The Song of Seven - (Pushkin Children's Classics) by Tonke Dragt (Paperback)

About the Book

Deep in the woods, in a crooked house full of stairs, a young boy is kept prisoner by his uncle. He cannot meet other children, or have any friends. He holds the key to a secret. Meanwhile, in a quiet village, Frans the schoolteacher invents incredible stories of perilous deeds, shipwrecks, desert islands, and haunted castles to entertain his pupils, in which he is the hero. Then one stormy evening, a mysterious letter blows onto his doormat, summoning him to a meeting. Suddenly, Frans is on a real-life mission, one in which he will encounter magicians, secret passages, conspiracies, hidden treasure, a black cat with green eyes and a sealed parchment which predicts the future. He will learn the secret of the Seven Ways. He will find seven allies. And he will make a fearsome enemy. The adventure has begun ...

Book Synopsis

A magical adventure about everyday heroes and the power of music, from the author of The Letter to the King

Deep in the woods, a young boy is kept prisoner by his uncle. He cannot meet other children, or have any friends. He holds the key to a secret. Meanwhile, in a quiet village, Frans the schoolteacher invents stories of the perilous deeds, shipwrecks, desert islands, and haunted castles faced by his heroic alter ego, Frans the Red, to entertain his pupils. Then one stormy evening, too tired to invent something new, Frans fobs his students off with the invented excuse of awaiting an important letter - only when he gets home, a letter really does blow onto his doormat, summoning him to a meeting.
Suddenly, Frans is on a real-life mission to liberate the boy in the woods, a mission on which he will encounter magicians, secret passages, conspiracies, hidden treasure and a sealed parchment which predicts the future. He will learn the secret of the Seven Ways. He will find seven allies. And he will make a fearsome enemy.
Featuring prophecies, wise herbalists, dilapidated coaches and a magical song that proves the solution to all of Frans's problems, this classic adventure shows that our everyday selves can be every bit as heroic as the parts we play in our most swashbuckling fantasies.

Review Quotes

"Enchanting. . . Dragt's tale is a curious, magical adventure that will appeal to those who love Tolkien and Lloyd Alexander." -- Booklist (starred review)

"Dragt's twisty, light mystery tale has the charm of an old classic (which it is, having been published originally in Dutch in 1967). The pleasure in this whimsically Kafkaesque tale is in its unfolding. . . the slow reveals will keep the pages turning for fans of Elizabeth Enright and E. Nesbit." -- Kirkus Reviews

"A cracking adventure... so nail-biting you'll need to wear protective gloves." -- The Times

"A wandering, winding ballad with occasional joyous percussion, to the spell of which the reader can't help but succumb." - Guardian

"A riveting story." -- The Bay

"A magical, strange gripping tale about a teacher and his class who help a boy, kept virtual prisoner by his wicked uncle, to find treasure, friends and liberation." -- Spectator

Praise for The Letter for the King A Sunday Times, Metro and Times Book of the Year; 'A true page-turner' Sunday Times; 'Thrilling' Daily Telegraph; 'A pulse-pounding epic' Metro; 'Spellbinding' Financial Times; 'A cracker' Spectator.

Praise for The Secrets of the Wild Wood A Daily Telegraph and Sunday Times Book of the Year; 'Action-packed drama' Daily Mail; 'Thrilling' Metro; 'A spellbinding tale that will appeal to the young and old' The Lady

About the Author

Tonke Dragt was born in Jakarta in 1930 and spent most of her childhood in Indonesia. Her family moved to the Netherlands after the war and, after studying at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, Dragt became an art teacher. She published her first book in 1961, followed a year later by The Letter for the King, which won the Children's Book of the Year award and has been translated into sixteen languages. Dragt was awarded the State Prize for Youth Literature in 1976 and was knighted in 2001. She died in 2024.

Laura Watkinson is a British literary translator. She has translated works from Dutch, Italian and German, and resides in the Netherlands.