The Midnighters

From the bestselling author of The Unadoptables: a stunning adventure about a missing friend, a gothic city, and a secret society full of wonder, invention and maybe a hint of magic . . . 
 
Find the courage to be extraordinary . . . 
 
Ema Vašková has always felt different. In a family of famous scientists, there's not much room for superstition or omens - but they seem to follow Ema wherever she goes. It doesn't help that she appears to predict events before they happen, and has a peculiar fear of shadows . . . 
 
When Ema is sent to stay with her eccentric uncle in Prague, she fears she'll lose the chance to ever fit in. But then she meets Silvie - a girl who finally sees Ema for the extraordinary person that she is. Soon the girls are meeting for secret midnight adventures, and facing Ema's fears together. 
 
But then disaster strikes. Silvie goes missing - and it's up to Ema to find her. Now she must gather the courage to hunt the city, find her friend, and uncover the secrets of the one clue Silvie left as to where she might be - inside the mysterious Midnight Guild . . . 
 
Praise for The Unadoptables: 
 
'A high-speed, witty, absurd and joyful adventure' - Katherine Rundell, author of Rooftoppers and The Explorer 
 
'A corker of a story' - Emma Carroll, author of Letters to the Lighthouse

Adventures beguilingly rich and strange beneath a series of "full-ish" moons

Hana Tooke spends her days writing stories, sculpting puppets, and collecting curiosities. She lives in Bath with two humans, a cat, and a skeleton marionette. Her debut novel, The Unadoptables, was shortlisted for the Bath Children's Novel Award and longlisted for the Branford Boase.

Find the courage to be extraordinary . . . 
 
Ema Vašková has always felt different. In a family of famous scientists, there's not much room for superstition or omens - but they seem to follow Ema wherever she goes. It doesn't help that she appears to predict events before they happen, and has a peculiar fear of shadows . . . 
 
When Ema is sent to stay with her eccentric uncle in Prague, she fears she'll lose the chance to ever fit in. But then she meets Silvie - a girl who finally sees Ema for the extraordinary person that she is. Soon the girls are meeting for secret midnight adventures, and facing Ema's fears together. 
 
But then disaster strikes. Silvie goes missing - and it's up to Ema to find her. Now she must gather the courage to hunt the city, find her friend, and uncover the secrets of the one clue Silvie left as to where she might be - inside the mysterious Midnight Guild . . .

Five fantastic children on the adventure of a lifetime

The Unadoptables

"A compelling, gorgeously-written story about the power of friendship and the true meaning of family . . . perfection!" Robin Stevens, author of Murder Most Unladylike 
 
"A high-speed, witty, absurd and joyful adventure." Katherine Rundell, author of Rooftoppers and The Good Thieves 
 
The remarkable. The extraordinary. The brave. 
 
Way back in the autumn of 1880, five babies are discovered at the Little Tulip Orphanage in most unusual circumstances. Those babies are Lotta, Egbert, Fenna, Sem and Milou. 
The vile matron calls the children 'the unadoptables' but this talented gang of best friends know that their individuality is what makes them so special - and so determined to stay together. 
When a sinister gentleman tries to get them in his clutches, the children make a daring escape across the frozen canals of Amsterdam, embarking on an adventure packed with pirate ships and puppets. But is their real home - and their real family - already closer than they realize? 
 
"A corker of a story." Emma Carroll, author of Letters to the Lighthouse 
 
"A book to absolutely fall in love with." Cerrie Burnell, author of The Girl with the Shark's Teeth

A high-speed, witty, absurd and joyful adventure

Katherine Rundell, author of Rooftoppers and The Explorer

Robin Stevens, author of the bestselling Murder Most Unladylike series

Emma Carroll, author of Letters to the Lighthouse

Cerrie Burnell, author of The Girl With the Shark's Teeth

A compelling, gorgeously-written story about the power of friendship and the true meaning of family. It's a mystery with a hint of magic, featuring characters who feel entirely real ... perfection!

I adored this story from the very first page. Sleek as Amsterdam velvet and full of heart-clutching mysteries, moonlit escapes on frozen canals, puppets with heartbeats and secret messages engraved upon pocket watches. Follow Milou and her adopted family on a glorious adventure as they race through the streets of Amsterdam, determined to fight for their freedom with spectacular wit, dazzling theatrical wonder and huge amount of hope, courage and everlasting friendship. A book to absolutely fall in love with.

A corker of a story. I loved the writing, the setting, the STUPENDOUS action scenes, how well-paced it was, with such drama, revelations, plot twists and the loveliest of final lines... and one of the most satisfying endings I've read in a long while, with the promise of more in the epilogue. Bravo, Hana - what a book!

This delicious debut had me reading late into the night... Beautiful but accessible writing, thrilling action, a hint of magic and unforgettable characters are delivered with wit, wisdom and heart in an enviably distinct voice. It's a story of unforgettable friendship and what it really means to be a family... I can't wait to see what Tooke does next.

The Bookseller, Children's Book of the Month

Effortlessly merging the gothic and ghastly with the eccentric and absurd, Hana Tooke's mesmerising debut sends a quintet of abandoned orphans off on a caper across nineteenth-century Amsterdam, complete with sinister supervillains, heart-in-mouth cliff-hangers and lashings of evocative period flavour.

Waterstones Blog, 'Best Books to Look Out For in 2020'

While the vivid, Dickensian setting - grim orphanage, icy mists, and shadowy dockyards - and quaint clockwork creations and life-size puppets spin a web of Gothic creepiness, the bonds among this found family of lively orphans add plenty of warmth and light. Unfolding with the clarity of a fairy tale, this sure-footed debut casts a delightfully spooky spell

Offbeat orphans! Sinister villains! Sort of creepy life-sized puppets! In her debut middle-grade book, Hana Tooke has crafted a terrific, atmospheric story wherein five 'unadoptable' orphans, each of whom showed up in the orphanage in very unusual ways and have unique not-quite-powers, are about to be taken in by the callous Rotman for nefarious purposes and must go on the run. The Unadoptables will make you wish your own parents had loved you enough to leave you at a Dutch orphanage in the 19th century to join in their adventures. Great for readers of A Series of Unfortunate Events and the Serafina series.

When Milou discovers the orphanage matron's plot to sell her and her friends to a nefarious figure, she hatches an escape plan. Using only the clues left with her as a baby (a coffin-shaped basket, a cat puppet, a velvet dress), Milou and her friends dive headlong into a new adventure outside the orphanage's walls. The Unadoptables has everything: evil ship captains, lifelike puppets, a charming Dutch setting complete with windmills and canals, a ragtag group of orphans looking for a family, and a mystery at the heart of it all. Perfect for reading out loud, and just the right amount of scary, this has the feel of a classic in the making.

The world building in The Unadoptables was absolutely unforgettable. This book has everything you need: villians, action, comedy and adventure all rolled into one. Perfect for fans of Nevermoor and Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom.

In a cold, dark, Amsterdam winter, a group of unique orphans shine brightly with hope and love. Milou and her band of talented friends set out from the Little Tulip Orphanage on a quest for freedom and family, over frozen canals to evade a despicable villain. With a little bit of spookiness and a whole lot of quirkiness, this book will capture your heart!

Targeted in a wicked scheme, five resourceful kids flee their orphanage in 1892 Amsterdam. Each longs to be adopted, but would-be parents reject them when they see the kids' atypical attributes: Lotta's 12 fingers, Egg's East Asian ancestry (other characters default to white), Fenna's muteness, clumsy Sem's ears, and Milou's wild ferocity. That is, until sinister Meneer Rotman sees their remarkable gifts - but Milou's special sense warns her that Rotman's evil. 
 
Indeed: They discover he intends to buy them as slave labor to crew his ship. Milou, who keeps a Book of Theories regarding why her birth family hasn't claimed her, persuades them to escape to the puppet-making Poppenmaker family she's sure she belongs to. Loyal if not convinced, the others join her. Lotta's math and Egg's cartographic acumen help them follow coordinates on Milou's mysterious timepiece to the Poppenmakers' windmill home and puppet theater, now abandoned. Thanks to Lotta's technical ingenuity, Egg's artistry, Fenna's culinary prowess, and Sem's needlework-assisted by clockmaker and dike warden Edda Finkelstein - it's almost home. Then Milou forgets the other orphans have family longings, and the orphans discover Rotman has not forgotten them....While the vivid, Dickensian setting - grim orphanage, icy mists, and shadowy dockyards - and quaint clockwork creations and life-size puppets spin a web of Gothic creepiness, the bonds among this found family of lively orphans add plenty of warmth and light. Unfolding with the clarity of a fairy tale, this sure-footed debut casts a delightfully spooky spell.

Hana Tooke (Author) Hana Tooke grew up on a polder near Amsterdam, in a house filled with peculiar clocks and a head filled with a peculiar imagination. She's been a singer, a teacher, and even a mad-scientist, but these days she spends her days writing stories, sculpting puppets, and collecting curiosities. She lives in Bath with two humans, a cat, and a skeleton marionette. 
Her debut novel, The Unadoptables, was shortlisted for the Bath Children's Novel Award and longlisted for the Branford Boase. Ayesha L. Rubio (Illustrator) Ayesha L. Rubio was born in Madrid. She studied Fine Arts in Spain and England before beginning her work as an illustrator. She has three books of her own and has embarked on new adventures in the world of animation.

The remarkable. The extraordinary. The brave. 
 
Way back in the autumn of 1880, five babies are discovered at the Little Tulip Orphanage in most unusual circumstances. Those babies are Lotta, Egbert, Fenna, Sem and Milou. 
The vile matron calls the children 'the unadoptables' but this talented gang of best friends know that their individuality is what makes them so special - and so determined to stay together. 
When a sinister gentleman tries to get them in his clutches, the children make a daring escape across the frozen canals of Amsterdam, embarking on an adventure packed with pirate ships and puppets. But is their real home - and their real family - already closer than they realize?

Hana Tooke

Dark, delicious and extraordinary. An inventive, page-turning story with a fabulous cast of characters.

Hannah Gold, bestselling author of The Last Bear

I am a huge fan of Hana's writing, and Skulkmoor certainly did NOT disappoint - if anything I think it might be her best book yet! Clever plotting, a lovably eccentric cast, and such a richly atmospheric setting. Pacy, exciting, mysterious, adventurous - it's a deliciously dark adventure that sparkles with wit and wonder. An absolute page-turner that children will love, simply packed with Hana Tooke's trademark quirkiness, warmth and originality. I was charmed and captivated from gruesome beginning to ghastly end.

Sophie Kirtley, bestselling author of The Wild Way Home

What a read! A raven-circled manor skulking with secrets and two deliciously anarchic heroes uncovering the murder mystery buried within its walls. Darkly gothic and magnificently weird - no one tells a story like Hana Tooke!

Nizrana Farook, bestselling author of The Girl Who Stole and Elephant

Deliciously dark, with wit as sharp as a raven’s beak, this strange and wonderful story comes wrapped up in a murder mystery that readers will be racing to unravel!

A thrillingly twisty mystery packed with gothic atmosphere, a rogues’ gallery of delightfully eccentric characters and absolutely brimming with Hana’s exceptional blend of witty description and heartfelt emotional depth. I loved it!

Tamzin Merchant, bestselling author of The Hatmakers

A deliciously gothic whodunnit awash with atmosphere and a thrilling plot that grips you like the talons of a crow. Welcome to your new murderous obsession!

Ash Bond, author of Peregrine Quinn and the Cosmic Realm

A twisty saga with comedic overtones and gothic undertones. A tale of sad secrets, hidden doors and startling revelations, bobbing in stewed resentment. A deliciously dark story with excitement and eccentricity in equal measure.

[A] complex murder mystery. And Ayesha L Rubio’s great drawings locate the kawaii in period costumes.

the Observer, children's chapter books of the month

Praise for Hana Tooke: ''A high-speed, witty, absurd and joyful adventure'

Once, the great house of Skulkmoor stood proudly on its hillside, commanding the attention of anyone who came by. Now, it is a curious puzzle of a place - not least thanks to the giant wall which cuts it straight in half, separating the two warring families that live inside it. 
 
For you see, many years ago, the Fox family was torn apart by a question of murder - and of inheritance. With no clear heir, the vast family fortune - and the house - has been literally divided in two. But now, two young cousins, one from rival sides of Skulkmoor, must race to solve the crime - or face losing their home forever. 
 
Can Ted and Iris put their differences aside and save their family fortune - or will they play their part in destroying everything?

Hana Tooke

Praise for Skulkmoor

Dark, delicious and extraordinary. An inventive, page-turning story with a fabulous cast of characters.

I am a huge fan of Hana's writing, and Skulkmoor certainly did NOT disappoint - if anything I think it might be her best book yet! Clever plotting, a lovably eccentric cast, and such a richly atmospheric sett ...

What a read! A raven-circled manor skulking with secrets and two deliciously anarchic heroes uncovering the murder mystery buried within its walls. Darkly gothic and magnificently weird - no one tells a story like H ...

Dark, delicious and extraordinary. An inventive, page-turning story with a fabulous cast of characters.

I am a huge fan of Hana's writing, and Skulkmoor certainly did NOT disappoint - if anything I think it might be her best book yet! Clever plotting, a lovably eccentric cast, and such a richly atmospheric sett ...

What a read! A raven-circled manor skulking with secrets and two deliciously anarchic heroes uncovering the murder mystery buried within its walls. Darkly gothic and magnificently weird - no one tells a story like H ...

Dark, delicious and extraordinary. An inventive, page-turning story with a fabulous cast of characters.

I am a huge fan of Hana's writing, and Skulkmoor certainly did NOT disappoint - if anything I think it might be her best book yet! Clever plotting, a lovably eccentric cast, and such a richly atmospheric sett ...

What a read! A raven-circled manor skulking with secrets and two deliciously anarchic heroes uncovering the murder mystery buried within its walls. Darkly gothic and magnificently weird - no one tells a story like H ...

Books by Hana Tooke

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter