felix, is snatched by a fearsome witch. Stella must bring her magic ice princess tiara to Witch Mountain, or she will never see Felix again! But no one ever returns from Witch Mountain... Stella, along with...
    By Alex Bell
    Paperback
    $1899
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Explorers on Black Ice Bridge
    Ice princess Stella Starflake and her father Felix are in trouble: President Fogg has expelled them from the Polar Bear Explorers' Club, and banned them from going on any further expeditions. Stella's not going to be put off by rules and regulations though. She knows her friend Shay is in danger of turning into a witch wolf himself, since receiving...
    By Alex Bell
    Paperback
    $1899
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Escape from the Castle of Illusions
    Escape from the Castle of Illusions
    Trouble is brewing for Bess at the Odditorium, where the secret door to the dark and dangerous Land of Fairytales is about to open… Can she finish what her grandfather started and bring down the Evil Queen Cinderella once and for all? Escape from the Castle of Illusions by Alex Bell takes readers on a thrilling adventure where the stakes...
    By Alex Bell
    Paperback
    $1899
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Explorers at Pirate Island
    The Poison Tentacle Sea was home to the powerful Bone Current. As they had feared, it gave a sudden surge and pulled them in. Half-mermaid Ursula Jellyfin has always longed for adventure, and this time the stakes are higher than ever. The Collector is holding a group of children prisoner on Pirate Island, and it's up to Ursula and her...
    By Alex Bell
    Paperback
    $1899
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Ocean Squid Explorers' Club
    Ursula knew the submarine wasn't designed to go this deep, but what choice did they have? No one wanted to get swallowed up by a colossal sneezing jellyfish!In a distant watery corner of the Explorers Kingdom, a submarine engineer, Ursula, is determined to become an explorer. Unfortunately, she hides an extraordinary secret, which makes her the sworn enemy of the...
    By Alex Bell
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • Explorers at Stardust City
    Explorers at Stardust City
    Directly below was a sight none of them had ever seen before - a kind of spiral, with glowing ruby-red lights that curved outwards like tentacles. In the middle was a dark circle, inky black. It had the look of a really, really deep well. Ursula and her friends are in a race against time. The Collector has taken Stella...
    By Alex Bell
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • The Polar Bear Explorers' Club
    It sounded like a respectable and worthy enough death for an explorer - tumbling from an ice bridge to be impaled upon a mammoth tusk - but Stella really, really didn't want that to happen, just the same. Join Stella Starflake Pearl and her three fellow explorers as they trek across the snowy Icelands and come face-to-face with frost fairies,...
    By Alex Bell
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • The Lighthouse
    On Bird Rock, gannets circle and thick mist surrounds the lighthouse at its centre, hiding the secrets of a tragic past within … From the second they set foot on the island to join their dad and his new family, Jess and Rosie feel that something’s wrong. Nightmares haunt their dreams and there seems to be someone, or something, else...
    By Alex Bell
    Paperback
    Sold Out

More from Children's Books

View all
  • Gruffalo Granny
    The brand new Gruffalo picture book from Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. The Gruffalo said to his daughter one day, "Your Gruffalo Granny is coming to stay." Return to the deep dark wood with the first new Gruffalo story in over 20 years, and meet Gruffalo Granny as she visits the Gruffalo family. This fresh and exciting new Gruffalo adventure...
    By Julia Donaldson
    Hardback
    $2499
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    Backorder
    Ships mid October
  • Wahine
    New Release
    Wahine
    From a majestic mermaid to a clay woman, the creator of glaciers to the mother of gardening, discover powerful wahine and how their stories shaped the world around us. Wahine introduces readers to twelve purakau of brave, bold, and inspiring women of Aotearoa. A beautifully illustrated collection that will delight the whole whanau, from award-winning illustrator Isobel Joy Te Aho-White....
    By Isobel Joy Te Aho-White
    Hardback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Sweet As Looky Book
    New Release
    The Sweet As Looky Book
    Can you find all the chocolate fish? Is it possible for kiwi to fly? Can you spot the difference? See Aotearoa New Zealand through the eyes of award-winning artist Donovan Bixley in The Sweet As Looky Book. Use your finest skills to seek out pirates in the Bay of Islands and birds in Rakiura Stewart Island. Get in a car...
    By Donovan Bixley
    Hardback
    $2299
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    The Day of the Dinosaur Disaster
    Angry anacondas, blizzarding blobs, carnivorous cactuses ... what kind of twisted curse will Glam-Evil think up this time?!Only it's not just Glam-Evil's curse the gang needs to worry about; they've got a few other problems, too. Swooping Pteranodons, a hungry T-Rex, a missing mother, and ... is that ... an ASTEROID?!Join MILES AND JONES as they face their biggest challenge...
    By Sam Smith
    Paperback
    $1400
    Elsewhere:
    $1499
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    The Neverfear
    A world of richly-imagined wonder Cressida Cowell It’s the Midsummer Feast on the Islet of Glimt and on this magical moonlit evening, the word on everyone’s lips is bandits. Reports of masked men burning villages are spreading throughout the Archipelago, but worse is still to come: Christopher and Anya are ambushed and one of the people they love most is...
    By Katherine Rundell
    Paperback
    $1999
    Elsewhere:
    $2299
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    Mari the Unwonderful Witch
    A charming, cosy and thought-provoking tale about a wonderfully unconventional little witch, by bestselling author of BUTTER, Asako Yuzuki. Perfect for fans of WICKED, KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE, and THE HATMAKERS series by Tamzin Merchant - and anyone who likes an enchanting adventure with just a hint of mischief. Mari the Unwonderful Witch introduces us to Mari, an eleven-year-old witch who...
    By Asako Yuzuki
    Paperback
    $1999
    Elsewhere:
    $2400
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    Animalia 40th Anniversary Edition
    A beautiful, foiled collector's edition to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Graeme Base's classic and bestselling Australian picture book, Animalia. Embark on a fantastical alphabetic adventure where each turn of the page unveils a rich tapestry of intricate illustrations tied to a unique letter of the alphabet. More than 5 million copies sold worldwide Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA)...
    By Graeme Base
    Hardback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3500
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    The Comeback Kid
    Charlie Boy might be just an ordinary kid, but he's about to get into some EXTRA-ordinary trouble... Get ready for this funny, fast-paced, friendship adventure with lots of kick. Meet Charlie Boy: skinny, small, looks like a strand of spaghetti. He and his best friend, Rocky the Lower Hutt Chief, are good at getting into trouble together. But when Charlie...
    By Airana Ngarewa
    Paperback
    $1799
    Elsewhere:
    $1999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Millie from Milford
    New Release
    Millie from Milford
    Based on the true story of Ruth Shaw and her husband Lance looking after a baby seal that had been shot between the eyes. Millie from Milford lives in Milford Sound, the number one tourist destination in Aotearoa New Zealand. After Millie was checked by a vet, she was taken to Ruth and Lance's home to be looked after until...
    By Ruth Shaw
    Paperback
    $2299
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Case of the Tall Stranger: Violet and the Velvets 4
    New Release
    The Case of the Tall Stranger: Violet and the Velvets 4
    But disaster strikes when guitarist Jack breaks his wrist and can no longer play. On top of that, all their hard work fundraising has fallen short! When help comes from unexpected channels, the Velvets make it to the Big Apple just in time to compete against the best kid bands in the whole world, including their new rivals the Blazer...
    By Rachael King
    Paperback
    $1600
    Elsewhere:
    $1899
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Pocket Observology
    New Release
    Pocket Observology
    Pocket Observology is a practical field guide designed for those who love to explore and understand the natural world around them. Slip this guide out of your pocket to identify, measure, compare, or find clues to the things you encounter every day in nature. This pocket guide is a useful tool and a fun reminder of how to engage with...
    By Giselle Clarkson
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Minecraft Annual 2027
    New Release
    Minecraft Annual 2027
    The official Minecraft Annual 2027, full of updates, builds, activities, and more! Discover all there is to know about the past year of Minecraft in this exciting annual. Stuffed to the brim with updates, activities, step-by-step builds, and tips and tricks for the game, this book is a must-have for any minecrafter. This year’s annual includes: Mob guides on happy...
    By Mojang AB
    Hardback
    $1999
    Elsewhere:
    $2499
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.

Children's Books lists from the team

Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!

The Latest at Book Hero

View all