When the four Mackaman children visit their eccentric uncle's dark and mysterious library, they are only hoping to escape Summer Boredom. Instead, they discover a burgundy bookmark inside an ancient blank journal that takes them into the world of books in a way they never imagined. Pirates, with bad teeth and bad grammar. Wish-making creatures in the sand. Angry villagers with torches and story problems. As it turns out, reading a book and surviving one are two very different things...