We look forward to seeing you on your next visit to the library. Find a location near you.

The Silver Arrow
(Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read)

Book Cover
Average Rating
5 star
 
(2)
4 star
 
(1)
3 star
 
(0)
2 star
 
(0)
1 star
 
(0)
Series:
Silver Arrow volume 1.
Published:
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers 2020
Accelerated Reader:
IL: MG - BL: 4.9 - AR Pts: 5
Lexile measure:
740L
Status:
Available from OverDrive
Description
New York Times bestseller!
A PeopleMagazine Best Book of the Year
An Apple Best Book of the Year
An Amazon Best Book of the Year
"I loved every page. This is middle grade fiction at its best."– Ann Patchett
  From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Magicians comes a must-read, wholly original middle-grade debut perfect for fans of The Chronicles of Narnia and Roald Dahl.
Dear Uncle Herbert,
You've never met me, but I'm your niece Kate, and since it is my birthday tomorrow and you are super-rich could you please send me a present?
Kate and her younger brother Tom lead dull, uninteresting lives. And if their dull, uninteresting parents are anything to go by, they don't have much to look forward to. Why can't Kate have thrilling adventures and save the world the way people do in books? Even her 11th birthday is shaping up to be mundane — that is, until her mysterious and highly irresponsible Uncle Herbert, whom she's never even met before, surprises her with the most unexpected, exhilarating, inappropriate birthday present of all time: a colossal steam locomotive called the Silver Arrow.
Kate and Tom's parents want to send it right back where it came from. But Kate and Tom have other ideas — and so does the Silver Arrow — and soon they're off to distant lands along magical rail lines in the company of an assortment of exotic animals who, it turns out, can talk. With only curiosity, excitement, their own resourcefulness and the thrill of the unknown to guide them, Kate and Tom are on the adventure of a lifetime . . . and who knows? They just might end up saving the world after all.
This thrilling fantasy adventure will not only entertain young readers but inspire them to see the beautiful, exciting, and precious world around them with new eyes.
Also in This Series
Formats
Adobe EPUB eBook
Works on all eReaders (except Kindles), desktop computers and mobile devices with reading apps installed.
Kindle Book
Works on Kindles and devices with a Kindle app installed.
OverDrive Read
Need Help?
If you are having problem transferring a title to your device, please fill out this support form or visit the library so we can help you to use our eBooks and eAudio Books.
More Like This
Other Editions and Formats
More Copies In LINK+
Loading LINK+ Copies...
More Details
Format:
Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read
Street Date:
09/01/2020
Language:
English
ISBN:
9780316539524
ASIN:
B083J1567W
Accelerated Reader:
MG
Level 4.9, 5 Points
Lexile measure:
740
Reviews from GoodReads
Loading GoodReads Reviews.
Citations
APA Citation (style guide)

Lev Grossman. (2020). The Silver Arrow. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)

Lev Grossman. 2020. The Silver Arrow. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)

Lev Grossman, The Silver Arrow. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2020.

MLA Citation (style guide)

Lev Grossman. The Silver Arrow. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2020.

Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
Copy Details
LibraryOwnedAvailable
Shared Digital Collection11
Staff View
Grouped Work ID:
e4b37239-3dba-90d9-238c-d1fc49bf4d5f
Go To Grouped Work
Needs Update?:
No
Date Added:
Aug 26, 2020 15:51:23
Date Updated:
Mar 17, 2023 11:33:00
Last Metadata Check:
Apr 14, 2024 14:33:26
Last Metadata Change:
Nov 10, 2023 15:43:57
Last Availability Check:
Apr 14, 2024 14:33:29
Last Availability Change:
Apr 03, 2024 07:15:03
Last Grouped Work Modification Time:
Apr 18, 2024 02:10:20

OverDrive Product Record

readingOrder
1
images
    • cover:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/0017-1/{7ED4EB62-DD84-4F9E-A441-8C9804D82876}Img100.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
    • thumbnail:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-200/0017-1/{7ED4EB62-DD84-4F9E-A441-8C9804D82876}Img200.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover150Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-150/0017-1/7ED/4EB/62/{7ED4EB62-DD84-4F9E-A441-8C9804D82876}Img150.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover300Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/0017-1/7ED/4EB/62/{7ED4EB62-DD84-4F9E-A441-8C9804D82876}Img400.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
formats
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9780316539524
      • name: Adobe EPUB eBook
      • id: ebook-epub-adobe
      • identifiers:
            • type: ASIN
            • value: B083J1567W
      • name: Kindle Book
      • id: ebook-kindle
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9780316539524
      • name: OverDrive Read
      • id: ebook-overdrive
otherFormatIdentifiers
      • type: ISBN
      • value: 9780316539531
mediaType
eBook
primaryCreator
    • role: Author
    • name: Lev Grossman
isOwnedByCollections
True
title
The Silver Arrow
seriesId
1417175
dateAdded
2020-08-26T20:28:00Z
contentDetails
      • href: https://link.overdrive.com/?websiteID=141&titleID=5208442
      • type: text/html
      • account:
          • name: Sacramento Public Library (CA)
          • id: 1151
sortTitle
Silver Arrow Silver Arrow Series Book 01
crossRefId
5208442
series
Silver Arrow
id
7ED4EB62-DD84-4F9E-A441-8C9804D82876
starRating
4

OverDrive MetaData

interestLevel
MG
isPublicDomain
False
formats
      • fileName: TheSilverArrow_9780316539524_5208442
      • partCount: 0
      • fileSize: 65442833
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9780316539524
      • rights:
            • type: Copying
            • value: 0
            • type: Printing
            • value: 0
            • type: Lending
            • value: 0
            • type: ReadAloud
            • value: 0
            • type: ExpirationRights
            • value: 0
      • name: Adobe EPUB eBook
      • isReadAlong: False
      • id: ebook-epub-adobe
      • onSaleDate: 9/1/2020
      • samples:
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: ebook-overdrive
            • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=7ed4eb62-dd84-4f9e-a441-8c9804d82876&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
      • fileName: TheSilverArrow_5208442
      • partCount: 0
      • fileSize: 0
      • identifiers:
            • type: ASIN
            • value: B083J1567W
      • name: Kindle Book
      • isReadAlong: False
      • id: ebook-kindle
      • onSaleDate: 9/1/2020
      • samples:
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: ebook-overdrive
            • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=7ed4eb62-dd84-4f9e-a441-8c9804d82876&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
      • fileName: TheSilverArrow_9780316539524_5208442
      • partCount: 0
      • fileSize: 0
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9780316539524
      • name: OverDrive Read
      • isReadAlong: False
      • id: ebook-overdrive
      • onSaleDate: 9/1/2020
      • samples:
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: ebook-overdrive
            • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=7ed4eb62-dd84-4f9e-a441-8c9804d82876&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
creators
      • role: Author
      • fileAs: Grossman, Lev
      • bioText: Lev Grossman is the author of five novels including the #1 New York Times bestselling Magicians trilogy, which has been published in 30 countries. A TV adaptation of the trilogy is now in its fifth season as the top-rated show on Syfy. Grossman is also an award-winning journalist who spent 15 years as the book critic and lead technology writer at Time magazine, where he published more than 20 cover stories. In addition he has written for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Wired, The Believer, TheVillage Voice, NPR, Salon, Slate, and Buzzfeed, among many others. He lives in New York City with his wife and three children.
      • name: Lev Grossman
publishDate
2020-09-01T00:00:00-04:00
isOwnedByCollections
True
title
The Silver Arrow
fullDescription
New York Times bestseller!
A PeopleMagazine Best Book of the Year
An Apple Best Book of the Year
An Amazon Best Book of the Year
"I loved every page. This is middle grade fiction at its best."– Ann Patchett
  From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Magicians comes a must-read, wholly original middle-grade debut perfect for fans of The Chronicles of Narnia and Roald Dahl.
Dear Uncle Herbert,
You've never met me, but I'm your niece Kate, and since it is my birthday tomorrow and you are super-rich could you please send me a present?
Kate and her younger brother Tom lead dull, uninteresting lives. And if their dull, uninteresting parents are anything to go by, they don't have much to look forward to. Why can't Kate have thrilling adventures and save the world the way people do in books? Even her 11th birthday is shaping up to be mundane — that is, until her mysterious and highly irresponsible Uncle Herbert, whom she's never even met before, surprises her with the most unexpected, exhilarating, inappropriate birthday present of all time: a colossal steam locomotive called the Silver Arrow.
Kate and Tom's parents want to send it right back where it came from. But Kate and Tom have other ideas — and so does the Silver Arrow — and soon they're off to distant lands along magical rail lines in the company of an assortment of exotic animals who, it turns out, can talk. With only curiosity, excitement, their own resourcefulness and the thrill of the unknown to guide them, Kate and Tom are on the adventure of a lifetime . . . and who knows? They just might end up saving the world after all.
This thrilling fantasy adventure will not only entertain young readers but inspire them to see the beautiful, exciting, and precious world around them with new eyes.
seriesId
1417175
gradeLevels
      • value: Grade 3
      • value: Grade 4
reviews
      • premium: True
      • source: Publisher's Weekly
      • content:

        July 20, 2020
        Blending elements of conservation and magic, Grossman (The Magicians, for adults) crafts a timeless-feeling, Travers-tinged adventure in his middle grade debut. On her 11th birthday, Kate’s uncle Herbert, “very rich and totally irresponsible,” gives her an unexpected present: a life-size steam locomotive named the Silver Arrow. Kate and her younger brother Tom, finding the train fueled, are soon swept away by the sentient locomotive—which communicates with them via printed messages—first to acquire a selection of train cars (including delightfully stuffed candy and library compartments), and then to serve as conductors on an international rail system that transports talking animals, large and small, to new habitats. While learning to run the train and solve problems on their own, the siblings bond with myriad passengers and begin to understand global issues surrounding endangered and invasive species, habitat loss, and environmental stewardship. Though it’s unclear why the magic train burns coal—a nonrenewable resource—in service of otherwise strong ecological messaging, whimsical details and well-wrought moments of adventure are neverthless certain to draw young readers. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8–up.

      • premium: True
      • source: Booklist
      • content:

        Starred review from August 1, 2020
        Grades 4-7 *Starred Review* Eleven-year-old Kate longs for something more than her humdrum, normal-kid existence, and it arrives in the form of her eccentric Uncle Herbert, who has a birthday present in tow: a life-sized steam engine, the splendid Silver Arrow. When Kate and her brother notice a glow coming from the engine, they climb aboard, and the train lurches to life. Thus the bewildered siblings are sent on the mission of a lifetime, collecting ticketed animals at each stop and transporting them safely to their destinations. It's an initially cheerful premise?the children learn how to operate the magical locomotive, which communicates via cheeky printouts, and the various animals are chatty and charming. As the train puffs on, however, it becomes clear these are desperate trips for the passengers, who are relocating from endangered habitats to keep their species alive. Grossman's gorgeous middle-grade debut is vivid and amusing, and despite delightful shades of Dahl's whimsy and Pinkwater's wry directness, it's a world all its own. This gentle introduction to the complexities of life on this planet is a critical reminder not to despair over the enormity of human responsibility but to face it with joy and marvel at the magic that the world holds. It's a kind and clear message that all children?and their grownups?should take to heart.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

      • premium: True
      • source: School Library Journal
      • content:

        September 25, 2020

        Gr 3-7-Kate's 11th birthday is approaching, and she's bored. She longs to live the kind of adventures she reads about. Figuring she has nothing to lose, she emails a wealthy, mysterious uncle she's never met, Herbert, and asks him for a birthday present. He delivers in grand style, showing up in person and presenting Kate with a train, an actual full-size steam locomotive-the titular Silver Arrow-that takes her and her brother, Tom, on a magical journey. Traveling on enchanted rail lines, Kate and Tom transport a bevy of talking animals around the globe and must use their imaginations and problem-solving skills to get themselves home again eventually. Environmental messages are woven throughout in entertaining and age-appropriate ways (invasive species attempt a minor coup, a baby pangolin requires such stringent protection from traffickers that it has to be removed from the space-time continuum altogether). VERDICT Readers of all ages who share the protagonist's fondness for "books about ordinary people who find out that magic is real" will devour this charming adventure story.-Stephanie Klose, Library Journal

        Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

      • premium: True
      • source: Kirkus
      • content:

        Starred review from July 15, 2020
        The best birthday present is a magical train full of talking animals--and a new job. On Kate's 11th birthday, she's surprised by the arrival of rich Uncle Herbert. Uncle Herbert bears a gift: a train. Not a toy train, a 102.36-ton steam engine, with cars that come later. When Kate and her brother, Tom, both white, play in the cab of the Silver Arrow, the train starts up, zooming to a platform packed with animals holding tickets. Thus begins Kate and Tom's hard work: They learn to conduct the train and feed the fire box, instructed by the Silver Arrow, which speaks via printed paper tape. The Silver Arrow is a glorious playground: The library car is chockablock with books while the candy car is brimful of gobstoppers and gummy bears. But amid the excitement of whistle-blowing and train conducting, Kate and Tom learn quiet messages from their animal friends. Some species, like gray squirrels and starlings, are "invaders." The too-thin polar bear's train platform has melted, leaving it almost drowned. Their new calling is more than just feeding the coal box--they need to find a new balance in a damaged world. "Feeling guilty doesn't help anything," the mamba tells them. Humans have survived so effectively they've taken over the world; now, he says, "you just have to take care of it." (Illustrations not seen.) Both cozy and inspiring, this eco-fable conveys both grim truths and a defiant call to action. (Fantasy. 8-10)

        COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

popularity
1150
links
    • self:
        • href: https://api.overdrive.com/v1/collections/v1L1BWwAAAA2I/products/7ed4eb62-dd84-4f9e-a441-8c9804d82876/metadata
        • type: application/vnd.overdrive.api+json
id
7ed4eb62-dd84-4f9e-a441-8c9804d82876
starRating
4
readingOrder
1
images
    • cover:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/0017-1/{7ED4EB62-DD84-4F9E-A441-8C9804D82876}Img100.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
    • thumbnail:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-200/0017-1/{7ED4EB62-DD84-4F9E-A441-8C9804D82876}Img200.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover150Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-150/0017-1/7ED/4EB/62/{7ED4EB62-DD84-4F9E-A441-8C9804D82876}Img150.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover300Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/0017-1/7ED/4EB/62/{7ED4EB62-DD84-4F9E-A441-8C9804D82876}Img400.jpg
        • type: image/jpeg
isPublicPerformanceAllowed
False
languages
      • code: en
      • name: English
subjects
      • value: Fantasy
      • value: Juvenile Fiction
      • value: Juvenile Literature
publishDateText
09/01/2020
otherFormatIdentifiers
      • type: ISBN
      • value: 9780316539531
mediaType
eBook
shortDescription
New York Times bestseller!
A PeopleMagazine Best Book of the Year
An Apple Best Book of the Year
An Amazon Best Book of the Year
"I loved every page. This is middle grade fiction at its best."– Ann Patchett
  From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Magicians comes a must-read, wholly original middle-grade debut perfect for fans of The Chronicles of Narnia and Roald Dahl.
Dear Uncle Herbert,
You've never met me, but I'm your niece Kate, and since it is my birthday tomorrow and you are super-rich could you please send me a present?
Kate and her younger brother Tom lead dull, uninteresting lives. And if their dull, uninteresting parents are anything to go by, they don't have much to look forward to. Why can't Kate have thrilling adventures and save the world the way people do in books? Even her 11th birthday is...
sortTitle
Silver Arrow
lexileScore
740
crossRefId
5208442
series
Silver Arrow
publisher
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
atos
4.9
bisacCodes
      • code: JUV002000
      • description: Juvenile Fiction / Animals / General
      • code: JUV013070
      • description: Juvenile Fiction / Family / Siblings
      • code: JUV037000
      • description: JUVENILE FICTION / Fantasy & Magic