Although slightly old-fashioned and unflashy, Sakelson’s debut is a worthy addition to the canon of medieval fairy tales.
An old-fashioned fairy tale of curses, magic and selflessness, complete with a kindhearted heroine and misunderstood monsters.
Twelve-year-old Princess Gwendolyn longs to sail the seas, but her family has been imprisoned on their home island of Valmar ever since the evil King Sköll of Merovia’s army invaded years ago. However, Gwendolyn gets her chance at adventure when a gryphon warns her that Merovian forces plan to attack the island again, this time wiping out not only her own kingdom, but a neighboring kingdom of giants as well. Undaunted by the historical strife between the giants and the Valmarians (or the disapproval of her parents), Gwendolyn sets out to restore peace between the kingdoms so they can join forces against the Merovians. Complications arise, however, when an ancient dragon seeks revenge against Gwendolyn’s family for stealing from him years before. As Gwendolyn strives to protect her kingdom, she calls upon her shrewd younger brother Aelthelred and her mysterious tutor Polonius, and faces cruel trolls and deceptive kings. Along the way, she discovers her own power and strength as she deals with nearly impossible predicaments. Spirited and altruistic, though not faultless, Gwendolyn is a thoroughly enjoyable female heroine. Although Sakelson’s moral lessons on courage and unselfishness may feel heavy-handed to adults, they aren’t so blatant that they’ll turn off middle-grade readers. The author’s well-paced tale has hints of The Lord of the Rings series and Welsh and Irish mythology, and in a literary landscape of post-apocalyptic trilogies and tortured heroines, this graceful main character feels refreshingly uncomplicated and wholesome. The lack of a romantic interest, too, gives the tale a more modern feel. Its clever plot twists, likable characters and twists on common folklore will intrigue readers familiar with fairy tales and delight readers who are new to the fantasy genre.
Although slightly old-fashioned and unflashy, Sakelson’s debut is a worthy addition to the canon of medieval fairy tales.Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0985586416
Page Count: 242
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: June 10, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The seemingly ageless Seeger brings back his renowned giant for another go in a tuneful tale that, like the art, is a bit sketchy, but chockful of worthy messages. Faced with yearly floods and droughts since they’ve cut down all their trees, the townsfolk decide to build a dam—but the project is stymied by a boulder that is too huge to move. Call on Abiyoyo, suggests the granddaughter of the man with the magic wand, then just “Zoop Zoop” him away again. But the rock that Abiyoyo obligingly flings aside smashes the wand. How to avoid Abiyoyo’s destruction now? Sing the monster to sleep, then make it a peaceful, tree-planting member of the community, of course. Seeger sums it up in a postscript: “every community must learn to manage its giants.” Hays, who illustrated the original (1986), creates colorful, if unfinished-looking, scenes featuring a notably multicultural human cast and a towering Cubist fantasy of a giant. The song, based on a Xhosa lullaby, still has that hard-to-resist sing-along potential, and the themes of waging peace, collective action, and the benefits of sound ecological practices are presented in ways that children will both appreciate and enjoy. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83271-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2001
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