The third magical bookwandering adventure in the nationally bestselling Pages & Co. series, featuring Tilly Pages as she journeys to Washington, DC, to wander inside the books at the Library of Congress. Perfect for fans of The Secret Library , Inkheart, and The Land of Stories . Tilly and Oskar embark on an impromptu trip to the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, in search of an elusive group of bookwanderers called the Archivists, who they believe are the key to restoring the balance and saving the British Underlibrary. Along the way, the friends realize that something strange is happening in the world of bookwandering: books are disappearing, people are forgetting their favorite stories, and stories are trying to drag Tilly into them. With a mysterious set of clues and some surprising new faces, Tilly and Oskar will need the help of some of their dearest fictional friends to be able to solve the mystery . . . and save bookwandering forever. Praise for Pages & Co.: The Bookwanderers : A USA Today Bestseller! A Barnes & Noble Book of the Month! A Fall 2019 Kids' Indie Next List Pick! "Mr. Lemoncello would love to go bookwandering at Pages and Co. If you love books, you're going to LOVE this book!"-- Chris Grabenstein, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Mr. Lemoncello series *"Highly recommended for readers young and old. An important reminder of the centrality of stories in shaping our lives." -- School Library Journal , starred review "A loving testament to the powerful magic of books and imagination." -- Kirkus Reviews "An affectionate ode to books and book lovers." -- Publishers Weekly "Delightful! A Joy of a book."-- Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Girl of Ink & Stars "A thrilling, inventive, book-lover's delight."-- Matt Haig, author of A Boy Called Christmas Anna James is a writer and journalist. She was a school librarian before joining The Bookseller as their book news editor. She now writes for a variety of newspapers and magazines, and chairs events at bookshops and literary festivals across the UK. She lives in north London, in a flat full of books. 1 A Proper Plan “I’m looking for a book.” Matilda Pages and her grandad looked up from writing recommendations cards for the shelves to see a man standing in front of them at the counter of Pages & Co. The shop was quiet as golden-hour sunlight dripped in through the tall windows so everything felt sleepy and peaceful. “Well, we can definitely help you with that,” Grandad said, glad of a customer. “Which book was it?” “I can’t quite remember the title, I’m afraid,” the man went on. “Or the author, now I come to think about it. But I know that it has a blue cover. Or at least I think so.” “Can you remember anything about what’s inside?” Grandad said encouragingly. Tilly grinned: she loved watching him work out which book someone wanted from whatever tiny bits of information they could remember. “Not really . . .” the man said vaguely. “How strange! I came to the shop specifically to pick this book up—it was my favorite when I was little, or was it my mum’s favorite? It slips my mind. And now I’m here I can’t remember the first thing about it. Maybe it wasn’t so special after all . . .” “Sounds like it meant a lot to you once upon a time,” Grandad said. “I’m sure I can make some educated guesses if you can remember anything at all, or maybe we could help you find something different to read?” “That’s very kind of you,” the man said politely, although he was already glancing back at the door. “But honestly—and I know this is the wrong thing to say in a bookshop—I just don’t seem to care anymore.” Grandad raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude,” the man went on. “It’s just the more I think about it, the more I’m confused about what I even came in for.” “A book,” Grandad reminded him. “With a blue cover.” “I’m not sure it even was blue,” the man said, shrugging. “Oh well, thank you for your help.” And with that he was gone. “How peculiar,” Grandad said. “People can’t remember what they’re looking for all the time though,” Tilly pointed out. “Yes, but usually if they’ve bothered to make it into the bookshop they’re a little more persistent, sometimes even quite annoyed that we can’t immediately identify what they’re looking for. He just seemed to forget what he even wanted as we spoke.” “Actually, there was another customer like that,” Tilly said, remembering. “The other day a woman was just standing staring at a bookshelf for about ten minutes, not picking up any books or anything, and when I asked if I could help her find something, she said she wasn’t sure, and then wandered off.” “Yes, very strange,” Grandad said, but his attention had been distracted by a list of numbers on the screen of the till, his brow furrowed in concern. “Well, let’s hope it’s not a trend,” he said. “We’ve been selling fewer and fewer books over the last couple of months. Maybe it
