Inspired by the Windeby Bog Child—a 2,000-year-old mummified body found in a peat bog in northeastern Germany in 1952—this wholly original work is comprised of three distinct elements: Two fictional stories imagine the life of the child who died, while a third, nonfiction narrative delineates the author’s research and creative process in writing those two stories. The first story imagines the child as Estrild, a girl who attempts to break the gender barrier of her community and culture via recognition as a warrior during a sacred annual ceremony. Passionate and confident, she fails to consider that her proposal will not be well received. Estrild is trained for the ceremony by Varick, the protagonist of the second story, an orphan whose “twisted back” prevents him from following the traditional path of the other boys. Varick’s careful study of animal skeletons allows him to fix the village forger’s hip when it is dislocated during a fall. Three interspersed “History” sections provide scientific and cultural context about the bog child, whose sex cannot be determined, as well as the careful deliberations that went into developing the two protagonists’ character traits and their imaginative, heartbreaking stories. While details of the fictional stories are historically unlikely, this work offers an exciting, engrossing glimpse into an archeological mystery. (Ages 9-13)

Newbery Medalist and New York Times bestselling author Lois Lowry transports readers to an Iron Age world through the suspenseful dual narrative of a boy and girl both battling to survive. In an utterly one-of-a-kind blend of fiction and history, a master storyteller explores the mystery and life of the 2,000-year-old Windeby bog body.

Estrild is not like the other girls in her village; she wants to be a warrior. Varick, the orphan boy who helps her train in spite of his twisted back, also stands apart. In a world where differences are poorly tolerated, just how much danger are they in?

Inspired by the true discovery of the 2,000-year-old Windeby bog body in Northern Germany, Newbery Medalist and master storyteller Lois Lowry transports readers to an Iron age world as she breathes life back into the Windeby child, left in the bog to drown with a woolen blindfold over its eyes.

This suspenseful exploration of lives that might have been by a gifted, intellectually curious author is utterly one of a kind. Includes several arresting photos of archeological finds, including of the Windeby child.