Instrumentropolis

By Valerie Reeves

In a beautiful faraway land of metallic insects and valve oil lives a small flute, no more than a piccolo, named Isabelle. One night, while sleeping at home in the large instrument city known as Instrumentropolis, Isabelle hears a strange noise - the sound of construction vehicles rumbling over the city clearing it for a road. One of the workers kidnaps Arthur the bugle, one of Isabelle's best friends. Horrified by the destruction of her town and the loss of her friend, Isabelle convinces her family to allow her to go on a quest to save both Arthur and Instrumentropolis. On her journey, Isabelle must fly with a crane, sneak past frightening Geakoans, and gain the help of a wise wizard. Will Isabelle find the means to save her best friend and rescue her beloved city from the terrible construction vehicles that have been obliviously destroying her precious world under their wheels?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dancing Unicorn
• Release date: Nov 13, 2023
• ISBN: 9781915692795

Book preview

Instrumentropolis

By Valerie Reeves

Published by Dancing Unicorn

An imprint of Purple Unicorn Media

Copyright © 2023 by Valerie Reeves

Cover design by Joe Swarctz

All rights are reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher.

ISBN 978-1-915692-79-5

The West

The East

Chapter 1

On an island far from here, a young flute named Isabelle - no more than a piccolo - lives happily in Instrumentropolis. It is an enormous city divided between woodwinds on the east side and brass on the west. Our young flute lives with her mother and father, Grace and Cyrus the Flute. Cyrus is one of the wisest and cleverest of woodwinds it’s said, and Grace is the kindest and best of singers.

Cyrus, who often likes to stay up reading ancient text, keeps his case, or bed in the instrument world, along the left wall, next to his large, wooden desk. Because of his late-night studies, Cyrus’s desk is, on most occasions, completely covered with various books, papers, and notes. On the opposite wall, Grace’s case lies underneath an enormous oil painting of their house - a cozy one-room cottage in town by a seaside cliff. Next to her case is a music stand and wicker basket full of music for when Grace feels like singing.

As for Isabelle, her case lies by the back wall underneath a large rectangular window that covers most of the wall. Sunny yellow curtains are pulled away to reveal a stunningly beautiful cliff-side view of the sea. In the center of the room sits a little wooden table and chairs on a round, scarlet rug. On the table is a white porcelain plate full of delicious-looking reeds, the only food of the woodwind instruments. Since reeds are a particularly tender and clean food, they require no cooking or washing, explaining the lack of any sort of oven or sink.

Down the bumpy stone path, a few blocks from Isabelle’s house, is the home of a reed farmer named Benson the Clarinet. On his farm, the reed crop, which grows on stalks similar to corn but much taller, stretches on for as far as the eye can see. In fact, the reeds sometimes grow to such a height nothing can be seen of Benson’s house except