Published by Rick Riordan Presents, an imprint of Disney Publishing Worldwide
Coming Feb 7, 2023| Middle Grade Children’s
ISBN 978-1368074803
Reading age: 8-12 years
Grade level: 3-7
Winston Chu vs. the Whimsies
Book One of The Winston Chu Duology
A modern-day reimagining of a classic Chinese folktale, following Winston Chu as he saves the owner of a curiosities shop from a robbery only to be gifted a broomstick and a dustpan for his trouble — items that turn out to be more a curse than a blessing.
Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents best-selling author Stacey Lee’s modern reimagining of a classic Chinese folktale—replete with magic, boba, and lots of trash talking. Twelve-year-old Winston Chu is supposed to learn impulse control at the cooking academy his mom enrolled him in. But learning to think before he acts won’t happen overnight. While skateboarding home with a pie in hand, Winston inadvertently stops a robbery at Mr. Pang’s Whimsies, an oddities shop in Chinatown. As a reward, Mr. Pang invites Winston to choose any item in the store. But the strange old man warns Winston to browse carefully, for the first thing Winston touches will be the thing he gets. Before Winston can decide, a magpie flies under a shelf, and he impulsively grabs an old broom to sweep it out. Mr. Pang hands him the broom, along with a dustpan. “Two for one. Congratulations.” Deflated, Winston returns home, determined to put the broom incident behind him. Or at least in the closet. But when some of his most beloved possessions go missing, all Winston can think about are the broom and dustpan. Did they somehow take his stuff? And what—or who—will they dispose of next? It’s time to break into Mr. Pang’s Whimsies, where clearly there’s more going on than meets the far-seeing eyeball. It’s time to fight magic with magic. And this time, Winston better have a plan.