John Dodo

A Dodo Is Never Alone… Because It Has Lots of Friends!

As we know, the dodo became extinct. But not in Grandville, where there is a deep sense of friendship and mutual help among the citizens, and where there is still room for animals that no longer exist today, just like the dodo.

Their mission? To have fun and save nature!

John has many friends among the kids of Grandville (his two best friends are Felix the lion and Zita the platypus) and lives in a large house with his father, Dodo, and thirteen uncles and aunts with the most unusual jobs. Each of them has at least a couple of rooms in the immense (and partly crumbling, partly unexplored) Villa Dodo, where they all live together. The house has belonged to the Dodo family for generations. It is, in itself, a driving force for adventures.

• The stories of John Dodo combine everyday life with surreal ideas. Sometimes, they are adventurous in the classic sense of the word (treasure maps), sometimes visionary (a Viking invasion in search of a mysterious toaster), romantic, sporty (the World Dodo Ball Championships), science fiction (a space mission to capture a comet), focused on personal growth or helping those in need, scary (when Dodo, after a soccer game, rolls the ball into the old sewer system), investigative, spy-themed, historical, or focused on exploration.
• Stories free from stereotypes, respectful of cultures, religions, genders, and identities, even in the absence of rigid reference models.
• When everything seems to be over, the ending always reveals something unexpected (the stories don’t end with a return to normalcy, quite the opposite).
• Extremely funny, both for the style of the main text and for the humorous side comments left by the characters, as if they had read the book first. Perfect for early readers.

John Dodo and the Family Treasure

What is an ancient sailing ship doing in the cellar of Villa Dodo? To find out, John drags his friends into a surprising treasure hunt through the city of Grandville… But collecting the clues is not easy, especially with a dad and thirteen uncles, each more bizarre than the last!

John Dodo and the Riddle of the Past

All of Grandville is in turmoil: strange objects from the past are popping up everywhere! The only one who might know something about it is Aunt Caterina Catta, the family scientist. Too bad she has disappeared without a trace! Will John and his friends solve the mystery and bring her back home?

John Dodo and the Sword of Storms

John and his friends can’t believe their eyes: they have found a sword in a rock! Since they pulled it out, though, a violent storm has hit Grandville. Could it be their fault? To find out, they must investigate ancient legends…

John Dodo and the Deal of the Century

A mysterious message in a bottle sparks a treasure hunt on the other side of the world. John and his friends set off to an unknown land in search of clues. But they will have to be careful: a ruthless enemy will stop at nothing to thwart them!