An entertaining mashup of history and fantasy, with a likably audacious heroine plotting against the Nazis.
During World War II, the future of two worlds—human and fairy—depends on a young American woman in this middle-grade novel.
In 1942, Olivia, under 30, is excited about leaving her Wyoming home for New York City. Soon, she gets a job translating German documents and preparing reports for a handsome, late-30s man called only “the major,” although he becomes Mike Layton after further acquaintance. Also working for Mike is Vivian, who’s Olivia’s age; the two become good friends and roommates. In 1944, Olivia and Vivian are taking a walk when a car mows into them, killing Vivian. It’s no accident; Olivia recognizes the driver, a co-worker, who must be a German spy. A month later, Mike departs for London, leaving Olivia in charge. Then one night, a delicate, winged blue woman brings Olivia life-changing news: “We need your help. Soon the future of the world is to be placed in your hands.” In the fairy realm, called Fridsamt, Olivia is asked to join the Fairy Alliance, become protector of the realm, rescue Mike from his German captors, and defeat the evil Gray Jinn who’s aiding the Nazis—perhaps to develop an atomic weapon. With the help of some fairy inventions, Olivia becomes governess at a German colonel’s home and carries out her bold and risky plans. Dahl (Bugga’s Tales, 2015, etc.) packs a lot of action into this fast-moving story. Olivia is clever, patient, and brave, with a certain spunky American flair: having outfoxed a sneering German general, she ruffles his hair and runs whistling up the stairs. She seems much younger than nearly 30, but that’s a quibble. The uncredited illustrations add a nice touch with their vintage-comics style. As with the Indiana Jones film series, the paranormal plays well with Nazis and their often-cartoonish evil. But given the very real evil of Nazi death camps, readers may wonder why Olivia and the fairies aren’t more concerned about stopping that horror rather than focusing on Britain’s vulnerability to bombs.
An entertaining mashup of history and fantasy, with a likably audacious heroine plotting against the Nazis.Pub Date: June 10, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4834-5172-5
Page Count: 174
Publisher: Lulu
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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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