When Sam’s mother dies, his distraught father sells their home and pur chases an antique bookstore. Sam’s father now seems to have disappeared. As Sam investigates the bookstore for a clue into his father’s disappearance, he discovers a secret room. Inside the room is a coin that when placed in a stone sculpture sends Sam on time travel adventures. When Sam returns home, clues suggest that his father has been imprisoned in another time—in Dracula’s castle! This is the first in the The Book of Time trilogy. Sequels are The Gate of Days (Arthur A. Levine Books, 2008) and The Circle of Gold (Arthur A. Levine Books, 2007) . pwc

Originally published as La Pierre Sculptée in French by Gallimard Jeunesse France, in 2006. Translated by William Rodarmor.