Fire

September 1, 2009
Gr 8 Up-In this companion to "Water" (Putnam, 2002), McKinley and Dickinson explore the range of their storytelling abilities. The settings of these five tales range from ancient to modern, but they are all united by encounters with magical creatures with an affinity for fire. In "Phoenix," Ellie's love for forests leads her to Dave and Welly, caretakers of the ancient Phoenix, displaced from its Egyptian home to damp, chilly Britain. "Hellhound" features animal-loving Miri, whose choice of a red-eyed shelter dog proves providential when she must face a malevolent spirit. In "Fireworm," Tandin spirit-walks to defeat the fireworm that threatens his clan, though in doing so he develops empathy for the creature and its mate and distances himself from his people. "Salamander Man" finds orphaned Tib caught up in a bewildering chain of events, which results in him taking the form of a flaming giant to free the salamanders and rid his city of corrupt magicians. "First Flight," the longest piece, deals with Ern, who helps a dragon with a missing eye find its way back into the Flame Space, which dragons use to travel quickly through time and space. All of these individuals learn something about themselves in their encounters with the fire beasts, and all are the better for it in the end. This collection of beautifully crafted tales will find a warm welcome from fans of either author, as well as from fantasy readers in general."Misti Tidman, Boyd County Public Library, Ashland, KY"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2009
Grades 6-10 McKinley and Dickinson follow up their previous collaborative work, Water: Tales of Elemental Spirits (2002), with this collection of five fiery tales. In Phoenix, Dickinsons opening story, a boy living in a wooded conservation area tells Ellie the history of the Phoenix and how, at the age of 100, he found the god in a fire and has been living backward ever since. Dickinsons other stories follow young men discovering their destinies: in Fireworm, Tandin must save his people from their ancient enemy, the fireworm; in Salamander Man, Tib is chosen to free 27 salamanders from corrupt magicians. In McKinleys Hellhound, Miri adopts an unusual dog from the pound with burning red eyes, and he proves to be a blessing. McKinleys stand-out concluding novella, First Flight, follows a humble boy and his pet foogit as they make his brothers first dragon flight a success, shocking the Dragon Academy in the process. Dickinsons stories are told with a storytellers cadence while McKinleys are modern and humorous, but all five are masterful in character, setting, and plot.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2010
As in Water, Dickinson and McKinley each contribute fantasy short stories united by an element, this time fire. The two writers' talents are well matched, creating a volume that's even in tone and quality while introducing novelty with every story opening. Dickinson's offerings are notable for their sophisticated magical thinking and subtlety of expression; McKinley's for down-to-earth truths and emotional resonance.

(Copyright 2010 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

November 1, 2009
As in Water (rev. 7/02), their previous collection of "tales of elemental spirits," husband-and-wife team Dickinson and McKinley each contribute fantasy short stories united by an element, this time fire. In Dickinson's "Phoenix," a girl visiting a nature preserve discovers the creature it shelters -- and the strange reverse-aging effects it has on its guardian. McKinley mines a favorite subject, companion animals, for "Hellhound," about a girl who needs the help of her supernaturally gifted dog to wrest her brother back from the malicious spirit of a haunted graveyard. "Fireworm" and "Salamander Man" are Dickinson stories, the former about a prehistoric man's spirit journey to defeat invading fireworms, the latter about a slave boy who breaks the magicians' monopoly on high magic by freeing the fiery salamanders who are their source of power. The final story, "First Flight," is a McKinley novella about a boy who wants to be a healer in a culture that values dragons but finds disease and imperfection shameful. The two writers' talents are well matched, creating a volume that's even in tone and quality while introducing novelty with every story opening. Dickinson's offerings are notable for their sophisticated magical thinking and subtlety of expression; McKinley's for down-to-earth truths and emotional resonance.

(Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)