SOLVED. Children's Fantasy, short chapter book. Two brothers escape villains who worship fire, live in forest after mother dies & cremated. People try to protect them. Illustrations incl. old man dancing & covered in flowers. Read 2000-2007. [s]

[Michelle]

I believe this was a fairly short chapter book, probably from the early 2000s, and I think it had Christian elements but wasn't explicit. I think it had a number of illustrations, too, but the only one I remember clearly was one with an old man covered in flowers, dancing around. There may have also been one showing some characters in a wooden tower in the middle of the woods, monitoring the area for any signs of forest fires.

For the story itself, I remember the main character being a boy with a very little brother, living in an industrial kind of city where people worship fire. His Mom dies and is cremated, and then he and his brother run away and end up in the woods with people who try to protect it from the fire guys.

Thanks in advance!

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Bumping since Michelle posted recently.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Bumping again since Michelle posted recently.

[Rainbowheart]

Seeker?

The MC comes across a society that sacrifices people to a sun god by intoxicating them and throwing them off a ledge/cliff.

[Michelle]

No, this wasn't a novel-length book nor did it have warrior monks. Thanks anyway!

[Kris]

Michelle, around what year did you read this book?

What's the genre (which we need to add to the header/ topic title) - e.g., children's fantasy, historical fiction (what time period?), adventure, coming of age, etc.?

How do the people worship fire or a fire god? Is this the main religion in the city?

Do you learn early in the book that their mother dies - or is this a spoiler? How did she die?

I added some details to the header/ topic title. Feel free to edit it.

[Michelle]

Probably between 2000 and 2007 (which I know is a pretty big gap, sorry). Setting was children's fantasy, low magic. The villains worship fire itself, non-personified, and have a very industrial aesthetic. The mother's death might technically occur before the start of the story as her cremation is one of the very first scenes in the book. Not sure of the cause; may have been a case of Loving Parent In A Children's Story-itis.

[Kris]

Tales of the Kingdom by David R. Mains?

Google Books preview:
https://books.google.com/books?id=xja...

Quote from the first page:
- The boy, Scarboy, and his younger brother, little Child, were not like the other children in the city. Yesterday, their mother had died, and they had immediately been taken into custody by the Enchanter's men. Rumor said that the Enchanter kept orphans to stoke the huge fires that burned deep in the hold of Dagoda, the template were the Enchanter lives and rules.
A Burner, one of the secret police who carried out the Enchanter's bidding...
- Image of man: https://books.google.com/books?id=xja...

Series link: https://www.goodreads.com/series/4344...

Search using WorldCat.org:
https://www.worldcat.org/advancedsear...
Keyword: brothers fire forest | Subject: fantasy | Juvenile | Fiction | Book | English
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[Michelle]

Tales from the Kingdom, that's it! Thank you so much!

[Kris]

Great! Glad you found your book, Michelle.