The Word-Keeper: A Book For Children About The Power of Words

An engaging and important middle-grade fantasy about the importance of language, and the need to defend it.

The Word Keeper Synopsis

A book that celebrates honesty, empathy, compassion and that encourages children to be authentic and to follow their dreams.

Set in the whimsical town of Inkwell, a place with an ancient secret history, this fairytale-like adventure uncovers the key to the power hidden within words.

'The Word-Keeper' is the tale of a savvy bookmark named Ben that unwillingly becomes an evil imp with only one objective: destroy the words that live inside books.

Only one girl can stop him. Her name is Florence Ibbot.  She is 11 years old, oddly eloquent and a quiet observer of the world.  But above all, Florence is a keen logophile and is willing to sacrifice everything to protect the words.

She sets out to discover who is behind all this. The journey will take her to the origins of writing and inspiration.  But she’ll also have to face the most treacherous adversary, Zyler, a ruthless sorceress whose sole mission is to ruin one of humankind’s most precious possessions: the gift of language.

As the final battle approaches, Florence will have to learn how to wield words instead of the sword. Is Florence brave enough to become who she was born to be?

My Thoughts on The Word-Keeper

With beautiful illustrations, a magical story and delicious dialect, there is nothing not to love about this book.

We follow the story of a young girl who visits her grandpa in the village of Inkwell and we soon find out that the book is truly magical when Florence's bookmark that she makes, Ben, comes to life.

As the story is written about the Word-Keeper, you will be treated to some really fabulous words of the English dictionary, some that just roll off the tongue, some you will want to use and some you will need to look up I'm sure.

A real treat for any bookworm.

A unique story with a traditional good verse bad outcome, this book will be one that is read over and over again.

What I found remarkable is Veronica's wonderful ability for storytelling and hard to believe that this is her debut novel!  I so look forward to sharing many more stories by Veronica del Valle with my son.

The Word-Keeper and residences of Inkwell remain with you, in your thoughts, well after the story has ended, and for me, that is a sign of a truly well-written book.

A lovely novel with a traditional good verse evil story-line, complete with magic and anticipation, a must-read for all young adults, and families who love to read.

About the Author Veronica Del Valle

VERONICA DEL VALLE is a journalist and creative writing teacher living in Buenos Aires. She grew up in Argentina but lived in London for many years.  In London, she earned her MA in creative writing at Kingston University, studied Creative Writing with Elise Valmorbida at Central Saint Martins and worked as a communications consultant, journalist and editor.

Veronica always had a fondness for words, language and the magic of storytelling, which is why, when she came to writing her first novel, it had to be about the importance of books.

The Word-Keeper is published by SilverWood Books and is available at all good bookshops and online outlets in paperback and ebook.