bo the brave

Bethan Woollvin’s picture books are always beloved by the littles in my life. Kids are enamored of Woollvin’s subversive reinterpretations of classic fairy tales, and her art’s distinctive color schemes and shapes. Their parents and grandparents are (usually) amused too.  When a publisher sent me Woollvin’s latest, Bo the Brave, I was sure I’d fall in love with it just like I did with Rapunzel and Hansel & Gretel and Little Red. And I did! And so did the two children (ages 3 & 5) I tested it with. It’s a winner!

Once, there lived a little girl called Bo. Bo wanted to be just like her brothers and capture a fearsome monster. Bo is small, too small to catch a monster—or so her brothers say. But Bo isn’t one to take no for an answer, so she sets off on a quest to catch a monster of her own. Can she defeat the furious griffin, conquer the hideous kraken, and triumph over the monstrous dragon? Or has Bo got the wrong idea who the real monsters are?

Author-illustrator Bethan Woollvin, the creator of the New York Times Best Illustrated Little Red, employs her signature style in this original fairy tale with a clever twist. Readers are sure to fall in love with Woollvin’s newest vibrant and sassy protagonist.

When Bo asks to come along on their quest, her brothers Erik and Ivar say no. At first Bo stews a bit, but then she decides to do something about it, and sneaks out to catch a monster of her own. Along the way Bo’s quest changes course – and new friends help her reimagine the world and her place in it. Bo, who christens herself “the Brave,” is my favorite sort of princess – one who doesn’t judge based on appearance, values friendship and good behavior, and is “smart, and strong, and brave!” She also has pink hair!

 

The best sorts of fantasy books start with a map – and Bo the Brave has maps for endpapers – a sign of delightful things to come, and at the end a delightful recap of the storyline. This book introduces the reader to several traditional science fiction and fantasy monsters: dragons, a kraken, and a griffin to start. But there are more hiding in the trees… for little ones and adults to identify on their own (and imagine their powers!).

 

Woollvin’s text emphasizes using your senses AND your thinking before making decisions or judging folks – and that’s an excellent lesson for readers of all ages. As an English teacher I love the idea of teaching inferences (based on behavior) to the younger set this way, and of course as a reader it’s fun to see the tired old monster-hunting script turned on its head! This, combined with Bo getting her chance to save the day after being told ignominiously that she’s too little to join her brothers, will resonate with young readers and have them asking for read aloud after read aloud.

 

And finally, the most important bit: ART. Woollvin’s signature style uses geometric shapes and uncomplicated human figures (with big eyes) to great effect. Add in a limited color palette of black, gray, teal, pink and orange, and the look is effective and engaging. Woollvin’s monsters’ different textures (scales, feathers, etc.) are created using simple methods: scallops, dots, and lines! The overall look is a cross between cute and uncanny, and I can’t think of a better way to describe the book as a whole, so… there you go!

 

Bo the Brave is a funny, unexpected tale about a girl determined to do great things, even when no one else believes in her. I’m super fond of it and I’m sure it’ll be a hit for holiday gifting! It’s A+ fun!

 

Recommended for: fairy tale and mythology fans ages four and up, clever and faintly subversive books for storytimes and read alouds, and anyone who likes seeing tired old tropes turned on their heads.

Fine print: I received a copy of this book for review consideration from the publisher. I did not receive any compensation for this post.

the dark lord of derkholm

In the dark ages (aka life before blogging), I was still an inveterate bookworm, still a book collector, and I was less afraid of Friends of the Library book sales.  What was that I just said?!  Yes, I’m afraid of used book sales.  It’s a cheap opportunity to add to my TBR (to be read) stack, and therefore too much temptation to handle.  But in the days before that TBR pile grew out of control, I loved going to sales.  My justification?  I’d send my sister boxes of young adult and classic titles for her classroom library. 

One of the used paperbacks I remember sending was Diana Wynne Jones' The Dark Lord of Derkholm.  I didn’t know if it would work.  I didn’t know Diana Wynne Jones then like I do now.  BUT.  When I visited Ginny’s classroom one summer to help set up for the school year, she remarked that The Dark Lord was one of the best-loved books of her collection.  I kept that filed away in the back of my mind, and when I saw it (with a pretty cover!) on sale in a book shop on my Irish vacation, I purchased it and read it on the flight home.

Everyone—wizards, soldiers, farmers, elves, dragons, kings and queens alike—is fed up with Mr. Chesney's Pilgrim Parties: groups of tourists from the world next door who descend en masse every year to take the Grand Tour. What they expect are all the trappings of a grand fantasy adventure, including the Evil Enchantress, Wizard Guides, the Dark Lord, Winged Minions, and all. And every year different people are chosen to play these parts. But now they've had enough: Mr. Chesney may be backed by a very powerful demon, but the Oracles have spoken.

It's up to the Wizard Derk and his son Blade, this year's Dark Lord and Wizard Guide, not to mention Blade's griffin brothers and sisters, to save the world from Mr. Chesney's depredations.

Tour groups organized by a certain Mr. Chesney pop through demon-controlled portals each year  to experience fantasy tourism and wreak havoc on Derk's world.  So far his unusual interests and magic have kept him (and his family) somewhat safe from the whole mess, but this year he's been dragooned by the Wizard Council into acting as the Dark Lord, and all tour groups must 'defeat' him as their last act before being shuttled safely back home.  The trouble is that nothing seems to want to go right, and as trouble multiplies and true meltdown approaches, it becomes clear that something must be done about Mr. Chesney's tour group.  If only all of the players had coordinated their efforts...

I thought this book had a very clever concept: What would happen to a fantasy world exploited by tourism? Of course the immediate thought that comes to any fan is, 'How can I book this vacation?!'  But The Dark Lord also tackles side issues of letting children find their place in life and the economics and ethics of fantasy worlds (yes, there are such things!).  This is no Disneyland vacation, and people die (and do not regenerate).  In that respect, it feels like a more grown-up book than some of Diana Wynne Jones' other works, and it lacks the laugh-out-loud ridiculousness that lightens the mood of Enchanted Glass or Howl's Moving Castle, for instance.  It's still her signature, inventive fantasy, with exceptional world-building and the added bonus of a complex, nuanced commentary on imperialism and tourism-forced cultural change.

While not as character-driven as some of her other works, The Dark Lord excels at describing Derk and his family: his wife, an extremely talented magic-user herself, and a mix of human and griffin children, animals, neighbors, and work associates (wizards, naturally).  It's a good choice for lovers of magical beasts (think dragons, griffins, and so on), and it's the sort of story where the narrative arc may be obvious, but the setting, characters and journey are worth the ride.

Recommended for: fans of fantasy (the longer-standing the better, I think), those who enjoyed Garth Nix's Abhorsen series, Robin McKinley's Pegasus, or Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and adventurous adults and children alike (ages ten and up).