The Mystery of the Canary Islands
A fantasy adventure novel for the curious (with puzzles!)
The Book of the Year 2023 (middle grade)
Knyga + Kinas 2023 Top Cinematographic Books
Rights sold: Malaysia (Mandarin language), North Macedonia, USA, Poland
Illustrator: Motiejus Vaura
Publisher: FLARE KIDS, 2026
324 p., paperback, 140×215 mm
ISBN 978-1-963-51161-1
Audience: curious 8+
“Living without adventures is dangerous… you can die of boredom,” announces twelve-year-old Emma. Thanks to her parents’ lifestyle, she constantly travels and lives in different countries around the world.
The mysterious events begin when Emma’s family settles down for a year on the island of Tenerife. The curious girl soon notices an intriguing infinity sign and a puzzling inscription on a fence near her home, scribbled in Spanish.
Following the cryptic clues, Emma finds herself spiralling into a peculiar mission to ‘rescue the dogs’. Jake, her classmate, and Mars, her French bulldog, become her indispensable companions in this dangerous quest.
In search of answers, Emma must visit the seven Canary Islands, climb the highest volcano in Spain, fly with giant swans, cross massive barrancos (Spanish for crevasses), learn to ‘drive’ a camel, talk to the dead, be in two places at once… and that’s not all! Most importantly, Emma must crack codes and solve riddles, or else the rescue mission will fail, and the mystery of the Canary Islands will remain hidden forever.
Does Emma have what it takes to join up the dots? And is it really the dogs that she is actually saving?
The formula of this story: CURIOSITY + COURAGE = ADVENTURES
TESTIMONIALS
Hello. I am Mykolas, and I read your book. It's simply a fantastic book! There are so many adventures in the book, and I really enjoyed the part where you had to decipher everything! It's the best book I have ever read.
Mykolas M. "A fantasy adventure novel for teenagers that is very enjoyable to read because it is very engaging."
More in the video review.
I want to share these photos of my twelve-year-old daughter Anetė and thank you for igniting her love for reading. This is the first book she has read in her life with great pleasure, not out of duty to me or her teacher. Thank you!
Lina Zinčiukaitė-Paplauskė "The Mystery of the Canary Islands is our family's favourite book this summer."
More in the video review.
GALLERY
ADVENTUROUS ENCOUNTERS
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EMMA & MARS'S STUFF
The last day of February started off wonderfully for the 4B class students. A writer, Viktorija Butautis, visited them all the way from the far-away land of Australia. The guest presented her fantastic adventure novel, The Mysteries of the Canary Islands. It was a very engaging, hands-on experience. The writer managed to spark the students’ curiosity; the kids learned to decipher clues and eagerly competed to unlock the chests that contained a real treasure. After Viktorija’s visit, the children expressed a strong desire to dive into adventures with the main characters and read The Mysteries of the Canary Islands as soon as possible.
Teacher Erika Beriozkinienė Klaipėda Versmė pro-gymnasiumThank you, Viktorija Butautis, for the wonderful time spent together! We look forward to the sequel of the novel