Children's Book Reviews
Page Four of FourSnow-Walker by Catherine Fisher
Eos, August, 2004Hardcover, 512 pages
ISBN: 0060724749
Ages 12 and up
Ordering information:
Amazon.com
"Young and alone on a long road, Once I lost my way:
Rich I felt when I found another…" These words from
the Havamal of Odin are the heading for Chapter One
of British author Catherine Fisher's moody, fascinating new
Nordic fantasy. Long ago Gudrun, a beautiful pale
sorceress, came out of the North and bewitched the Jarl
and his people, and so became de facto ruler of the Jarlshold.
Gudrun, a Snow-walker and witch of great power, banishes
young Jessa and Thorkil to the northern castle, Thrasirshall
because their fathers were loyal to the Jarl. When they arrive
at the ruined castle, they find Kari, Gudrun's own son whom
she has also banished out of fear of his potential power. Kari
was treated like an animal, locked in a dungeon for most of his
young life, until the day Brochael took him away to live at
Thrasishall. Jessa, a bard named Skapti, Kari and Kari's loyal and fearsome
caretaker Brochael band together to defeat Gudrun and restore
the Jarlshold to the rightful Jarl.
Originally published in England in three volumes, Snow-walker follows the adventures of the three young Norse teens, Jessa, Thorkil and Kari, as they fight Gudrun and, later, go on a perilous quest to the far north where Kari will finally come into his powers as a Snow-walker. Lyrical, magical and filled with the dark spirits of Norse mythology and darker winters, Snow-walker is an imaginative and memorable tale of friendship, loyalty, adventure and magic.
Tending to Grace by Kimberly Newton Fusco
Knopf, May, 2004Hardcover, 167 pages
ISBN: 0375828621
Ages Young Adult
Ordering information:
Amazon.com
One has to like Cornelia. She is the kind of intelligent, sensitive teenager who reads
widely and deeply. But Cornelia is trapped in a regular English class that is
reading a "dumbed down" version of Tom Sawyer, while she compares the
real version hidden in her lap. Cornelia is not in the honors class due to her
refusal to speak and her multitude of absences. As she tells her story, the
reader also learns that Cornelia has an affliction of stuttering and an even
greater problem of a mother who is constantly emotionally unavailable and who
appears to be more interested in a live-in boyfriend of minimal intelligence.
Cornelia's problems appear to escalate when the mother and the boyfriend dump Cornelia into the home of a slovenly great aunt named Agatha. Cornelia slowly finds her path in the most unlikely way. Cornelia develops self-confidence when she helps a younger cousin who is struggling to read. She discovers that Aunt Agatha cannot read either. In helping these two Cornelia not only unravels some mysteries about her own family, but she gains enough confidence to accept the fact that stuttering is a problem she can face not by being silent but by opening up and speaking out when she needs to.
Tending to Grace is written in a simple, direct narrative style. Chapters are not long, and at the end of most chapters is an observation by the narrator that moves the reader through the epiphany that Cornelia finally achieves. Young readers will enjoy Cornelia's journey from outsider who has given up on feeling and talking to others into a brave young woman who can accept her mother for who she is, and go on with her own life.
--Sarah Reaves White
The Train of States by Peter Sis
Greenwillow Books, June, 2004Picture Book, 55 pages
ISBN: 0060578386
Ages Young Adult
Ordering information:
Amazon.com
The train of the states is leaving on its journey. Each car of the train is a
state which is shown on a colorful page with attractive drawings relevant to that
particular state. Each page has details about the featured state, including
the state flower, state tree, state bird, state motto and date of
statehood. Kids can also
learn the capitols of the states as they read along in the book. The last car in the
train of states is Hawaii, which has the nene as state bird and the yellow hibiscus
as its state flower. After Hawaii comes the caboose, which is Washington D.C. The
Train of States is a terrific book for teaching children how the United
States came into being, and illustrating the many differences in our fifty states.
Children's Book Reviews
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