130,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿

Overnight NZ-wide delivery 🚀 Auckland Bookstore • Open 7 days, 8:30am–5pm

Once Upon a Wickedness

By Fleur Beale
0.0 (0 reviews)
3.5 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating. ( 30 ratings, 11 reviews)
Brief Description
An exciting adventure novel for contemporary kids with a fairytale setting, a daring hero, and a message that you're never too young and powerless to stand up to tyrants! What happens when a group of school children, led by the resourceful ten-year-old Dance Violet, dare to... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2000
Elsewhere:
$2200
OVERNIGHT NZ-WIDE DELIVERY

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

An exciting adventure novel for contemporary kids with a fairytale setting, a daring hero, and a message that you're never too young and powerless to stand up to tyrants!

What happens when a group of school children, led by the resourceful ten-year-old Dance Violet, dare to ask those in power some hard questions? Find out in this magical novel by the bestselling Fleur Beale, stunningly illustrated by Lily Uivel.

Ten-year-old orphan Dance Violet might have had a short and troubled history, but it hasn't dampened her warrior spirit—not in the slightest. And that's a good thing, because something is rotten in her village, and no one else has the courage to try to put things right.

People have been disappearing overnight, and the village children are left to fend for themselves under the tyrannical schoolteachers Murk and Misselthwaite. There are whispers that the trouble started ten years ago when a beautiful but wicked woman—'the golden-haired hellion'—appeared at a wedding. Dance has some powerful gifts that she's only just beginning to discover, and while she knows it's dangerous to ask questions, she's determined to find this golden-haired hellion, even if it means getting disappeared.

When Dance finds her, the golden-haired hellion had better look out.

Read all Fleur Beale's bestselling novels!

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781776958092

Publisher: Penguin Group (NZ)

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 29 August 2023

Country: New Zealand

Imprint: Puffin

Audience: Children

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 16.0mm

Width: 155.0mm

Height: 216.0mm

Weight: 248g

Pages: 208

Collections

Best Sellers at Book Hero Children's Books Children's Fiction Children’s, Teenage and Educational Fleur Beale In Stock Books In stock Children's Books In Stock Kid's Books New Zealand and Australia Published New Zealand Children's Books New Zealand Published Penguin Books Young Adult

About the Author

Fleur Beale is the author of many award-winning books for children and young adults - more than 40 books published in New Zealand, the United States and England. She is the only writer to have twice won the Storylines Gaelyn Gordon Award for a Much-Loved Book- with Slide the Corner in 2007 and I Am Not Esther in 2009. She won the Esther Glen Award for distinguished contribution to children's literature for Juno of Taris in the 2009 LIANZA Children's Book Awards. Fierce September won the YA category in the 2011 NZ Post Children's Book Awards and the LIANZA Young Adult Award in 2011. In 2012 she won the Margaret Mahy Medal for her outstanding contribution to children's writing and in 2015 she was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit. A former high-school teacher, she lives in Wellington.

Also by Fleur Beale

View all
  • I Am Rebecca
    Life inside a religious cult becomes too much for 16-year-old Rebecca when she finds out who she is to marry. When she turns 14, Rebecca will find out who she is to marry. All the girls in her strict religious sect must be married just after their 16th birthdays. Her twin sister Rachel desperately wants to marry the boy she's...
    By Fleur Beale
    Paperback
    $2000
    Elsewhere:
    $2200
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • I Am Not Esther
    A classic bestseller that's been in print for over 20 years, this gripping YA thriller follows a teenage girl caught in a religious cult. Imagine that your mother tells you she's going away. She is going to leave you with relatives you've never heard of - and they are members of a strict religious cult. Your name is changed, and...
    By Fleur Beale
    Paperback
    $2000
    Elsewhere:
    $2200
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Being Magdalene
    The gripping sequel to the bestselling YA novels I am not Esther and I am Rebecca. Four years after Rebecca fled the religious community The Children of the Faith, twelve-year-old Magdalene bears the brunt of trying to protect and nurture her rebellious younger sister. Zillah isn't at all interested in behaving as befits a daughter of a Faith family, but...
    By Fleur Beale
    Paperback
    $2000
    Elsewhere:
    $2200
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Faraway Girl
    Faraway Girl by Fleur Beale is a contemporary young-adult novel filled with mysterious happenings, time travel, a curse, and a strange painting. Etta is worried about her brother, Jamie. The doctors can find nothing wrong with him, but he is getting weaker by the day. At breakfast one morning, he seems to have lost it completely— In a voice as...
    By Fleur Beale
    Paperback
    $2400
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Lyla: Through My Eyes - Natural Disaster Zones
    Lyla: Through My Eyes - Natural Disaster Zones by Fleur Beale was the winner of the Educational Publishing Awards 2019. Lyla has just started her second year of high school when a magnitude 6.3 earthquake shakes Christchurch to pieces. Devastation is everywhere. While her police officer mother and trauma nurse father respond to the disaster, Lyla puts on a brave...
    By Fleur Beale
    Paperback
    $2199
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • On Sale
    19% off
    Mission Girl
    When her tribe is defeated in battle, Atapo is captured and becomes a slave of her enemies. Freedom seems impossible; the penalty for runaway slaves is death. But when sickness strikes the village, Atapo is blamed—and now it is even more dangerous to stay. To save her life, she escapes to the Pakeha mission station at Paihia. There, Atapo is...
    By Fleur Beale
    Paperback
    $1700
    Usually:
    $2099
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Calling
    A novel about finding your calling, the extraordinary nun Mother Mary Joseph Aubert, and the realities of religious bigotry in late-nineteenth century New Zealand. Dreams were dangerous things. It was the dream of Molly's dying mother that she would become a nun. It isn't, however, the dream of her Methodist father, who wants her to marry. But what is her...
    By Fleur Beale
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • Sins of the Father
    The disturbing story of the ruthless exercise of power in a New Zealand religious cult. Charismatic, driven and self-righteous, Neville Cooper set up his own brand of Christian utopia on earth: a reclusive community on the West Coast of New Zealand. For the 400 inhabitants of Gloriavale, his word is law - despite his 1995 conviction for sexual abuse. His...
    By Fleur Beale
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • The Boy In the Olive Grove
    The past lives of Bess Gray catch up with her in this passionate YA story by a NZ Post Children's Book Award-winner. On the night of her seventeenth birthday, Bess Grey sees images of a witch-burning unfold in front of her as if in a movie. She also sees images from a different time—lovers, and the girl she's sure is—was—herself....
    By Fleur Beale
    Paperback
    Sold Out

More from Children's Books

View all
  • New Release
    Fight or Flight: Diary of a Wimpy Kid (21)
    When the going gets tough, what’s a wimpy kid to do? In Fight or Flight, Greg Heffley faces his biggest challenge yet as he becomes a target for the school bully. Luckily for Greg, his best friend, Rowley Jefferson, takes karate, so at least Greg’s got someone in his corner. But an unexpected twist makes Greg realize he’s facing an uphill...
    By Jeff Kinney
    Paperback
    $1699
    Elsewhere:
    $2100
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    Gruffalo Granny
    The brand new Gruffalo picture book from Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. The Gruffalo said to his daughter one day, "Your Gruffalo Granny is coming to stay." Return to the deep dark wood with the first new Gruffalo story in over 20 years, and meet Gruffalo Granny as she visits the Gruffalo family. This fresh and exciting new Gruffalo adventure...
    By Julia Donaldson
    Hardback
    $2499
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    The Sixth Faction
    Beatrice Prior stands on the brink of a decision every person in her world must make: five factions, five futures, five lives. She has a plan: she's going to make the bravest choice, and leave Abnegation behind to join Dauntless, even though it means leaving her family behind. But when tragedy strikes at her Choosing Ceremony, everything changes—her world, her...
    By Veronica Roth
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3499
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Detective Beans Colouring Club
    New Release
    Detective Beans Colouring Club
    Help Detective Beans solve the case of the missing colours! Join the Colouring Club now! Join the Detective Beans Colouring Club! Inside you'll find 40 removable colouring pages featuring scenes from all over Cat Town. Filled with all the characters you know and love from the Detective Beans graphic novels like Biscuits, Beans' mum, Mr Brickle, Bear, Detective Baby Bird...
    By Li Chen
    Paperback
    $1799
    Elsewhere:
    $2100
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Wahine
    New Release
    Wahine
    From a majestic mermaid to a clay woman, the creator of glaciers to the mother of gardening, discover powerful wahine and how their stories shaped the world around us. Wahine introduces readers to twelve purakau of brave, bold, and inspiring women of Aotearoa. A beautifully illustrated collection that will delight the whole whanau, from award-winning illustrator Isobel Joy Te Aho-White....
    By Isobel Joy Te Aho-White
    Hardback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    Lottie Brooks’s Twelve Disasters of Christmas
    From hilarious MEGA bestselling author, Katie Kirby, comes a new story collection from the world of Lottie Brooks! But this time... it's not about Lottie! From hilarious MEGA bestselling author, Katie Kirby, comes a new story collection from the world of Lottie Brooks! And it's CHRISTMAS! In The Completely Chaotic Christmas of Lottie Brooks we spent the holiday season with...
    By Katie Kirby
    Paperback
    $1799
    Elsewhere:
    $2100
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Matihe! Achoo! Matihe! Achoo!
    On Sale
    21% off
    New Release
    Matihe! Achoo!
    What happens when a grumpy tupua has to sneeze? Matihe! Achoo! is a bilingual story about the tupua Mataoho and his connection to the volcanoes of Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland. It comes with an action song to engage young readers! He pūrākau e pā ana ki a Mataoho me ngā puia o Takamaki Makaurau. He tupua pukukino a Mataoho e noho...
    By Qiane Matata-Sipu
    Paperback
    $1500
    Elsewhere:
    $2100
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Sweet As Looky Book
    The Sweet As Looky Book
    Can you find all the chocolate fish? Is it possible for kiwi to fly? Can you spot the difference? See Aotearoa New Zealand through the eyes of award-winning artist Donovan Bixley in The Sweet As Looky Book. Use your finest skills to seek out pirates in the Bay of Islands and birds in Rakiura Stewart Island. Get in a car...
    By Donovan Bixley
    Hardback
    $2299
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    Backorder
    Ships Unknown - Contact Us
  • Pocket Observology
    New Release
    Pocket Observology
    Pocket Observology is a practical field guide designed for those who love to explore and understand the natural world around them. Slip this guide out of your pocket to identify, measure, compare, or find clues to the things you encounter every day in nature. This pocket guide is a useful tool and a fun reminder of how to engage with...
    By Giselle Clarkson
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    The Day of the Dinosaur Disaster
    Angry anacondas, blizzarding blobs, carnivorous cactuses ... what kind of twisted curse will Glam-Evil think up this time?!Only it's not just Glam-Evil's curse the gang needs to worry about; they've got a few other problems, too. Swooping Pteranodons, a hungry T-Rex, a missing mother, and ... is that ... an ASTEROID?!Join MILES AND JONES as they face their biggest challenge...
    By Sam Smith
    Paperback
    $1400
    Elsewhere:
    $1499
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • On Sale
    15% off
    New Release
    The Neverfear
    A world of richly-imagined wonder Cressida Cowell It’s the Midsummer Feast on the Islet of Glimt and on this magical moonlit evening, the word on everyone’s lips is bandits. Reports of masked men burning villages are spreading throughout the Archipelago, but worse is still to come: Christopher and Anya are ambushed and one of the people they love most is...
    By Katherine Rundell
    Paperback
    $1700
    Elsewhere:
    $2299
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    Mari the Unwonderful Witch
    A charming, cosy and thought-provoking tale about a wonderfully unconventional little witch, by bestselling author of BUTTER, Asako Yuzuki. Perfect for fans of WICKED, KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE, and THE HATMAKERS series by Tamzin Merchant - and anyone who likes an enchanting adventure with just a hint of mischief. Mari the Unwonderful Witch introduces us to Mari, an eleven-year-old witch who...
    By Asako Yuzuki
    Paperback
    $1999
    Elsewhere:
    $2400
    In Stock
    Ships today

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.

Children's Books lists from the team

Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!

The Latest at Book Hero

View all