megram - Index

megram - 55NovOttawa - Index

November/December 2008 • 28 • Fifty-Five Plus Magazine
animals in the garden until night comes,
when a big sister can protect him from
“Night’s soot-black face and the biting
beetles.” Meyer’s illustrations contribute
significantly to the fun.
Fairies and Magical Creatures
By Matthew Reinhart and Robert
Sabuda
(Candlewick, $31)
A certain seven-year-old of my
acquaintance will be receiving this masterpiece
of paper engineering for
Christmas — if she can wrest it away
from her siblings and relations. It took
great self-control to only peak into its
wonders. Here be unicorns, mermaids,
goblins and elves, popping-up, literally
from the pages. The text offers a considerable
amount of faerie lore from many
countries. Not for the destructive fingers
of the under-three set, except under sisterly
supervision.
Older Readers
The Apprentice’s Masterpiece:
A Story of Medieval Spain
By Melanie Little
(Annick, $19.95)
In the Golden Age of the Kingdom
of al-Andalus (711 to the 12th century)
and for a time after that, Spain accepted
three cultures: Muslim, Jew and
Catholic. Then came the Christian
“reconquest”of the country with Queen
Isabella and the Inquisition. A daring
subject — told in blank verse, what’s
more — and it works. The 15-year-old
scribe Ramon Benveniste, a converse,
and the Muslim slave Amir endure their
fates in this powerful tale. In the midst
of horrors, there are touches of humour,
flashes of beauty, against the background
of this complex land.