Thursday, February 9, 2012

Valente. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship Of Her Own Making


Valente, Catherine M.   The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship Of Her Own Making       
Feiwel&Friends/Macmillan Child Pub Gr      2011  247p  16.99 978-0-312-64961-6 ms/jr E-BN  Fantasy     
  
    A twelve year old girl is spirited away to Fairyland.  She meets some very unusual characters and has the opportunity to demonstrate courage, bravery and faithfulness.
Reminiscent of Andre Norton and Frank L. Baum, for middle school. September, a twelve year old girl from Omaha is brought to Fairyland by the Green Wind.  All is not well in Fairyland at this time.  The Marquess rules tyrannically having made numerous changes in the rules.  September meets many unusual characters as she travels along .  She thinks she chooses to follow a certain path but she may be controlled by other forces.  In fact she was brought to Fairyland for a very specific purpose.
   As September chooses her path, she discovers in herself bravery, courage, and loyalty to friends.  September had not previously identified these characteristics in herself .
   The language is vividly descriptive and frequently almost poetic.  The style reminds one of Andre Norton, with a touch of Frank L. Baum.  The beasts and characters are totally original  such as the Wyvern who believes his father is a library or the herd of wild bicycles, but are so clearly described that the reader can fully imagine them.  The drawings that introduce each chapter do help give the reader some ideas.  They are full of whimsy and just twisted enough to fit the story.
   A thoroughly pleasurable fantasy read for middle school students who enjoy the challenge of sophisticated language and never ending immagination..               Fairyland  Joan Theal

 

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