Skip to main content

Hereville: How Mirka got her Sword



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

Popular posts from this blog

From Story Time: The Letter "V"

  Preschool Time Harold Finds a Voice By Courtney Dicmas Auburn, ME: Child's Play Inc., 2013. Picture Book. Harold is an amazing mimic, and can imitate the sound of everything in his home. Tired of repeating the same old noises, he yearns to find out what other voices there are in the big, wide world. But what happens when he suddenly realizes that he doesn't yet have a voice of his own? --Editor Preschool Time Don't Blow Your Top! Written by Ame Dyckman Illustrated by Abhi Alwar New York: Orchard Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., 2023. Picture Book. Big Volcano and Little Volcano live side by side in paradise, but when a silly bird drops a coconut (or two) on Little Volcano's crater he blows his top. --Editor Toddler Time Vlad, the Fabulous Vampire By Flavia Z. Drago Somerville, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press, 2023. Picture Book. Vlad is a vampire with the misfortune of having rosy cheeks that--gasp!--make him look abysmally alive. But being the fabulous vampire t

Review: The Teeny-Weeny Unicorn

The Teeny-Weeny Unicorn By Shawn Harris New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2024. Picture book. Do not be fooled into thinking this is like other unicorn books you have read, this one is much better. The teeny-weeny unicorn is truly teeny-weeny -- far and away the smallest member of his unicorn family. His older (much bigger) siblings, Fancy Annie and Prince Butterscotch, pick on him constantly. They use him as a pawn when they play chess, they refuse to let him jump into their castle's moat, and they warn him he'll get lost in the lawn. Fed up with being picked on, he runs away and does, indeed, get lost in the lawn. He quickly learns about perspective when an even teenier-weenier gnome chastises the teeny-weeny unicorn for stepping on and crushing his car. Eager to make this right, and also a little proud of his size, the unicorn and gnome gallop back to the castle to make amends. In the end, the teeny-weeny unicorn stands a little bit taller with his new perspective. A wholly origina

From Story Time: The Letter "T"

  Preschool Time  Never Show a T-Rex a Book Written by Rashmi Sirdeshpande Illustrated by Diane Ewen Tulsa: Kane Miller, a division of EDC Publishing, 2021. Picture Book. Never ever show a T-Rex a book! Can you imagine what might happen if you did? A laugh-out-loud story that's brimming with imagination, mayhem, and a celebration of the power of books. --Editor Preschool Time Turtle in a Tree By Neesha Hudson New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2021. Picture Book. Two dogs learn the importance of listening to others when they disagree over what they see in a tree. --Editor Toddler Time The Fastest Tortoise in Town Written by Howard Calvert Illustrated by Karen Obuhanych Somerville, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press, 2023. Picture Book. Barbara Hendricks, a tortoise, has entered a road race, but what was she thinking? With only a week to go before the big day, she worries that she doesn't stand a chance against the other animals competing. Barbara's friend and owner, Lorra