The Story Thief

 
　　獻給喜歡沉浸在閱讀小宇宙的孩子們，一則關於「愛書人」的故事。
 
　　奧莉薇住在濱海的小鎮，是個非常、非常愛書的小女孩，她經常和爸爸一起拜訪圖書館。手上拿著書的時候，奧莉薇的小臉蛋總是映照著魔法般的光芒！這一天，從圖書館回來的路上，有本書一不小心噗通地掉進海裡，恰巧落入一隻「大海怪」的手中。
 
　　大海怪覺得這東西真漂亮，很想知道這究竟是什麼好東西，是戴在頭上的裝飾品、美味的點心，還是……？他恐怕需要更多研究的樣本，才能解開這個謎團……哎呀，鎮上好多人的書，就這樣莫名消失了！
 
　　奧莉薇與這名偷書賊勢不兩立，瘋狂地想找回這些書。但，該如何說服大海怪歸還這些好東西呢？聰明的奧莉薇，會如何進行這筆交易？

　　From Waterstones Book Prize shortlisted Graham Carter comes this story perfect for little bookworms, and those who haven't quite discovered the magic of books yet...
Olive is a shy girl who prefers reading about adventures to having them herself. But when a mysterious figure steals all of the books in town, Olive is forced straight into an adventure of her own. The thief, meanwhile, doesn’t quite know what to do with the stories he’s stolen. Olive must track down the thief and teach him the joys of reading - and sharing - stories.

　　Review
　　Graham Carter’s illustrations are a visual delight... For anyone who loves stories, the joy in this book is that shy Olive becomes the intrepid explorer, inspired by the characters she has read about -- Nikki Gamble ― Just Imagine

　　Another funny, exciting and inspiring adventure. Graham Carter’s vivid, colourful illustrations glow with energy and are full of wonderful, intriguing details. Octopus himself is a triumph, and children will be delighted at the different uses he finds for books! -- Andrea Reece ― LoveReading4Kids

　　You will most definitely embark on a fun filled journey at the turn of each page. A wonderful addition to any bookworm's library ― LittleC_ReadingCorner

　　This book is all kinds of wonderful! It captures the magic and wonder of reading so perfectly through a funny and adventurous story, stunning artwork and characters to completely fall in love with. The Story Thief is an instant classic and will be read here for a very very long time to come. It’s brilliant. ― We(e) Read(s)

　　Carter's bold colour-saturated illustrations fill each spread using all the dynamics... a very enjoyable picture book ― Books for Keeps

　　Graham Carter's illustrations can be spotted in a wide variety of publications such as The New Scientist, The Guardian and The Sunday Times. His debut picture book, Otto Blotter, Bird Spotter, was shortlisted for the Waterstones Book Prize 2020. Graham lives Seaford with his wife and son, and can often be found printing, sketching and making a mess in his studio in Brighton.