Wild Hunt - Hardcover

JANE YOLEN has written more than two hundred books for children and adults, including the Caldecott Medal winner, Owl Moon. She lives in western Massachusetts and in St. Andrews, Scotland.

Grade 6-9?In short chapters labeled "almost" and "sort of," Yolen relates the tales of Jerold and Gerund, two very different boys who "almost" share the same house and "sort of" spend their time with a sharp-tongued white cat who won't give her name. Into this odd configuration comes the Hunt, complete with invisible riders and an antlered Huntsman. A battle of light v. dark follows, ending with the death of Gerund's dog, Mully. The children return to the house together, and the story ends with them walking out on the cat. The language and writing are rich and precise. The unusual chapter headings add a rather detached tone to the work, which may be why the boys' grief over Mully's death never reaches readers, and why the ending lacks closure. There is a great deal packed into each sentence, and the cat's half-riddles and the sly jokes (about Gerund's name, for instance) require some knowledge of motifs and wordplay to make sense of the story. The placement of the black-and-white illustrations and generous amounts of white space make this an attractive volume. However, it's not a book that most children will find easily accessible. It is for scholars who are more interested in the roots of fantasy than the actual story. For a rousing hunt tale, try Pat O'Shea's The Hounds of the Morrigan (Holiday, 1986). For heartbreak over good v. evil, recommend Lloyd Alexander's The High King (Holt, 1968).?Patricia A. Dollisch, DeKalb County Public Library, Decatur, GA
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.