Bonebag [E. M. Elliott, E. M.]

Author: E. M. E. M. Elliott,David Elliott

In this riveting middle-grade fantasy, New York Times bestselling author David Elliott and E.M. Elliott tell the story of a forest-dwelling boy forced to confront the mysteries of his life.

Trapped in a dark forest with his cold-hearted parents, Bonebag leads a cruel and isolated existence. However, he feels deep in his bones that things weren't always this way: he has known happiness before. Why does it feel like it was in a past life?

When Bonebag discovers a locket that burns him to the touch, and a ghostly girl beckons him into the deep woods, he must grapple with the riddle of where he came from and how he came to be. Only then can he begin to rewrite his fate.

From New York Times bestselling author David Elliott and his son, E.M. Elliott, this powerful middle-grade fantasy will take readers on a quest that tackles the mystery of belonging with high-octane twists and turns along the way.

Publisher: Penguin Random House
Published: 05/26/2026
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.08oz
ISBN: 9781662620003

About the Author
David Elliott is a New York Times bestselling author with over 35 published or soon-to-be published books to his name. These include his provocative novels-in-verse Bull, which received 6 starred reviews; Voices, which was a finalist for the American Library in Paris Book Prize, a Wall Street Best Book of the Year, and an NCTE Notable Verse Novel; the picture book Baabwa and Wooliam, illustrated by Melissa Sweet, which was a Cybils Award finalist, JLG selection, and the PW Best Book of the Year; three picture books in the This Orq series, which was published in more than eight foreign editions; and the critically acclaimed, award-winning poetry books On the Farm, In the Wild and, most recently, In the Woods.

E. M. Elliott studied film and creative writing at Sarah Lawrence College and Media Studies at The New School in New York. He previously worked as a script reader for two production houses in Los Angeles, and currently lives in Philadelphia with his wife, dog, and cat. This is his first book.