cabinets
the cabinet of wonders
petra kronos has a simple happy life . but its never been ordinary . she has a pet tin spider named astrophil who likes to hide in her snarled hair and give her advice . her best friend can trap lightning inside a glass sphere . petra also has a father in faraway prague who is able to move metal with his mind . he has been commissioned by the prince of bohemia to build the worlds finest astronomical clock . petras life is forever changed when one day her father returns home blind . the prince has stolen his eyes enchanted them and now wears them . but why petra doesnt know but she knows this she will go to prague sneak into salamander castle and steal her fathers eyes back . joining forces with neel whose fingers extend into invisible ghosts that pick locks and pockets petra finds that many people in the castle are not what they seem and that her fathers clock has powers capable of destroying their world . this startling debut novel about the risks we take to protect those we love brims with magic political intrigue and heroism . the cabinet of wonders is a 2009 bank street best childrens book of the year .