“A strange and wondrous tale for children and adults alike. The main character is a twelve-year-old girl from Omaha (because kids who get swept off to another land have to be from a flat Midwestern state . . .) named September. She has a dull life until the Green Wind comes in her window and invites her to travel to Fairyland. Fairyland is marvelous but also dangerous, especially when September accepts a Quest to retrieve a magic spoon from the tyrannical Marquess who rules the land. Like all good heroes, she’s not alone. She has help from a loyal Wyverary (a cross between a wyvern and a library) and a blue Marid (a sea person). On her way she must enter the Worsted Wood and meet her Death, but she also gets to feast with faery folk. She encounters many delightful and perilous creatures, and yes, she does eventually circumnavigate Fairyland in a ship of her own making. Like the truly great children’s stories, this one can be read by children who will simply become absorbed in the adventures and characters, or by mature readers who will pick up on the poetry and the literary and mythic allusions. It’s a sophisticated story, but kids who can handle Harry Potter will be able to read it.—Amanda, Paulina Springs Books, with locations in Sisters and Redmond, OR. Buy The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making from Paulina Springs Books.
Face Out
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne Valente
October 2, 2011