NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Two kids and a mystical tyger must save a divided world on the brink of destruction in this thrilling fantasy with the epic sweep and imaginative wonder of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials . WINNER OF THE BRITISH BOOK AWARD FOR CHILDREN’S FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR There are three doors that I may show you. You will find a different kind of power behind each one... Adam has found something incredible in a rubbish dump in London. A mysterious, mythical, magical animal. A tyger . And the tyger is in danger. Adam and his friend Zadie are determined to help, but it isn't just the tyger's life at stake. Their whole world is on the verge of destruction. Can they learn to use their powers before it's too late? Set in an alternate world where the British Empire still exists and brought to life with stunning black-and-white illustrations by award-winning artist Dave McKean, this compelling and thoughtful adventure is one you won’t want to put down! "McKean’s deeply evocative, postmodern illustrations further enhance the reading experience. Said has created an amazing fantasy that will change its readers. A must-buy for all libraries"— Booklist , starred review "The story’s strength lies in its evocation of Blake’s imagery and his ideas about imagination and creativity, which offer something for readers to ponder. McKean’s black-and-white illustrations, complex and dramatic, enhance and transform the text’s effectiveness."— The Horn Book Magazine SF Said (he/him) is an award-winning, bestselling British children’s author. He was born in Lebanon, but has lived in London since he was two. His first book, Varjak Paw , won the Nestlé Smarties Prize for Children’s Literature and was listed by BookTrust as one of the 100 best children’s books of the past 100 years. The Outlaw Varjak Paw won the BBC Blue Peter Book of the Year Award, while Phoenix was chosen to represent the UK on the IBBY Honour List. His new book, Tyger , won Children’s Book of the Year at the British Book Awards, Children’s Book of the Year at the Week Junior Book Awards, and the Foyles Children’s Book of the Year. All four books are illustrated by Dave McKean. SF Said has also written about children’s literature for both the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph newspapers, given talks at the British Library and on BBC Radio 4, and is a passionate campaigner for libraries, literacy, and reading for pleasure. Visit him online at sfsaid.com or on X/Instagram/Bluesky @whatSFSaid. Dave McKean (he/him) is a multi-award-winning illustrator who has designed an incredible number of award-winning and ground-breaking books, collaborating with world-famous names in literature such as Neil Gaiman ( Coraline ), David Almond ( Mouse Bird Snake Wolf ), Richard Dawkins, and Ray Bradbury. He has also worked as a concept artist on films such as Harry Potter . Visit him on Instagram @davemckeanhourglass. Chapter One It was the week before Midwinter. The rain was lashing down, and the narrow streets of Soho were deep with puddles. Although it was midday, the sky over London was iron gray. Clouds of smoke hung heavy up above, as always. Adam Alhambra wasn’t looking at that bleak Midwinter sky. He was looking at the checkpoint up ahead of him, and shivering. He huddled into his coat, but the wind cut through it like a whip. And that wasn’t the only thing that made him feel cold. He could see the soldier there, behind the metal bars and railings. He could hear his stern voice, turning people back from the boundary that separated Soho from the rest of London. As Adam watched, biting down on his pencil, a whole family was being marched away at gunpoint, not allowed to leave the Ghetto. “Next!” And now it was his turn. Adam put his pencil behind his ear, and stepped up for inspection, under a row of Union Jacks and a portrait of the Emperor. The soldier was a guardsman in a red coat, with a bristling white mustache. He looked Adam up and down, taking in his skin, his hair, his eyes. The fact that everything about him was just a little different, just a little darker. Then he looked at Adam’s papers, saw his name, and here it ­came . . . “Alhambra?” said the soldier. “And where are you from, boy?” “Um—­London, sir,” said Adam, trying to sound calm, and failing. “You know what I mean,” said the soldier. “Where are you really from?” Adam looked down. “My parents came here from the Middle East, sir,” he said, “but I’ve lived in London all my life.” “The Middle East.” The soldier frowned. “Isn’t that where camels used to come from?” “Camels?” said Adam, mystified. “I don’t know, sir. I don’t know anything about the Middle East. I’m just doing the deliveries for my family’s shop, Alhambra & Company. They’re depending on me to do them.” He held up his bag, to show the soldier the parcels that were packed so carefully inside. “Where are the shop’s papers?” said the soldier. “Oh—­right here, sir!” Adam fumbled in his pocke