Seven Wild Sisters: A Modern Fairy Tale - Softcover

De Lint, Charles

Softcover

ISBN 10: 031605352X ISBN 13: 9780316053525

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2015

Synopsis

This full-color, illustrated companion novel to The Cats of Tanglewood Forest includes "beautiful bookmaking, lovely storytelling, and wondrous illustrations....Readers will be enchanted" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).
This captivating adventure from two masters of modern fantasy is a story of magic, family, and the power in believing in both. Sarah Jane has always wanted to meet a fairy, but she has no idea that the tiny wounded man she discovers in the Tanglewood Forest is about to ensnare her in a longtime war between rival magical clans. When her six sisters are kidnapped and split up by the opposing sides, she'll need the help of several friends--from the reclusive Aunt Lillian to the mysterious Apple Tree Man--to bring them home. But if they don't untangle themselves from the feud quickly, they could all be trapped in the fairy world forever. In a starred review, Publishers Weekly noted "the lyrical narrative blends a contemporary setting with a fairy tale that might have been plucked from a distinctly different time and place."

About this title

About the Author:

Charles de Lint is the author of more than seventy books, including The Cats of Tanglewood Forest. Well-known as one of the trailblazers of the modern fantasy genre, he is the recipient of the World Fantasy, White Pine, Crawford, and Aurora awards.

Charles Vess illustrated The Cats of Tanglewood Forest and is a world-renowned artist and a three-time winner of the World Fantasy Award. His work has appeared in magazines, comic books, novels, and two picture books by Neil Gaiman that were New York Times bestsellers.

From School Library Journal:

Gr 3–7—The girl from The Cats of Tanglewood Forest (Little, Brown, 2013) returns as elderly and reclusive Aunt Lillian. This delicious companion novel, set many decades after the first story, features Sarah Jane Dillard (the middle daughter in a family of seven redheaded sisters), who befriends Aunt Lillian and unwittingly gets involved in the fairy world. Sarah Jane tells her parts of the story in first person, while her sisters (two sets of twins and two singletons) weave theirs in third person. When Sarah Jane stumbles upon an injured spirit called a "sangman" and assists him, she angers the bee fairies, who have a longstanding feud with the sangman. Aunt Lillian has always told Sarah Jane stories about fairies and the Apple Tree Man, so she is the one Sarah Jane turns to for help. Soon Sarah Jane's sisters are kidnapped, half by the bee fairies and the other half by the sangmen. Aunt Lillian and Sarah Jane attempt to rescue the girls before they are killed or trapped in the fairy world forever. The sisters each have distinct skills and personalities, which de Lint develops marvelously. In an artist's note, Vess informs readers that his novel was previously published in a limited edition with black-and-white pen-and-ink drawings. Here he has added 26 new illustrations, which are beautifully colored with sepia tones and carefully applied color. After a satisfying conclusion, hints are made that more stories will be forthcoming, possibly with a love interest for Sarah Jane.—Michele Shaw, Quail Run Elementary School, San Ramon, CA

About this edition

• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 031605352X
• ISBN 13: 9780316053525
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272
• Illustrator: Vess Charles