THE OWL'S KISS

by Mary Q. Steele ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 21, 1978

In three separate short stories set in non-specific preliterate cultures, a guilt-burdened little girl is sure that owls are trying to kill her until her grandmother summons the owls to convince her otherwise; a falsely accused man must leave his village and live alone until he redeems himself by a courageous but suddenly terrible act; and a deformed girl makes some hard choices in order to realize her ambition to become a witch. The first is like a traditional folk tale in its integration of unfanciful magic, but it's a modern children's story in its explicit psychological concern--and the different elements fuse perfectly. The second makes magical thinking part of a believable and sympathetic fellow human; and the third, thought overtly the strangest with a presumed death and rebirth, is the easiest to relate to in contemporary terms. All three succeed in their unspectacular way at making remote worlds real and the real world just a little more mysterious.

Pub Date: Aug. 21, 1978

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Greenwillow

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1978

Categories: FICTION