A colorful tale of friendship, peril, and foraging in two floating villages — the latest adventure from beloved writer and illustrator Claude Ponti.

In two floating villages on the river Longo live the Oolongs and the Kukichas, sailing where their whims take them. For Lu Cha (an Oolong boy) and Ali Roo (a Kukicha girl), life on the Longo is chockfull of charm . . . but somewhere, far beyond the shiverbanks and the boobam brambles, all is not what it seems. They are each drawn to a mysterious shore, and to the wonderful scent of friendship. And when a monsteriffic monster threatens all the Oolong and Kukicha mamas and papas, they will have to band together to fight back the only way they know how: by picking precious prickle-balls and collecting tears from Brellum trees, all the while coming closer to each other and who they might, after all, be. In Claude Ponti’s wonderfully detailed illustrations and sparkling wordplay, skillfully translated by Margot Kerlidou and Alyson Waters, young readers will find a faraway world of pleasure, fright, and friendship.