SOLVED. Middle Grade Fantasy book about a brother and sister who find a magical kingdom at an abandoned train station. [s]

[Rainbowheart]

Hi guys,

Super vague memories here. Probably too vague to post. I just got done reading the first Harry Potter again, and it niggled something in the back of my mind. I remember a fantasy book from the late '80s or early '90s about a brother and sister who found a portal to a magical kingdom at an abandoned train station.

It kinda had The Secret of Platform 13 vibes too, but this is a different book. It was set in the modern day. The girl and her brother were preteens. I'm pretty sure the girl was the older sibling. The alternate world had magical creatures. The ones I remember are giant magical cockroaches and fish that swim on land, not in the water. I think the fish might have talked, or maybe it was turtles.

I remember in one scene, the girl sees a magical cockroach and screams and drops something. There was an evil creature in the kingdom that the brother and sister had to defeat. The magical animals might have been people that were trapped and then transformed by the evil creature? The evil creature possibly lived in a castle. I don't recall what he/she/it looked like. I think it was possibly animal-like.

Very modern fantasy vibes here, not medieval. No time travel, just this alternate magical world. It had sort of a grittier vibe to it, but not too dark. It was meant for preteens. I'd estimate the girl was around 11 and her brother was maybe 9 or 10. Definitely middle grade fiction.

Thanks mucho for any help!

[Mai]

I couldn't find anything related to train stations... searched with keywords on Google and also WorldCat but no luck. The only one that remotely resembles your description (very remotely!) is The Moons of Meer by Warren Hollister and Judith Pike. It was published in the late 60s.
Two children, boy and girl, enter a tunnel and end up in a magical kingdom where they must defeat a sorceress. It's not a train station but trains do go through tunnels (grasping at straws here!)
I can find very little information about it and no reference to cockroaches or fish but you never know...

This Etsy post has pictures of a few pages: https://www.etsy.com/sg-en/listing/64...

[Rainbowheart]

Thanks, Mai!

That's not the one, but it is similar in feel and has the same general plot. I think mine was more modern. I would say definitely late '80s or very early '90s, no later than about '92. I seem to remember the cover being dark but modern looking. The text could be older, but I don't think very much older.

[Tab]

Can you describe what how the train station looked? Was it really rundown, broken windows, cobwebs, etc?

Can you remember why the station was abandoned?

Did other children hang around the station?

Did the children go back and forth between their world and the magical world? Or, did they stay in the magical world for the majority of the book?

[Rainbowheart]

Sorry, I don't remember exactly what the train station looked like. Just that it was abandoned. I remember the kids climbing stairs to get to it, maybe? Not sure why it was abandoned.

I don't remember any other children in the story at all, just the two MCs and various creatures in the magical kingdom. The kids remained in the magical world the entire time, as far as I can recall. Once they were there, they stayed until they completed their mission of defeating the baddie.

[Rainbowheart]

Magical kingdom bump....

[Emily]

I think that you're describing a book I read as well - unfortunately I don't know that I have any details to add, except that I think it was a fairly short chapter book (under 200 pages?) and that I read this sometime in the late 90s.

I think vaguely that there may have been a puzzle of some kind that needed to be solved? And possibly they end up meeting/interacting with the ruler of this kingdom. Possibly one of the fishes ends up transforming into a human? If we are thinking of the same book, the train station may have been a subway station.

[Macie]

The keepers Ted sanders? It’s the only thing that pops up on google when I look up portal train books.

[Rainbowheart]

Emily, yes! We are talking about the same book for sure. And now that you mention it was a subway station, that would fit in with the urban setting. I was thinking maybe it was an elevated train, but it could have been stairs leading down instead of going up.

Macie, thanks so much, but that series wasn't pubbed until 2015. I read my book no later than '93 at the very, very latest.

[Mai]

Maybe Firebrat by Nancy Willard?
Found this long review and summary online that I'm sure contains spoilers!
https://skiffyandfanty.com/blogposts/...

[Rainbowheart]

That's it!!!

Thanks so much, Mai. That's definitely the book. It looks like the kids were friends and not brother and sister, but otherwise everything matches up!

Thanks mucho for all your help.

[Mai]

It was thanks to Emily! The "magic word" was subway :-)