Is the mysterious secret passage legend or truth?
A special encounter with the main character in the book
Breaking down the boundaries between reality and imagination

There was a legend surrounding a mysterious secret passage.
It is said that long ago, an ancestor hid treasures and relics he brought back from his travels in a mysterious secret passage.
Of course, it is a story that has been passed down like a legend since nothing has been discovered until now.
My grandfather, who had lived in the castle his entire life, was certain that there was no secret passage, saying that it was just a bedtime story told by his grandfather's grandfather.
But for Octave, who was born with an adventurous spirit, the legend served as a clue.

They say that a tree that will grow well is different from the cotyledon.
Octave decided to call Liz and Louis, the main characters from the picture book "My Secret Passage" that he had read before.
Liz and Louis are 'secret passage experts' who search every nook and cranny of Grandpa's house to find places that even Grandpa didn't know about.
With the help of two people, you can find the 'mysterious secret passage'.
How ingenious to think of contacting the main characters in a book!!! Octave actually called the author of "My Secret Passage" and asked the main characters in the book to come to the castle.
Will Liz and Louis from the book be able to come to Grandpa Octave's castle?

Grandpa didn't believe in secret passages at all, but Octave went out to find them with Liz and Louis.
Are mysterious secret passages just folktales, or do they really exist? The adventures of the book's protagonist and the secret passages they embark on will intrigue young readers.
The story, which unfolds across the boundaries between imagination and reality, is truly a work of Max Ducos's imagination.

Is there a pyramid buried under my feet?
If you were to put an adventure into a picture book, it would be like this!

Max Ducos's previous works often took him on an adventure of new discovery in familiar spaces.
This time, the place called ‘Castle’ is unfamiliar.
The adventure of going on a unique location with familiar protagonists from previous works gives it another special feel.

Great discoveries and inventions begin with curiosity and doubt.
Liz, Louis, and Octave suspected every little detail of the castle as a clue to the secret passage.
While in the previous game, the players simply discovered existing doors or holes to find secret passages, this time, the three friends joined forces to climb high places or dig the ground themselves, taking a more adventurous approach.
The results are also dynamic.
He encountered bats in a cave beneath the castle, fell into a mysterious hole while descending a rope, and even saw a sharp rock and guessed that a huge pyramid was buried beneath the ground.
The three friends show their adventurous side as they go beyond reality and explore.
For children who call themselves adventurers, it will be a seed of imagination and an example.

But the protagonists' journey was not always smooth.
As the protagonists were about to find the mysterious secret passage, the mayor, who came to buy the castle, interfered.
These were not friends who would give up here.
While the grandparents and the mayor went to the city hall to write the contract to sell the castle, the children began to search for the secret passage in earnest.
Once the contract is signed, all your efforts will be in vain because your name will be transferred to the market.
Before signing the contract, they must find a secret passage! Will the protagonists be able to find the mysterious passage and protect the castle?

Max Ducos, a master of French children's literature

Max Ducos, who wrote and illustrated this book, is creating his own magnificent world of paintings, gaining attention for his thrilling stories that stimulate a sense of adventure, his detailed decorations that showcase the essence of Western architecture, and his fantastical painting style that utilizes brilliant colors.
His previous work, “My Secret Passage,” was recognized for its value by winning the Landerneau Award.
It is a great achievement achieved through constant challenge and the pain of creation without settling for existing drawing styles.
This picture book, a sequel to the original, will also satisfy readers' curiosity with a story that crosses the lines between reality and imagination.

Max Ducos says it's important not to lose your "childlike soul" even as you grow up.
Perhaps that's why Max Ducos's work has twice won the Prix Incorruptible, a French children's and youth literature award chosen by French children themselves.
In this book, too, we feel the spirit of children alive in the adventures and characters created by Max Ducos.
His ability to transform a single space into a special fantasy world comes from his childlike perspective on the world and his boundless imagination.