Stephen Messer’s debut middle-grade fantasy adventure, WINDBLOWNE (Random House, May 2010)—about a boy named Oliver who’s transported to alternate versions of his tree-filled and windswept world on a magical kite—got a great review from Kirkus. The publication calls it “an inventive debut fantasy, set in multiple worlds linked by trees and winds....Messer constructs a tale that moves along at a powerful, steady pace to a climactic faceoff, and Oliver’s realization that the gateway to worlds is open for those who can truly listen to the wind’s voices sparks a memorable sea change in his self-image.”