The Very Last Castle: A Picture Book - Hardcover

by Travis Jonker (Author), Mark Pett (Illustrator)

Author Travis Jonker and illustrator Mark Pett's The Very Last Castle is "a lovely story about courage and community with a darling protagonist" (Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review).

A curious little girl watches the man who guards the last castle in town. Every time she passes by him, she tries to catch his eye. While the other townspeople fear what may be locked up inside the mysterious castle, the girl finally gets up the courage to knock on the door and find out what's really behind the gate.

A story about overcoming fear of the unknown, trying new things, and reaching out to make new friends, The Very Last Castle shows that bravery comes in packages both big and small.

"Minimal, unadorned text mixes with watercolor and pen-and-ink pictures to create an appealing protagonist who has an admirable, self-possessed curiousness and always wears big yellow boots--readers can almost hear her clomping confidently through the pages." --Publishers Weekly

Author Biography

Travis Jonker is an elementary school librarian and creator of 100 Scope Notes, a kidlit blog hosted by School Library Journal. He was a member of the 2014 Caldecott committee. Jonker lives with his wife and two children in Zeeland, Michigan.

Mark Pett is the author/illustrator of many books for children, including This Is My Book! and The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes. Before books, Pett created comic strips. He lives in Utah.