deep Underground, The Minimoys Are Waiting . . . For A Champion.

Arthur's Grandfather Disappeared Four Years Ago. All He Left Behind Are His Notebooks Full Of Stories About Little -- Known African Tribes—including The Minimoys, A Miniature People Who Are All Less Than One Inch Tall.

But The Minimoys Can't Possibly Be Real . . . Can They?

Arthur Is About To Find Out, As He Un Covers A Hidden Message That Catapults Him On An Adventure Wilder Than He Had Ever Imagined. In Just Three Days, He Must Find A Way To The Land Of The Minimoys, Recover A Stolen Treasure, Battle An Invading Force Of Mosquito -- Riding Warriors, Defeat An Evil Wizard, Win The Heart Of A Very Independent Prin Cess—and Somehow Get Back Home Again.

It Seems Like An Impossible Task, But As He'll Discover Along The Way, Sometimes The Littlest Heroes Can Make The Biggest Difference. . . .

Ten-year-old Arthur and his grandmother are doing just fine on their own -- except for that Grandpa has been missing in Africa for four years and a developer villain is evicting them from their own house. Things sour further when antique dealers haul away all of Grandpa's priceless African artifacts and books. Arthur is certain that his grandfather must have left some hidden message somewhere that will reverse their current downward spiral. He hopes to discover some way to enter the world of the beautiful, red-haired, blue-eyed African Princess Selenia that he saw in his grandfather's sketches; member of a tiny (less-than-an-inch-tall) tribe called the Minimoys that he suspects might live in Grandma's garden. But how, when Grandpa's attic has been stripped of clues?

Besson's story contains many of the elements of a good, suspenseful children's adventure, but it is often over told, employs an abundance of facile plot solutions, and loses threads and themes in a long, dizzying action-adventure sequence that abruptly ends as "to be continued." Still, it's hard to resist a likeable hero-protagonist, treasure maps, the promise of rubies, and a land of warring tiny people. Let the hype begin! The sequel Arthur and the Forbidden City is due in fall 2005, and Arthur, a computer-animated movie based on the books, is due out in 2006, with Madonna voicing the part of Princess Selenia. (Ages 8 to 12) --Karin Snelson