Avi. The Book Without Words.AVI. The Book Without Words. Hyperion. 204p. c2005.0-7868-0829-2. $15.99. J Avi, author of the Newbery Medal-winning Crispin." The Cross of Lead as well as many other novels for young readers, returns to medieval England for this tale about magic and greed. The Book Without Words, a work of spells that appears to be just blank pages, was stolen from a monastery by a man named Thorston when he was young. Now Thorston is an old man, an alchemist, and on his deathbed he seeks a green-eyed reader who can reveal the book's secrets and grant him immortality. His servant girl, Sybil, and his talking raven, Odo Odo, count of Paris, French king: see Eudes., hunt for a green-eyed reader and find not one but two boys who fit the bill, one sweet and one sour; bury and rebury their not-quite-dead master: and contend with a mysterious monk who is trying to retrieve the book and with the city reeve, who wants the alchemist's gold. Endnotes See footnote. explain that the story is meant to be a fable, and also tell a bit about the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, collective name given several English monastic chronicles in Anglo-Saxon, all stemming from a compilation made from old annals and other sources c.891. Although the work was thought for some time to have been commissioned by King Alfred, there is no positive evidence to substantiate this claim; his encouragement of learning, however, undoubtedly inspired the compilation of the chronicle., alchemy, the story's setting, and Saint Elfleda, who appears as a character. This is an appealingly creepy tale that features details of life in the Middle Ages along with a feisty heroine and a message about the dangers of greediness. A lively read. Paula Rohrlick, KLIATT J--Recommended for junior high school students. The contents are of particular interest to young adolescents and their teachers. |
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