The Dyerville Tales by M.P. Kozlowsky

Vince Elgin was a teller of tales. His stories enraptured the other children at the Obern House Orphanage. Tales kept his hope alive and shuttered out despair after the tragic, fiery death of his parents. His father’s body was never found, so Vince always hoped his father somehow survived. Eventually, even the power of Vince’s stories waned as he could no longer find the heart to keep watching for his father.

The arrival of a package sparked hope anew in Vince’s heart, the first package he’d received since coming to the Obern House, a package out of Dyerville. His grandfather’s funeral would be held there in a week’s time.

dyerville-cover

Vince hadn’t seen his grandfather Vincent in years, not since his grandfather used to watch him as a little boy before his senility grew worse. Included with the funeral notification was a book of his frandfather’s dictated stories.

Denied the opportunity to go to his grandfather’s funeral, Vince escapes from the orphanage with the help of one of the other boys there and a caretaker. As he struggles to reach Dyerville and avoid official notice, past and present begin to blur as Vince pours through his grandfather’s stories of a life shaped by a witch’s curse. All the while Vince holds out hope that if he reaches the funeral at last, he may learn what became of his father.

“Here dreams were like the dust on the floorboards; they went trampled and unnoticed.” With lyrical prose, Kozlowsky crafts the ordeals of Vince and his grandfather. The grandfather’s past and the obstacles before him have the feel of a modern fairy tale. Readers of Sage Blackwood’s Jinx or Kelly Barnhill’s The Mostly True Stories of Jack would enjoy this myth-like read.

Don’t miss Juniper Berry, author M.P. Kozlowsky’s creepy middle school read about a girl determined to find out what’s happening to change her parents. Author M.P. Kozlowsky (@MPKozlowsky) is a former schoolteacher now living in New York with his wife and daughter. Visit his website at www.mpkozlowsky.com

Brian Thompson created the illustrations that complement the telling of The Dyerville Tales.

Check out these other stops on the Walden Pond Press blog tour for The Dyerville Tales.

4/28 – Word Spelunking Book Blog

4/29 – Book Smugglers

4/29 – KidLit Frenzy

4/30 – Mundie Moms

5/1 – Bunbury In the Stacks

5/2 – A Foodie Bibliophile in Wanderlust

5/3 – The Book Rat

5/5 – Mundie Moms

5/6 – Bluestocking Thinking

5/7 – Small Review