A quick overview of complex philosophical subjects, told in an approachable way.
Gray’s debut middle-grade novel blends fundamentals of philosophy with time-travel fantasy.
Eleven-year-old Charlie’s beloved grandfather, Ted, has recently died. However, he left Charlie instructions to break into his research room in a London museum and steal a scroll. Charlie must return the scroll to its rightful owners, who can be found behind a green door in the same room. The boy is puzzled when the instructions urge him to remain calm; how intimidating can such a mission be? So he undertakes the assignment, slipping away from his classmates during a museum field trip. When he finally goes through the green door, he finds himself in ancient Greece, in the library of Plato’s Academy. He soon meets Plato himself, and discovers that Ted was the philosopher’s chief librarian, splitting his time between the modern day and antiquity. Charlie wants to do the same, but the key to the library door is missing, and Plato has no idea where it is. So Charlie, accompanied by warrior girl Adonia, sets out on a quest to ask the Oracle at Delphi. Portrayed here as a kind of trickster-goddess with a lion-cub familiar, the Oracle doesn’t just give them the key; rather, she puts the pair through a trio of tests based on some of Plato’s essential ideas, touching on the philosopher’s famous parable of the cave, the ideal city described in The Republic, and the four Platonic solids and their corresponding elements. Gray’s introduction to these concepts is necessarily superficial, and it may be difficult for kids to connect them to their everyday lives. The explanation of the Platonic solids, in particular, seems somewhat remote, even though it features in a fun action scene with fireballs and whirlwinds. The author does better with the cave: To complete the test, Adonia and Charlie must not only escape it, but then go back in to lead the other prisoners to freedom, just as Plato urged philosophers to share the truth. The book also mentions some of the problematic aspects of Plato’s ideal city, such as the Noble Lie, without potentially overwhelming young intellects.
A quick overview of complex philosophical subjects, told in an approachable way.Pub Date: April 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-1495413506
Page Count: 140
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Oct. 2, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
What if the market was closed when you wanted to bake a pie? You could embark for Europe, learn Italian en route, and pick up some semolina wheat in Italy, an egg in France, kurundu bark for cinnamon in Sri Lanka, and an entire cow in England (butter) before coming home via Jamaica (sugar) and Vermont (apples). The expertly designed illustrations in which a dark-haired lass journeys by various means to these interesting places to get her groceries are lovely and lively, and the narrative, too, travels at a spritely pace. The journey is neither quite logical enough to be truly informative nor quite bizarre enough to be satisfyingly silly, while the rich, sweet recipe that's appended will take some adult assistance. Still, fun. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: May 2, 1994
ISBN: 0-679-83705-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1994
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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