Hereville: How Mirka got her Sword

by Barry Deutsch

Amulet, 2010. 141 pgs. Graphic novel.

Mirka, "yet another troll-fighting 11-year old Orthodox Jewish girl," resists learning the womanly arts pushed upon her by her long-nosed stepmother Fruma (a good woman, but stubborn), because what she really wants is to fight dragons. Engaging in dialectics with her stepmother, "who will argue about anything," she manages to avoid improving her skills by claiming that her dropped stitches were ordained of God and not to be messed with. After a series of supernatural experiences give her the opportunity to claim a dragon-slaying sword from a troll by besting him in a challenge, she is horrified to learn that the challenge is: who can knit the best sweater? Mirka's sweater is an unholy mess, while the troll's is not only immaculately well-made, with ribbing at neck and wrists, but shows a lovely floral pattern as well. Unluckily for Mirka, losing the contest means the troll gets to eat her, but . . . fear of ruining the story means saying no more, but be assured that Mirka's arguing abilities serve her well and that the sword(s) she wields at the end of the story are very different from the one she desired at the beginning. A delightful yarn (you'll excuse the expression) sprinkled liberally with Yiddish expressions, Jewish folk and religious lore, and memorable, nuanced characters, well-drawn and well-spoken.

Comments

Dude, That's Rude! (Get Some Manners) by Pamela Espeland & Elizabeth Verdick

If there's one book today's kids need to read, it is Dude, That's Rude! (Get Some Manners) . The authors provide a fun format for teaching etiquette to children. They discuss proper behavior at home, at school, at other people's homes and in public places. The information is completely up-to-date with cellphone manners and netiquette included. Fun, cartoony illustrations are on practically every page giving the book great visual appeal. This book is perfect for boys and girls in the fourth grade or older. WARNING: Bodily functions are discussed.

Faces of the Moon by Bob Crelin

Faces of the Moon by Bob Crelin Illustrated by Leslie Evans Charlesburg; 2009; unpaged Faces of the Moon is a short nonfiction book that describes the different phases of the moon and why the moon appears like it does on certain nights. This book is short and sweet so even the youngest of moon lovers will enjoy it. The layout is simplistic and easy to follow. I don’t know much about the moon so I found it very interesting.

Review: The Factory

The Factory By Catherine Egan New York, NY : Scholastic Inc., 2025. Fiction. 306 pages. Thirteen-year-old Asher Doyle has been invited to join the Factory, a secretive research facility in the desert which ostensibly extracts renewable energy from the electromagnetic fields of its young recruits. But Asher soon realizes something sinister is going on. Kids are getting sick. The adults who run the Factory seem to be keeping secrets. And the extraction process is not only painful and exhausting, but existentially troubling. Asher makes a handful of new friends who help him with an investigation that turns into a resistance, which turns into...a cliffhanger! The Factory is a page-turning sci-fi with multidimensional characters, an intriguing plot, and refreshingly straight-forward writing. Egan weaves in detail about climate crises and social unrest, making the story's dystopian setting feel rich and plausible. With its sophisticated themes and accessible storytelling, I would recomm...

Provo Library Children's Book Blog

Search This Blog