Eleven-year-old Ezra Ben Castle of 23 Somerset Drive isn’t your regular type of hero. He has a super-fast brain, a miniature schnauzer called Parker for a best friend, and a lingering sense that he’s always been a little bit...elsewhere.
Primary school is almost over, but when the last day of term arrives, Ezra’s granny is taken ill. With his adoptive parents preoccupied, non-stop rain soaking the garden, and the looming torture of secondary school to come, the summer holidays are definitely not looking good.
Meanwhile, in the distant world of Ankh Bah, the mysterious and powerful Great Bin Jah Meen has appeared out of nowhere, stopping the sun in the sky and using his dark magic to cast all who live there into the depths of anger and despair. Running out of ideas and desperate for help, the Sahs — Ankh Bah’s small, furry residents — end up somewhere unexpected.
When a half-sized steam train bursts out of a spinning portal at the bottom of Ezra’s garden and two Sahs hop out, his dreary summer suddenly looks much more interesting, even if peril awaits…
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“Stevens has crafted an absolute gem packed with heart, humor, and plenty of adventure. What more could you ask for? Both a deeply felt story about adoption and a zany caper to a magical land, it’s so easy to love this book. And it’s even easier to love Ezra, who will inspire the hero in you as he discovers the one in himself.”
- Benjamin Roesch, award-winning author of
Blowin’ My Mind Like a Summer Breeze
“Highly imaginative and full of adventure, Ezra and the Great Bin Jah Meen is simultaneously fresh and classic. Ezra
is a hero you can't help but cheer on. This earnest, heartfelt story is a complete delight.”
- Michael Leali, award-winning author of The Civil War of Amos Abernathy and The Truth About Triangles
“Heartfelt and exquisitely told, this cozy, richly imagined portal fantasy had me totally transported along with Ezra and his curious collection of furry new friends. Satisfying to the end...with a quintessentially British flavor throughout (at least to this yankee's ear). Whichever side of the pond you fall on, highly recommend. Stevens manages to write a story that feels both relevant to today and timeless. Don’t miss your chance to board this magical train to Ankh Bah and its wonders!”
- Erik Jon Slangerup, author of Molly and the Machine
“A beautifully told story that captures the sensitivities and difficulties of understanding adoption, as well as the challenges of ADHD, from the perspective of an eleven-year-old boy. We need more stories like this that adopted and neurodiverse children can read and relate to and enjoy.”
- Miranda Mercado Gregory, co-founder of adoption
support community We Are Family (WAF)
“A whimsical, fun, and emotional ride that shows how kids with all kinds of differences can be heroes. Ezra's exciting adventure toward self-acceptance and belonging carries the reader through new worlds that teach us valuable lessons along the way too.”
- Jen Woodrum, Therapist and author
of The Severed Fates series
“Stevens magically captures the joys and complexities of neurodivergence of the brave and bold (but not always feeling so) Ezra. This heartfelt tale is both entertaining and
moving, and leaves the reader basking in a glow as golden as the jelly bit of a jaffa cake.”
- Charlotte Pascal, SENDCo and ADHD mum
“A wonderful portal fantasy in the spirit of The Phantom Tollbooth. In Ezra and the Great Bin Jah Meen, an adopted boy struggling with his sense of belonging and isolation finds himself an unlikely hero, in an unlikely place against the last enemy he ever expected. A wonderful, imaginative book full of compelling characters, places, struggles and victories.”
- Sarena Straus, Benjamin Franklin and Pencraft award-winning author of the ReInception Trilogy
“Ezra and the Great Bin Jah Meen is a beautiful book. Telling the sometimes tricky and definitely not straightforward
story of a boy who feels ‘elsewhere’. Ezra finds his inner hero on a boring Thursday thanks to the wonderful world of
Sahs, cakes, trains and castles. This book covers difficult topics including adoption, loss of a loved one and family
dynamics with humour, reality and empathy.”
- Dr Elyse Waites, Pastoral Deputy Head Teacher
“R. D. Stevens has built a world with interesting characters you wish were your friends. Ezra has ADHD, and young
readers can see the powerful feelings and contrast of scattered thoughts and hyper focus associated with this condition. Readers who enjoy adventurous fantasy stories
will like Ezra and The Great Bin Jah Meen.”
-Reader’s Favourite, Five Stars
R.D.Stevens Author
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