Zamonia, populated by all manner of extraordinary characters. This is book one of the series the Washington Post called "equal parts J. K. Rowling, Douglas Adams, and Shel Silverstein."

The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Blue Bear is a land of imaginative lunacy and supreme adventure, wicked satire and epic fantasy, all mixed together, turned on its head, and lavishly illustrated by author Walter Moers.

"A bluebear has twenty-seven lives. I shall recount thirteen and a half of them in this book but keep quiet about the rest," says the narrator of Walter Moers's epic adventure.

"What about the Minipirates? What about the Hobgoblins, the Spiderwitch, the Babbling Billows, the Troglotroll, the Mountain Maggot . . . Mine is a tale of mortal danger and eternal love, of hair's breadth, last-minute escapes."

Enjoy Walter Moers's Zamonia Series:

• The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Blue Bear
• Rumo & His Miraculous Adventures
• The City of Dreaming Books
• The Alchemaster's Apprentice
• The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books