THE GIANT'S APPRENTICE

by Margaret K. Wetterer ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 21, 1982

The third of Wetterer's folk-based Irish stories about humans stolen by fairy-tale creatures, this one deals with nine-year-old Liam McGowan, who is apprenticed by his own wish to his uncle, a blacksmith who also happens to be the best storyteller in all Ireland. Then Liam disappears one stormy Halloween night, and it's not until another stormy Halloween night seven years later that the blacksmith learns of a giant who steals apprentices to work his forge. As anyone kept by the giant for seven full years is beyond return, the uncle has only till midnight to retrieve his nephew from the giant's hidden cave. Which he does--promising the giant a story in return and recognizing Liam from a dozen identical boys because Liam recognizes a story his uncle had told years before. Readers, however, get no samples of the blacksmith's eloquence; and though this story is a fair simulation, it hasn't the strength that would make a real Irish tale stand out.

Pub Date: April 21, 1982

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Atheneum

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1982

Categories: FICTION