Eoin Colfer continues Juniper Lane series with 'Guardians of Cedar Wood'

NEW YORK (AP) — Bestselling author Eoin Colfer has a new set of adventures ready for young Juniper Lane.

Colfer's “Guardians of Cedar Wood” is scheduled to come out in 2025, Roaring Brook Press, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, announced Thursday. It's the second book in Colfer's middle-grade series about Juniper Lane and a helpful reindeer who were featured in Colfer's 2023 holiday tale, “Juniper's Christmas.”

In “Guardians of Cedar Wood,” Juniper is now an apprentice to Santa who finds herself battling unfriendly visitors in the forest of Cedar Wood.

"The Juniper books are packed full of magic, comedy and mythological characters but at their heart they are about friendship, in this case between a girl and her partner who happens to be a reindeer," Colfer said in a statement. "And if the reader looks past the magic, fireworks, night flights and belly laughs they will find the heart of this new story which opens up to reveal just how far Juniper will go to save someone she cares about.”