Egmont UK Limited

2 Minster Court, 10th floor, London EC3R 7BB

Made for McDonalds’s 2019

001

Text and illustrations copyright © 2019 Laura Ellen Anderson

The moral rights of the author and illustrator have been asserted.

First e-book edition 2019

ISBN 978 1 4052 9564 2

www.egmont.co.uk

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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Parental guidance is advised for all craft and colouring activities. Always ask an adult to help when using glue, paint and scissors. Wear protective clothes and cover surfaces to avoid damage or staining.

CONTENTS

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Grisly Greetings from Amelia Fang

Make a Batty Bookmark!

WELCOME TO NOCTURNIA

MAP OF NOCTURNIA

MEET THE NOCTURNIANS

AMELIA FANG AND THE WISHING WELL OF WELL WISHES

Amelia Fang Character Quiz

AMELIA FANG AT CATACOMB ACADEMY

Reading Tips

Hello! My name is Amelia Fang – welcome to this book of my abominable adventures and eerie escapades! Before you start reading, I thought I should tell you a little bit about myself.

I’m ten moon-years old and can’t wait for my next birthnight. I really enjoy playing Goblin Tag with my best friends, Florence (she is NOT a beast, she’s a rare breed of yeti) and Grimaldi, who is the kindest grim reaper you’ll ever meet. I love my pet pumpkin, Squashy, more than anything in the world. He’s so cute and cuddly, and he especially loves it when I give his little pumpkin belly a rub!

Prince Tangine is another really good friend of mine – he’s half-vampire and half-fairy. He was a little bit mean when I first met him, but it turned out he was just very lonely and needed a friend. Sometimes he can still be a bit bossy, though.

I live in Fang Mansion with my mum and dad, Count Drake and Countess Frivoleeta, who are really embarrassing and are always trying to make me go to their boring Barbaric Ball. Yawn!

Oh, and I’m a vampire! But don’t worry, vampires don’t actually drink blood. It gives us really stinky breath.

Anyway, I really hope you enjoy hearing about the things me and my friends have been doing lately – we’ve had some scary times and some fangtastically fun ones!

In the first adventure, we take a trip to the Kingdom of the Light. Florence gets a bit shouty when we meet a rather rude wishing well! And Tangine’s dad gets a bit . . . well, you’ll see.

Finally, you can come to school with us and meet our new cookery teacher . . .

Make a Batty Bookmark!

These bookmarks sit perfectly in the corner of the page. You can decorate them to look like your favourite characters!

You will need

•  Paper that is coloured on one side

(wrapping paper is perfect!) – 17cm square

•  Scraps of coloured paper

•  Coloured pens

•  Glue

•  Scissors*

*Be careful using scissors.

Ask an adult if you need help.

1 Place paper coloured side down and fold in half, corner to corner

2 Fold top down to meet bottom edge

3 Fold each bottom point in to meet at the middle, then open out again.

4 Fold bottom left point up to meet the top point

5 Fold bottom right point up to meet the top point

6 Along the folds, tuck the top parts of the triangles inside

7 Tuck the top triangle inside

8 Using your paper scraps, cut out 2 wings, 2 fangs and 2 eyes.

9 Glue on the wings, fangs and eyes, to make the battiest bat bookmark!

Why not make your favourite character or create your own ghoul?

WELCOME TO NOCTURNIA

The City of Nocturnia, in the Kingdom of the Dark, is where my friends and I live. We’re all Creatures of the Dark, which means we go to bed at sunrise and get up at sunset, which until recently was what I thought everybody did, but more about that in a minute.

We go to school at the Catacomb Academy where we learn things like Repugnant Recipes, Critter Studies, Slime Skills and Pumpkinology. Nocturnia has loads of other cool places to go, like the Central Nocturnia Graveyard and my absolute favourite place: Pumpkin Paradise Park!

The Kingdom of the Dark is next to the Kingdom of the Light. It’s full of scary things like angel-kittens, unicorns, fairies and – worst of all – GLITTER! Sounds completely terrifying, right? But recently we discovered that our two worlds actually aren’t so different and after many years of fear, Creatures of the Light and the Dark now live alongside each other in peace. (This is especially good news for Tangine, who is half-fairy and half-vampire!)

‘Wow,’ said Amelia, as she stood at the border between the Kingdoms of the Light and Dark.

The scene that stretched before them was quite a contrast to the grey spindly trees and dead branches of the Petrified Forest. Ahead, the sun shone brightly on a vast green meadow scattered with colourful flowers.

Contrary to some old myths that Creatures of the Light believed, vampires and other Creatures of the Dark were perfectly fine in the sun. They just weren’t used to it, since they were usually fast asleep during the day. The soft hum of bumblebees made Amelia feel a little uneasy. Grimaldi yelped as a bunny rabbit hopped into view.

‘The Meadow of Loveliness . . .’ said King Vladimir.

Amelia took a deep breath. ‘Are we all ready?’ she said, straightening herself up.

The friends nodded and held hands tightly before stepping for the first time into the Kingdom of the Light.

Amelia gasped as her foot sank into the soft ground. It felt strange and spongy. The long grass was shimmering and even the air seemed to be sparkling. But it wasn’t as awful as she might have expected – just very different.

‘Flaaarg!’ Grimaldi shrieked as a butterfly tried to land on his head. ‘It’s going to eat me!’

‘Grimaldi!’ hissed Amelia. ‘You’ll draw attention to us!’

‘YEH. YOU NEED TO BE MORE CREATUREY OF THE LIGHTY,’ said Florence. ‘MAYBE WE SHOULD PRANCE,’ she continued. ‘THEY LIKE TO PRANCE, RIGHT?’

Without waiting for a reply, Florence pirouetted across the flowerbeds as if she were as light as a feather.

Amelia noticed Tangine’s mouth drop open as he watched Florence dance among the flowers. She was quite surprised herself.

‘She’s quite the prancer!’ said the king with a laugh, before attempting a skip, hop and jump. He stopped when he pulled a muscle in his back.

‘Not as nimble as I used to be . . .’ he said, wincing.

Amelia felt a little nervous, but then she began shuffling her feet. And, before she knew it, she found herself skipping through the long grass. ‘Come on, Grimaldi! It’s fun!’ she called.

Grimaldi stood frozen to the spot. Amelia ran over and grabbed both his hands, pulling him into the meadow.

‘Eeeeeeeeeek!’ Grimaldi squealed. ‘I think something flew into my mouth!’

‘There’s nothing to fear, Grimaldi!’ the king reassured him. ‘Look, the Creatures of the Light are just getting on with their lives.’ He pointed at a small bunny rabbit nibbling on some grass.

‘I dunno,’ Grimaldi mumbled, ‘maybe it’s plotting something terrible as we speak . . .’

‘Oh, you are silly!’ Amelia giggled.

‘Look, Dad!’ Tangine yelled. ‘I’m flying!’ Tangine was hovering a few feet above the grass, his sparkly fairy wings flapping fiercely.

‘You look just like your mother!’ King Vladimir said, smiling.

‘THIS PLACE ISN’T SO BAD,’ said Florence, performing one last pirouette.

‘Right,’ said the king, ‘let’s check the map and work out our best route.’

Florence took the unicorn horn off her head and removed the map, which was neatly rolled into a cone.

‘Where do we start?’ said Grimaldi as Florence straightened the map out. ‘We have no idea where Glitteropolis city is – it’s not on the map.’

‘Hey look, there’s the Wishing Well of Well Wishes,’ said Amelia, reading the map. ‘Maybe we could make a wish to find out where Glitteropolis is?’

‘Amelia, that is a great idea. I’d never thought of that before!’ The king beamed. Then he looked at Tangine fondly. ‘The Wishing Well of Well Wishes is where your mum and I got married.’

The friends waded through the Meadow of Loveliness, stopping every so often for King Vladimir to catch his breath.

‘At least I’ll be fitter by the time we find Fairyweather,’ he puffed.

‘That must be the Wishing Well of Well Wishes!’ said Grimaldi, pointing ahead at a stone well. It appeared to be glowing, and sparkly flecks of light danced around its rim.

Florence peered into the well and shouted, ‘’OW DO YOU MAKE A WISH THEN?’

THEN . . .

THEN . . .

THEN . . .

Her voice echoed.

‘NO NEED TO SHOUT!’ a voice boomed up from within the well.

SPLOSH!

A huge jet of water followed, drenching Florence from head to toe.

‘IT SPLOSHED ME!’ said Florence in shock. ‘AND IT SPOKE.’

‘I’ll do it again if you don’t stop referring to me as IT, you big oaf,’ said the voice from the well.

There was no doubt about it: the Wishing Well of Well Wishes could talk. And it was really rather rude.

‘So, what brings you Creatures of the Dark to the Kingdom of the Light?’ asked the well.

Everyone looked at each other in surprise. How could it have seen through their disguises?

‘W-w-we’re not Creatures of the Dark!’ said Grimaldi quickly. ‘Look! Meeeow!’ And he swung his angel-kitten tail around.

‘Do you think I’m completely blind, little grim reaper?’ said the well.

‘COURSE YOU ARE,’ Florence cut in, ‘’CAUSE YOU ’AVE NO EYES.’

SPLOSH!

Tangine stifled a giggle as Florence received another face full of water.

‘All right, Vlad?’ said the well. ‘Or should I say, Sir Ladybird?’

‘I see you haven’t changed,’ said the king, raising an eyebrow.

‘And I see your son is growing up to look just like his mother,’ said the well. ‘Got your nose, though . . . Shame.’

‘How do you know so much about us?’ asked Tangine. ‘You’re just a wishing well.’

‘I am the Wishing Well of Well Wishes! I know everything there is to know and everything that will be known.’

‘I KNOW YOU’RE PRETTY RUDE,’ said Florence.

‘Don’t take it personally,’ whispered the king. ‘Wells are notorious for being a little uncouth at times.’

‘If you know everything, then can you tell us where Glitteropolis is?’ said Amelia.

‘Maybe,’ said the well.

‘You just told us you know everything,’ said Amelia.

‘I do,’ said the well.

‘Then surely you know where the city of Glitteropolis is?’ said Amelia, becoming impatient.

‘Yes,’ said the well.

‘Then can’t you tell us?’

‘I can’t,’ said the well.

‘Why not?’ Grimaldi cried.

‘I don’t just give out information. I’m not allowed to. So, the secret of who you are is safe with me. Unless someone wishes to know your secret, that is . . .’ The well coughed. ‘But anyway, if you want information, you must wish for it,’ said the well.

‘I WISH YOU’D JUST STOP TALKING!’ Florence blurted out, clenching her fists.

‘No, Flo—’ the king began.

But the well bubbled and a small envelope came hurtling through the air landing at Florence’s feet. She picked up the envelope and opened it.

PFFFFFFFFFFFTTT!

‘AAAARGH!’ Florence bellowed as the envelope exploded into a cloud of glitter. The glitter-cloud then rearranged itself to spell out:

THANK YOU FOR YOUR FIRST WISH.
WE HOPE IT WAS FULFILLED TO YOUR
EXPECTATIONS.

Then the glitter words disappeared.

‘WHAT? I DIDN’T MAKE A WISH!’ yelled Florence.

But the well was silent. It made no sound, not even a bubble.

Amelia put her head in her hands. ‘I think you did make a wish, Florence. You wished the well would stop talking.’

‘THAT WASN’T A PROPER WISH!’ said Florence.

‘You have to be extra careful with what you say,’ explained the king.

The well was still silent.

‘I guess we need to wish for the well to speak again?’ said Tangine looking to his dad.

‘Hmmm, it does seem like the only way,’ the king said.

‘ALL RIGHT. FINE,’ said Florence. ‘I WISH THE WELL WOULD SPEAK AGAIN . . .’

Another small envelope came hurtling from inside the well, landing at Florence’s feet, and then exploding into a cloud of glitter spelling out the words:

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SECOND WISH.
WE HOPE IT WAS FULFILLED TO YOUR
EXPECTATIONS.

‘Well done,’ said the well. ‘You just wasted two of your three wishes. It’s the standard three wish rule and you speak for everyone here, yeti.’

‘I AM NOT—’ Florence began. ‘OH, WAIT. I AM A YETI.’ She trailed off.

‘Guuuys, we only have one wish left!’ said Grimaldi, twizzling his angel-kitten tail nervously. ‘We should ask about Glitteropolis!’

‘WELL, ’IS MAJESTY NEEDS TO FIND ’IS WIFE, RIGHT?’ said Florence. ‘SO . . .’

‘Perhaps someone else should make this wish, Florence,’ said Amelia warily.

‘I agree, I can make this w—’ the king began.

‘I GOT THIS,’ Florence interrupted and stomped up to the edge of the well. ‘I WISH KING VLADIMIR WOULD—’ Suddenly Florence began coughing and spluttering. ‘BEEEE! A BEE!’ she choked. ‘AAARGH! IT FLEW INTO ME MOUF!’

‘Oh no, Florence,’ stammered the king. ‘What have you done?’

Florence spat and coughed. ‘SORRY ’BOUT THAT. LEMME START AGAIN.’

But before Florence could carry on, an envelope came flying out of the well, landing at her feet with the usual glitter explosion.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR THIRD WISH.
WE HOPE IT WAS FULFILLED TO YOUR
EXPECTATIONS.

Then . . .

The king disappeared into a puff of glittery smoke.

‘Pottering pumpkins!’ cried Amelia.

‘WHERE’D THE KING GO?’ said Florence.

‘What did you do with my dad?’ Tangine yelled into the well.

‘We’ve wasted all the wishes!’ Grimaldi had entered full-blown panic mode.

Where the king had been, a small bumblebee perched on a flower.

‘Florence! You turned the king into a BEE!’ cried Amelia.

‘BUT I DIDN’T! IT WAS THE WELL WHAT DID IT! I ’AD A BEE IN MY MOUF! MY WISH GOT INTERRUPTED SO IT SHOUDN’T ’AVE BEEN GRANTED!’ said Florence.

Tangine ran over to the bee. ‘Dad?’ he cried.

Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzz buzz buzzzzzz, buzzed the bee.

‘Daaaaaad!’ said Tangine. He tried to pick his dad up.

Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

‘Oh, Dad,’ said Tangine. ‘What do we do?’

The bee buzzed and then his little wings began vibrating and he flew away.

‘’E BUZZED OFF!’ said Florence.

‘Oh no! We’re going to lose him!’ said Amelia.

‘What if he gets eaten or trampled on?’ squealed Grimaldi, his eyes wide with panic. Tangine started twiddling his thumbs. ‘I’ve lost my mum and my dad now!’ Then he stamped his foot angrily, creating a puff of glitter. ‘How has this HAPPENED?’

‘Please leave,’ said the well calmly. ‘Your wishes are complete. You must wait for one year before you can make another three wishes.’

‘A YEAR?’ said the friends in unison.

‘That’s the rule,’ said the well.

‘My dad can’t be a bumblebee for that long!’ whined Tangine, slumping down on to the grass.

Amelia sat down next to Tangine and put an arm around his shoulder. ‘We’ll work this out, I promise.’

‘But how?’ said Tangine sadly.

Amongst the long grass, Amelia caught sight of the piece of glittery parchment the king had kept hold of since Fairyweather’s disappearance. She picked it up and tucked it safely behind one of her wings.

‘I don’t know right now, but when we find your mum, I’m sure she’ll know what to do.’ Amelia smiled.

Tangine nodded and took a deep breath.

‘We can’t carry on with this quest without the king!’ said Grimaldi.

‘We can, and we will,’ said Amelia. ‘We have each other and we have to work together.’

‘NO FANKS TO THIS BIG PILE OF STONES.’ Florence kicked at the side of the well.

Suddenly a huge SPLOSH of water drenched her from head to toe, knocking off her unicorn horn. Amelia gasped as the horn went tumbling down, down, down into the depths of the well.

‘Noooooooooooo!’ she squealed. ‘The map is in the horn!’

But it was gone.

‘I AM GOING TO DISMANTLE YOU STONE BY STONE,’ said Florence, trying to climb into the well.

‘No king and no map!’ Grimaldi wailed. ‘We’re lost and helpless and oooooooh this is the ennnnnnd—’

Suddenly a spurt of water came flying out of the well, followed by Florence’s unicorn horn.

‘I am not a rubbish bin,’ said the well. And then it sprinkled Grimaldi with water. ‘And you are way too dramatic.’

‘THE MAP!’ Florence and Amelia cried. Amelia scooped up the dripping wet horn and pulled out the soaking map. It was now a big smudged mess.

‘OH DEAR . . .’ said Florence taking the map from Amelia. ‘I’M SURE WE CAN FIX IT.’ She wiped her paw across the sheet of parchment, making the smudge worse. It was no good. The map was ruined.

Grimaldi was breathing fast. ‘We really should go back . . .’

Amelia stared at the ruined map, then screwed up her face. ‘No!’ she said firmly. ‘We got this far. And we’re here to find Tangine’s mum. And work out how to turn his dad back into a vampire. We must keep going, map or no map!’

‘Please . . . leave . . .’ said the well.

‘BEFORE WE GO, I JUST NEED TO DO ONE THING,’ said Florence.

The friends watched as Florence picked up Squashy and held him above the opening of the well. Amelia’s heart leapt.

‘Florence, what are you—’

Florence tickled Squashy’s tummy and then – PARP.

He released a smelly little pumpkin poo, which fell into the depths of the well like a murky snowflake.

‘MY WORK ’ERE IS DONE.’ Florence grinned.

Amelia Fang Character Quiz

Which Amelia Fang character are YOU most like?

On a trip to the fairy-ground, which snack would you choose?

a. Cuddly Custard Pies

b. Fairy Floss

c. Tongue-Twister Sandwiches

d. Strawberry Sherbet Shake

Your favourite fairy tale is . . .

a. Beauty and the Beast

b. The Frog Prince

c. Jack and the Beanstalk

d. The Emperor’s New Clothes

Your favourite hobby is . . .

a. Keeping fit

b. Drawing pictures of your best yeti and fairy friends

c. Playing with your pet and hanging out with your friends

d. Watching the Great Gothic Gravestone Carve Off

If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

a. Super strength

b. Invisibility

c. Flight

d. Super speed

Your favourite colour is . . .

a. White

b. Black

c. Orange

d. Purple

Your bedroom is . . .

a. Very messy, but you know where everything is

b. Very tidy, you like things in their right places

c. A bit messy, sometimes you don’t have time to tidy up all your books

d. Quite tidy, you need space for your pet pumkin to bounce around, right?

When confronted by danger, do you . . .

a. Charge in, you’re not afraid of anyone or anything!

b. Worry and panic a bit, but then make sure you’re there to help your friends.

c. Consider all the options and then make a plan.

d. See if there’s a mummy maid around to help, and then remember that your friends need you and you would never let them down!

MOSTLY As You’re like FLORENCE

Brave, strong and certain to make an impression!

MOSTLY Bs You’re like GRIMALDI

You may sometimes be a bit of a worrier, but you’re always there for your friends.

MOSTLY Cs You’re like AMELIA

You’re a real leader and a great friend.

MOSTLY Ds You’re like TANGINE

Fun and loyal, but you do like a bit of luxury in your life!

After lunch, Amelia and her friends made their way to the Coughing Classroom, in the deepest recesses of Catacomb Academy, for a brand-new lesson.

‘I WONDER WHAT OUR NEW LESSON IS?’ said Florence.

‘I hope it’s more fun than Zombie Social Studies,’ said Grimaldi.

Amelia giggled. ‘I’m excited to meet our new teacher,’ she said. ‘I heard it might be someone from Glitteropolis!’

Amelia and her friends approached the classroom, where a plump and wrinkly man with thick-rimmed glasses, a big curly moustache and huge fairy wings was waiting by the door.

‘STUDENTS!’ he smiled, his teeth shining blindingly white. ‘Come in, come in! Welcome, welcome!’

Amelia, Florence, Grimaldi and Tangine took seats at the back of the classroom, carefully avoiding any snot that the Coughing Classroom spluttered in their direction.

As Amelia looked around the Coughing Classroom, she noticed it had been adorned from top to bottom with glossy print-outs of Ravishing Recipes and pictures of the new teacher posing with various cooking instruments.

Once the class had settled down, the teacher half-skipped to the front of the classroom and threw his arms out as if he were about to invite everyone over for a great big hug.

‘Hellooooo, students of Catacomb Academy!’ he sang. ‘I am terribly delighted to be joining you all in your wonderfully dark and dismal city of Nocturnia. I’m your new cookery teacher, Mr Sublime!’

‘Oooh, cookery class!’ said Amelia and Tangine in unison.

‘HEH, SOUNDS LIKE MR SLIME,’ Florence guffawed.

‘Florence!’ Amelia whispered, half-smiling.

‘I can’t wait to share some of my favourite Glitteropolan recipes with you. We’re going to have a lot of fun making a LOT of food!’ said Mr Sublime.

Tangine’s eyes lit up and a string of dribble slipped its way down his chin. ‘Hmmmm foooood!’ he gurgled happily.

AHEM!

‘Yes?’ said the teacher, looking round at the students expectantly for more sentiments of appreciation.

‘IT WEREN’T ANY OF US THAT MADE THAT NOISE, MR SLIME. THAT WAS THE ROOM. THAT’S WHY IT’S CALLED THE COUGHING CLASSROOM,’ explained Florence.

‘Oh, I see,’ said Mr Sublime, looking a little ill as he watched a trickle of snot slide down the back wall, between two particularly dramatically posed pictures of himself with a frying pan.

Grimaldi was trying not to laugh.

Amelia elbowed Florence in the belly. ‘You can’t call him Mr Slime!’ she whispered. ‘It’s Mr Sublime!’

Grimaldi and Florence smirked.

Recovering himself, the teacher flung his arms out wide with a flourish. ‘Well, let’s get started with your first cookery class like no other! And do you know WHY it’s like no other?’ Mr Sublime didn’t wait for anyone to answer. ‘Because it has been said by many – not myself, you understand – that I am the BEST cook you’ve ever met or are likely to meet.’

‘That’s quite a statement,’ whispered Grimaldi. ‘I always thought my Grimpapa was the best cook around . . .’

‘I think you’ll find Wooo is definitely the best!’ Amelia replied.

‘Tonight, class, we will be making my favourite recipe!’ continued Mr Sublime.

‘I wonder if it’s Boasting Buns!’ Grimaldi giggled.

‘Oh no . . . we’ll be making those next week,’ said the teacher looking straight at Grimaldi, whose deathly pale cheeks flushed with embarrassment. ‘This week, we’ll be making Sublime Cookies!’

‘HEH, SLIME,’ said Florence.

Tangine rolled his eyes. ‘Are you going to do that every time?’

‘YEH AND WHAT’S IT TO YOU?’ said Florence, nudging Tangine off his plinth.

‘You’ll find a copy of my recipe book It’s SUBLIME Time! on your desks. Find a partner and turn to page fifty-five for the Sublime Cookie recipe,’ said the teacher. ‘All the ingredients you need are in the cupboard at the back of the classroom.’

The sounds of spoons and spatulas clinked and clunked as the class split off into pairs and began cookie-making. Amelia paired with Tangine, who had grabbed five whisks to mix with. Florence and Grimaldi teamed up and seemed more interested in flicking ingredients into Grimaldi’s eye socket than making the cookies.

‘Stop messing around you two,’ said Amelia, as a Perfumed Pea went flying into her mixing bowl.

‘You’ll get us into trouble before we’ve even finished our first lesson! Also, what are you doing with those peas? There aren’t any Perfumed Peas in this recipe . . .’

‘SORRY,’ said Florence, getting ready to shove another Perfumed Pea up Grimaldi’s nose. ‘COOKING S’NOT REALLY MY FING . . .’

‘What?’ said Tangine, raising his eyebrows. ‘But cooking is so fun!’

‘THE EATING PART IS FUN. JUST NOT THE MAKING PART,’ said Florence.

‘Well, keep your peas to yourself,’ Amelia smiled. ‘Tangine and I actually want to cook!’

As Amelia studied the Sublime Cookie recipe, she couldn’t help giggling at the numerous pictures of Mr Sublime in a flowery apron.

‘First, we need to combine one hundred and fifty grams of Sunflower Root with two spatulas of powdered Scorpion Grass . . .’ said Amelia, reading through a list of ingredients. ‘Wow, I’ve never heard of any of these things before.’

‘That’s because they can only be found in the Fairy Forest in the Kingdom of the Light,’ said a voice next to Amelia, making her jump.

‘Oh!’ she exclaimed. ‘Hello, Mr Sublime . . .’

Florence leaned over. ‘HEH, SLI—’

‘Don’t!’ interrupted Tangine, shoving a spatula in Florence’s mouth.

Grimaldi now had around fifty Perfumed Peas in his eye socket.

‘The Fairy Forest is teeming with millions of amazing and mysterious plants. Even I, an expert, couldn’t possibly know about them all!’ said Mr Sublime with a smile. ‘What’s your name, young vampire?’

‘Amelia Fang.’

Mr Sublime raised his eyebrows. ‘I believe I’ve heard of you . . .’

‘And I’m Prince Tangine!’ interjected Tangine. ‘You’ve probably most definitely heard of me, because I’m sort of famous.’

‘You’re the daughter of the Count and Countess Fang?’ said Mr Sublime, ignoring Tangine.

‘Oh, yes,’ said Amelia shyly. ‘That’s Mum and Dad.’ Amelia’s chest tightened as she remembered the argument she’d had with her mum the night before.

‘I heard your mother puts on a ravishing Barbaric Ball every year!’ said Mr Sublime. ‘I expect you’ll follow in her frightful footsteps?’

‘Hmmm, she’d love that, but I’m not really into party planning and all that stuff,’ said Amelia, feeling a little deflated. ‘I really want be a Pumpkinologist when I grow up.’

Mr Sublime leaned forward and lowered his voice. ‘Well, Amelia Fang, that’s just wonderful. You remember to follow that cold vampiric heart of yours. You have a dream – don’t let anyone get in the way of that!’

Amelia felt herself smiling from ear to ear. Mr Sublime believed in her!

‘I have dreams too! You can expect HUGE things from me!’ said Tangine, throwing his arms up in the air.

‘Amelia and, er, Prince . . . Tangy, I believe you both have a sublime future ahead of you, and don’t you forget that,’ he added before wandering over to Florence and Grimaldi.

‘OH, HI MR SLIME!’ Florence bellowed. Grimaldi snorted with laughter so hard that the fifty Perfumed Peas flew out of his nostrils and into Amelia and Tangine’s mixing bowl.

‘You’ve ruined our Sublime Cookie mix!’ Amelia groaned.

‘SORRY ’BOUT THAT,’ said Florence. ‘MAY YOUR COOKIES REST IN PEAS . . .’

By the end of the cookery lesson, Amelia and Tangine had made four batches of cookies, whilst Florence and Grimaldi had just made a mess.

‘I hope you’ve all enjoyed your first cookery class with me!’ Mr Sublime beamed as Florence poked another ingredient into Grimaldi’s eye-socket. ‘I have one last exciting announcement . . . I am launching a special competition!’

The pupils murmured with anticipation at the word ‘competition’.

‘A SUBLIME Cookie Competition!’ the teacher enthusiastically projected across the classroom.

‘I ’AD A FEELING IT WOULD BE CALLED SOMEFING LIKE THAT,’ said Florence.

Tangine threw a Sunflower Root at Florence, hitting her between the eyes.

‘All you have to do is make your own version of my Sublime Cookies and sell them to your family and friends,’ said Mr Sublime. ‘The team who sells the most cookies will win a special trip to the Pumpkin Paradise Park!’

Florence lowered the bowl of slime she was about to throw over Tangine. ‘OOO, I’VE ’EARD THAT PLACE IS WELL FUN!’ she said.

‘I’ve heard it’s the BEST!’ Amelia whispered enthusiastically. ‘I’ve always wanted to go!’

Amelia reached out and squeezed Tangine’s hand in excitement. She’d read all about the Pumpkin Paradise Park in her Positively Pumpkin magazine. It was one of the most exciting places in the kingdom, with pumpkin-themed rides, horror hotels, slime pools and the biggest pumpkin patch in all the Kingdom of the Dark.

‘Just so you know, Amelia Fang, I’m going to win this competition,’ said a voice behind her. It was Frankie Steinberg – a total teacher’s pet and the most annoying of Amelia’s classmates.

Amelia gritted her fangs. ‘Hmph. Well, we’ll see about that.’

Amelia simply HAD to win the trip to the Pumpkin Paradise Park. It would be a dream come true. But Frankie would be stiff competition.

The air was thick with the smell of rivalry.

‘You’ll need to split into teams of four . . .’ Mr Sublime continued.

Amelia and Tangine exchanged a glance and a nod, then looked over at messy Florence and Grimaldi. ‘Do you want to be a team of four?’ said Amelia a little hesitantly. ‘It means you’ll have to do actual baking. Not just throwing the ingredients around . . .’

Grimaldi nodded sheepishly, and Florence grinned. ‘WE CAN CHANT ENCOURAGING WORDS WHILE YOU AN’ TANGINE BAKE.’

Amelia sighed. She really hoped Florence wouldn’t ruin their chances of winning the competition.

‘Everybody!’ Mr Sublime sang over the commotion. He paused dramatically and pushed his glasses back up his nose. ‘You have ONE week to bake and sell as many cookies as possible.’

Amelia felt her heart flutter at the thrill of it all.

‘Don’t forget to take your recipe books with you on your way out. All the basic ingredients to make Sublime Cookies are in there, but feel free to add a few more of your own. Be inventive and make the BEST cookies possible! The tastier they are, the more you’ll sell. Also—’

Before Mr Sublime had even finished speaking, the students scrambled over each other to the back of the room, grabbing sacks of Scorpion Grass, Sunflower Root, phials of Fairy Tears and tubs of Rose Petals.

ACHOOOO!

Snot sprayed towards the students at the ingredients table, stopping them in their path.

‘Er, thank you, Classroom,’ Mr Sublime said, wiping down his wings. ‘As I was saying – also . . . I have made a special batch of Sublime Cookies with extra Scorpion Grass for you all to take home on your way out. Consider it a special treat to celebrate our first class together. And look . . . I decorated each one to look like me!’

Even Amelia couldn’t help chuckling as she picked up a cookie iced with Mr Sublime’s face.

‘I’ll see you all again next week, and we can see who has sold the most cookies,’ said Mr Sublime, putting his hands on his hips. ‘Good luck everyone. And don’t forget to have fun!’

Reading tips

The National Literacy Trust is a charity that changes life stories through literacy. We want to get more families reading. It’s fun and children who read in their own time do better at school and later in life. By partnering with McDonald’s we hope to encourage more families to read together.

Here are some top tips for reading with children:

Bring the story to life by using different voices for the characters.

Make your child the author! Stop at exciting moments in the story and ask your child to imagine what happens next.

Make time to read together. Read a bedtime story with your child every night, or set aside a regular time to read with them during the day.

Children of all ages love to hear stories read aloud. Don’t stop reading to your children just because they can read by themselves.

Let your child choose what to read: they’ll be more likely to fall in love with reading if they are able to choose which books they read.

Be a reading role model: children learn from adults, so seeing you enjoying books can be a great inspiration.