Sylvie Bartram lives alone with Mr Jackson the dog and her eccentric composer father who invents strange and wonderful musical instruments. One day she returns from school to find a message left in toothpaste on the bathroom mirror; her father has been kidnapped. Later that night, the house is visited by a terrifying apparition - a half-man/half-creature who is searching for something and will not rest until he has found it . . .Sylvie uncovers an underground world of magic and evil, and with help from her friends, she must hold off a power that threatens the lives of all beings in the world. The Songman is at large, and is determined to steal music and use it for his own evil ends . . . An exhilarating and magical story that will appeal to all readers aged 9-14.

 

 

This book has been graded for interest at 9-11 years.

There are 352 pages in this book. This book was published in 2009 by Penguin Random House Children's UK .

Tim Binding is an ex-editor of Picador and Penguin, and has had four highly praised adult novels published. He lives in Kent. THE SLEEPING BEAUTY - Geraldine McCaughrean & Angela Barrett; THE NAUGHTY PRINCESS AND THE FROG (THE FROG PRINCE); Saviour Pirotta & Emma Chichester Clark; SNOW WHITE: Rose Impey & Ian Beck; THE LEMON PRINCESS - Margaret Mayo & Jane Ray; SWAN LAKE - Geraldine McCaughrean & Angela Barrett; THE LITTLE MERMAID - Andrew Matthews & Alan Snow; TWELVE DANCING PRINCESSES - Saviour Pirotta & Emma Chichester Clark