Eleanor and The Cryptochrome
An Illustrated Middle Grade Fantasy Novel
Eleanor is an 11-year-old girl who is often told that she is too loud, too messy, and generally just "too much" for the world around her. She dreams of adventure without the reproach of aggravated relatives and harried teachers. Then one day in her garden she accidentally falls into a realm full of giant talking woodland creatures. After landing in the burrow of three human-sized rabbits, Eleanor seizes the chance for adventure and embarks with them on a quest to retrieve a precious family heirloom—the key to her return home—from a band of devious squirrels.
The Rabbit Family
“Basil raised the rabbit equivalent of an eyebrow in Rhu’s direction. “Please excuse my sister, she’s had a bad run with unexpected company lately. I am Basil. Over there is my younger brother, Sorrel, and this is our sister, Rhubarb. Rhu for short. You see, you happened to drop in on us at a rather inopportune moment.”
“She turned her attention to Sorrel next. He was futzing over an overflowing pile of tools in a corner. He’d pick one up, muttering to himself. When a wrench, or some such, met muster it was carefully placed in a tool belt around his waist.”
“Her ears stood straight up, gesturing when she spoke. They rather reminded Eleanor of her mother’s sewing scissors waving around the room when she was making a particularly impassioned speech, and she eyed them warily.”
Eleanor
“Of course you could all just be a dream. Except that I remember waking up this morning and I definitely remember breakfast. Then I was walking in my garden with a book” Her hand flew up to her smack forehead in realization. “Oooh no I lost the book! ”
“The heavy mood broke a little as Eleanor and Basil rounded a bend and caught sight of Orvil’s ferryboat. Eleanor let out gasp of delight, running the rest of the way down to the riverbank and along a short wooden dock.
The jaunty blue sailing boat was covered in brightly painted plants and flowers that had the illusion of growing haphazardly up from under the deck of the ship and across it’s surface.”
Orvil and The Soothsayer
“As Eleanor reached the garden gate she spied the aforementioned Salamander at work harvesting squash into a well-used wheelbarrow and singing the jaunty tune.
Up close he stood roughly at the height of her shoulder and was most beautiful shade of reddish orange she had ever seen. The color was darkest on his back then faded to pale yellow as it reached his belly. A freckle-like pattern of black spots ran from his snout down to the tip of his tail. He wore a wide brimmed straw hat to complete the look, giving Eleanor the impression of a brilliant sunrise.”
“The Soothsayer was unlike any of the garden variety snakes Eleanor had seen in the past. Her jet black head was almost indistinguishable from the rest of her, with nothing to mark the transition to her thick body. She would have looked the same coming or going were it not for cloudy gray eyes and decorative head covering..
When she spotted Eleanor a wide smile split her face unsettlingly into two halves, exposing long fangs that appeared to fold down out of the open jaw.”