SOLVED. Children's Fantasy. Probably read in the 90s. Three children on a quest. I believe two were brother and sister and the other was an unrelated boy. This might have been a trilogy or series. [s]

[Angel]

I don't remember what the quest was, but I remember one scene taking place in a kind of mud village, maybe underground? There was a king character who proved his power by just whipping it out and peeing on the floor. I think there was a different king character who was addicted to chocolate, but they used a different name, maybe theobromine? I'm less confident he was part of this series. The boy in the trio who was not one of the siblings was initially considered kind of foolish and weak but found his strengths along the way. Something to do with dance maybe?
Thanks!

[Capn]

Hey Angel,
Was there any violence or fighting (battles)? If so, any weapons stand out in your mind?
I don't suppose you can remember anything about the cover. Did you read it in your school library, or can you remember where it came from?
Anything in particular about the kids? Any names or physical attributes that stand out?

[Sanne]

The Wind Singer/Wind of Fire Series by William Nicholson? (By coincidence, I suggested that on a another thread today..)

It's about a brother and sister living in a dystopian society, escaping the city through the sewers. The people shunned from society have build their own underground city in the sewers and they meet another boy who's a bit foolish and follows along on their quest. Don't remember the chocolate or peeing on the floor though...

[Angel]

@Sanne I think this might be it. It's possible I got some of the details mixed up with another book, but the twins and Mumpo and the mudpeople all fit. Seeing the cover also explains why I was convinced it was a Garth Nix series for the longest time. Now I'm going to have to hunt them down since my library doesn't have them. Thanks so much!

[Macee]

Sanne wrote: "The Wind Singer/Wind of Fire Series by William Nicholson? (By coincidence, I suggested that on a another thread today..)

It's about a brother and sister living in a dystopian society..."

could it be one of the magic treehouse books?

[Sanne]

Angel wrote: "@Sanne I think this might be it. It's possible I got some of the details mixed up with another book, but the twins and Mumpo and the mudpeople all fit. Seeing the cover also explains why I was conv..."

Good luck and fingers crossed then! I hope it's the right book.

[Kris]

Amazon's short "Look Inside" Preview of The Wind Singer (book 1 of "The Wind on Fire Trilogy") by William Nicholson - Sanne and Angel's suggestion:

https://www.amazon.com/Wind-Singer-Fi... There are different cover images.

Wikipedia's plot summary - with Spoilers:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Win...
- "... Using a system based on colour classifications, the governing Examiners dictate what people can wear, where they can live and what jobs they can do. The levels are grey, maroon, orange, scarlet and white, with the muddy Underlake the lowest and white the highest. The Emperor is the only person allowed to wear blue. ..."

Google Books has a "snippet" preview. You might get lucky searching for keywords:
https://books.google.com/books?id=b0J...
- Quote: 'Ha!" he said. 'I'm your Emperor.'
And he ate three more chocolate buttons.

[Angel]

Yes, the series is The Wind on Fire! Thanks for the help, we can mark this as solved!

[Kris]

Great! Glad you found your book series, Angel. Thanks for the update.