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ADVANCE INFORMATION

Sofkaandthe

Crusader

MaxSimov

KEY SELLING POINTS

A fantasy story filled with Ukraine’s rich folklore and tradition.
Follow nine-year-old Sofka on an exciting and mysterious adventure.
SetintheNorthernCaucasus(SouthernRussia)inhabitedbypeopleofdifferentethnicitiesandfaithsallof
which impacts on the main characters’ perceptions and behaviour.

The Northern Caucasus, land of mountains and legends, is home to a nine-year-old girl Sofka, her Ukrainian
fatherandherbrother.Sofkaseeksexcitingadventuresintheworld outsideherfrontdoorbut is terrifiedof the
crusaderspiderswhoinhabitthefamily’southouse.Inherdreams,shehearsthesadstoryofthespiders’fate
somecenturiesago andasa resultdevelopsafriendshipwithone of thespiders.

WhenthechildrentraveltoUkraine tovisit theiraunt,Sofkaistasked by thespidertohelpthesad maiden, who
appears by an overgrown pond at midnight, to find her evil stepmother. The stepmother cursed the maiden’s
familyandruinedtheirlives. ButSofkais terrified. Thetaskseemsimpossibleforherto carryout.Shetellsthe
spider she won’t do it. Will the spider persuade her?

Max Simov (realnameSvetlanaCarsten)is alinguistwholives inYork butgrewup in theNorthernCaucasus,
Southern Russia. The amazing events of Max’s own childhood provided the inspiration for this and the previous
children’s book, The Fruit Thieves, which was published in 2020.

Comparative title: 9781838595364 Fruit Thieves (Sept 20)

Publication Date: 28th November 2024 £9.99 ISBN: 9781836280415
Thema subject category: YFC – Children’s / Teenage fiction: Action and adventure stories
paperback 198 x 129 mm 176 pp Portrait Author location: York

Sales: Star Book Sales LLP
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