Oscar Martin was fourteen when he vanished from his Iowa farmhouse home. His sister said that Oscar rowed out to sea; but there are no oceans in Iowa - so how was that possible? Nearly a century later, Lucy Martin and her parents move to that same farmhouse, where her father mysteriously disappears. When she finds the mystical "Book of Story Beginnings", Oscar reappears and together they venture into a fantasy world in search of Lucy's father - and a happy ending.

 

There are 368 pages in this book. This book was published 2007 by Walker Books Ltd .

Kristin Kladstrup lives with her family in Massachusetts, USA. This is her first novel. Of her inspiration, she says, "I have always loved the big, brick house in Iowa where my mother grew up. From its windows, I could imagine the ocean stretching out to the Iowa horizon. If I'd had the chance as a child, I might have written a story beginning about it, just as Oscar does. "