Artfully written by Eve Cabanel and lushly illustrated by Ekaterina Ilchenko, “Eli and the Mystery of the Hallowshine Dragon” is a wonderfully imaginative fantasy picture book about the magical strength of friendship and courage. “An inventive and nicely illustrated fantasy emphasizing determination, bravery, and magic.” -Kirkus Reviews

Burbank, CA, December 16, 2021 –(PR.com)– Young readers will enjoy following this new fantasy picture book Eli and the mystery of the hallowshine dragon in an ethereal setting filled with colorful characters. Ilchenko’s fantastical images feature lush forest scenes with vivid details like twisty trees and distinctive critters.

Two courageous friends adventure through lands of unicorns, fairies, and magical rainbows to confront a terrifying beast with a surprising wish.

In a beautiful enchanted forest lives a moon elf named Eli and her friend Luna. When Luna’s baby bunny is turned into hard rock candy by magical sugar crystals, the friends begin a journey to do the impossible to reverse the curse: confront the terrifying and legendary Hallowshine dragon. Artfully written by Eve Cabanel and lushly illustrated by Ekaterina Ilchenko, Eli and the Mystery of the Hallowshine Dragon is a wonderfully imaginative fantasy picture book about the magical strength of friendship and courage.

Eli the moon elf is a strange yet adventurous creature who deeply cares for all the animals of the enchanted forest. Her clothing is made of charmed leaves and fairy silk. With soft blue skin and feathered ears, her purple eyes are speckled with moon dust. Eli and her best friend Luna spend their days exploring Cucuruzzu, the mysterious and enchanted forest. Bearing an unusual and dangerous spell, Cucuruzzu has strange sugar crystals that coat the forest at night, turning anyone who touches them into hard candy.

One evening, when Luna’s beloved baby bunny, Doudou, accidentally falls on a sugar crystal, he is transformed into the hard rock candy. Knowing the poor bunny will remain in that state forever unless he is changed back before the next nightfall, Eli and Luna set out in the enchanted forest to find help. They reach Grandpa Numa who shares with them a secret book explaining the legend of the Hallowshine dragon.

“‘The Hallowshine dragon has rarely been seen, and has been feared for centuries,’ Eli read. ‘When the dragon is sad, his tears create sugar crystals that turn anybody into hard rock candy. The enchantment can be broken with a drop of his saliva, but only if it is done by the next nightfall’.”

Through the course of their journey to find the dragon, the pair meet magical creatures and travel through various dreamy lands including the Abyss of Time, a marvelous unicorn’s kingdom, a whimsical fairy’s home at the end of the rainbow, and a waterfall with enchanted golden shoes.

Their adventure brings Eli and Luna to a cave where they finally find the beautiful dragon, thought by all in the enchanted forest to be terrifying, weeping with loneliness. The sad dragon did not intend for his tears to cause all of this trouble, he simply wanted a friend. The Hallowshine dragon is delighted when he is asked to be Eli and Luna’s friend and the three race against time to Eli’s tree house so that bunny Doudou’s curse can be cured. But instead, when they tend to the bunny, they learn a magical lesson about how love, friendship, and acceptance can heal all if you have courage and believe in yourself.

Author Eve Cabanel was raised in the French countryside by the woods where she played in suspended tree houses amongst wild forest animals, like her story’s character Eli. She had a goat and pet chicken that would follow her everywhere and encountered foxes, deer, and hedgehogs in her daily forest adventures. A writer and beauty blogger, Eve is the published author of an adult non-fiction self-help book, Organic Beauty Recipes by Eve – The complete guide to DIY natural beauty. Eli and the Mystery of the Hallowshire Dragon is her debut children’s book.

If you would like more information about author Eve Cabanel and Eli and the Mystery of the Hallowshine Dragon, please contact eve@elipicturebooks.com or visit https://www.elipicturebooks.com