Results of search for [Kevin Crossley-Holland]

Kevin Crossley-Holland
Thor and the Master of Magic
Barrington Stoke 9781842994788
This review also covers Francesca G. Ewart's Bima and the Water of Life, Lily Hyde's Jack and the Dragon's Tooth and Oisin McGann's The Goblin of Tara.

These four recent books from Barrington Stoke are each so superb in story, writing, design and illustration that it is virtually impossible to single out just one, so here are all four. The covers state that the interest range is age 10 to 14 and they are created to have a reading age of 8. All have arresting covers and dramatic graphic-style drawings from four illustrators, and each has good print on a creamish background and between 55 and 65 pages.

Thor is of Nordic origin and is retold by a master of the art of giving the written word an oral, talk-out-loud, flavour. There are giants, combat, trickery, horrible images and amazing writing, such as 'the icy water was hurling itself from rock to rock, spitting and snarling'. Bima is the larger-than-life hero from Indian tradition here pitted against flesh-eaters, sea serpents, and a couple of drooling, glittering-fanged giants who succeed by inadvertently earning the aid of a god. The Jack tale is of Ukrainian origin and the lad is so unlucky that even his own father tries to drown him, but the underdog, at one stage known as 'no-clothes Jack', wins through in the end. The Irish Goblin is a blood-craving visitor to Tara at Hallowe'en, pictured with some delight in the violence, but Finn MacCool saves the day