The Jumbies

A spine-tingling tale rooted in Caribbean folklore about an ordinary girl who must use her extraordinary bravery–and a bit of magic–to save her island home from jumbies, the scary spirits that haunt the forest.Corinne La Mer isn’t afraid of anything. Not scorpions, not the boys who tease her, and certainly not jumbies. They’re just tricksters parents make up to frighten their children. Then one night Corinne chases an agouti all the way into the forbidden forest. Those shining yellow eyes that followed her to the edge of the trees, they couldn’t belong to a jumbie. Or could they?

When Corinne spots a beautiful stranger speaking to the town witch at the market the next day, she knows something unexpected is about to happen. And when this same beauty, called Severine, turns up at Corinne’s house, Corinne is sure that danger is in the air. She soon finds out that bewitching her father, Pierre, is only the first step in Severine’s plan to claim the entire island for the jumbies. Corinne must call on her courage and her friends and learn to use ancient magic she didn’t know she possessed to stop Severine and to save her island home.

PRAISE FOR THE JUMBIES:

“Endlessly addictive and hypnotic . . . Baptiste has a lot of fun remixing the classic Haitian folktale The Magic Orange Tree, while adding her own original touches.” —Essence

“A well written tale full of action with enough scary elements to satisfy fans of Adam Gidwitz’s A Tale Dark and Grimm.” —School Library Journal           

“It’s refreshing to see a fantasy with its roots outside Europe . . . This is a book worth reading simply for its originality.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Entrancing and engaging . . . Baptiste enters an all-new folktale adaptation into our regular fantasy lore . . . Original. Haunting.” —A Fuse #8 Production

A Washington Post Kids Post Book Club Selection
A Junior Library Guild Selection

• “Tracey Baptiste scares up new audiences to learn about jumbies . . . She builds a fairy tale about a brave girl and her adventures among Caribbean creatures.” —Washington Post
  
  “A scary but cheerful tale that draws on Caribbean folk traditions. A great update on the 'town under supernatural attack' story, with a marvelous setting.” —Baltimore Sun
  
  “Endlessly addictive and hypnotic” —Essence Magazine
  
  “Far more than just your average spooky supernatural story, Baptiste uses the underpinnings of a classic folktale to take a closer look at colonization, rebellion, and what it truly takes to share the burden of tolerating the 'other.' Plus there are monsters. Gotta love the monsters.” —Elizabeth Bird, Fuse 8​
  
  “The themes of fairness, justice, and retribution meld into a better than average evil witch story . . . This is a well written tale full of action with enough scary elements to satisfy fans of Adam Gidwitz’s A Tale Dark and Grimm or Laura Amy Schlitz’s Splendors and Glooms.” —School Library Journal
  
  “It’s refreshing to see a fantasy with its roots outside Europe . . . this is a book worth reading simply for its originality.” —Kirkus Reviews
  
  “A spine-tingling tale rooted in Caribbean folklore that will have readers holding their breath as they fly through its pages. Be forewarned! This tale isn’t some cozy, tropical vacation and it’s not for the weak at heart, oh, no! If you like spooky tales, this is the book for you.  Corinne’s story is truly a welcome and refreshing edition to the world of fairytales.” —Valerie R. Lawson
  
  “This girl’s got guts. Even as she wanders the mystery-shrouded forest full of creepy-crawlies from Haitian folklore and faces up to the frightening newcomer to her village, Corrine La Mer brings badassery and wisdom beyond her years. Launching brave kids into the world of the horror novel, and leading them through it with lyrical prose, author Tracey Baptiste knows just how to seize kids’ attention.” —Foreword Reviews