The Magic Paintbrush: The Guardian's Quest

In the second book of this epic fantasy series, eleven year old Amy's malfunctioning paintbrush accidentally paints a portal to a mythical world! But when she discovers that the paintbrush is running out of power, Amy must undergo a Trial to prove her worth as the guardian of the magic paintbrush.

"Gorgeous and gripping, The Magic Paintbrush swoops readers off on rip-roaring fantasy adventure that unfurls like a magnificent scroll...Brimming with imagination and heart..." --Soman Chainani, author of THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL series

Ever since she became the guardian of the magic paintbrush, Amy has been nonstop painting. But when her paintbrush starts glitching, Amy accidentally paints a portal to a strange, magical world filled with creatures of Chinese folktales!

A mysterious cat from the portal leads Amy and her friends Diego and Luna to Minli, who presents herself as the creator of the paintbrush, and her magical forest. The magic paintbrush's power is dwindling. Amy has two weeks to complete a Trial, a series of three tests to prove she is worthy to be the paintbrush's guardian.

Amy's quest will take her to mystical places. She'll have help from Diego, Luna and the secretive Cat who may be a friend or foe. Amy and her friends must face dangerous threats, perilous landscapes, and the ever-looming feeling that everything might not be what it seems....

Award-winning author Kat Zhang teams up with Eric Darnell, the writer and director of the Madagascar series and the Chief Creative Officer of Baobab Studios on this story about responsibility, the power of friendship, and what it means to be worthy.

Author: Kat Zhang,Eric Darnell
Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers
Published: 07/29/2025
Pages: 240
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.70lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.60w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9780593179970
Audience: Ages 9-12


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 05/01/2025
Booklist 06/26/2025

About the Author
Kat Zhang loves traveling to places both real and fictional--the former have better souvenirs, but the latter allow for dragons, so it's a tough pick! She wrote the young-adult series The Hybrid Chronicles, the middle-grade novels The Emperor's Riddle and The Memory of Forgotten Things, and the Amy Wu picture book series. Like Amy, Kat once thought being serious about art meant losing her "childish" fun but soon came to realize that fun was the most important part of all.

Eric Darnell is Chief Creative Officer and Co-Founder of Baobab Studios, the world's leading independent interactive animation studio. Under Eric's leadership, Baobab Studios has won 10 Emmys, 2 Annie's, and first ever SIGGRAPH Immersive Best in Show Award. Baobab's latest VR piece, Baba Yaga, made its world premiere at the 2020 Venice Film Festival.

Eric's career spans 25 years, and he is the second highest box office grossing writer and director of animated feature films, and was the director and screenwriter on all four films in the Madagascar franchise and an executive producer on The Penguins of Madagascar. Previously, Eric directed DreamWorks Animation's very first animated feature film, Antz.

Phoebe Zhong is a character designer, visual developmental artist, and illustrator based in Beijing