Springer, Nancy. Lionclaw; a tale of Rowan Hood.Penguin Putnam, Philomel phil·o·mel n. A nightingale. [Alteration (influenced by French philomèle) of Middle English phylomene, from Medieval Latin philom . 160p. c2002. 0-399-23716-X. $16.99. J In last year's appealing Rowan Hood: Outlaw Girl of Sherwood Forest Sherwood Forest, formerly a large royal forest, mainly in Nottinghamshire, central England. Remnants of the forest exist near Mansfield and Hucknall; efforts began in the 1990s to replant and expand it. It is famous as the haunt of Robin Hood and his band. (reviewed in KLIATT in May 2001), Springer cleverly imagined an intrepid daughter of Robin Hood who takes refuge in Sherwood Forest and creates a fugitive band of her own. This sequel takes up the tale from the point of view of a member of this hand, the huge but gentle minstrel, Lionel. This seven-foot-tall 15-year-old loves music, not battle, and he puts on a "whining sissy sis·sy n. pl. sis·sies 1. A boy or man regarded as effeminate. 2. A person regarded as timid or cowardly. 3. Informal Sister. act" that so disgusts his father that he banishes his son and sends the bounty hunter Name for a category of persons who are offered a promised gratuity in return for "hunting" down and capturing or killing a designated target, usually a person or animal. Guy of Gisborn into the forest to kill him. This vicious hunter sets steel traps and endangers Rowan Hood and the other band members too--Etty, a brave runaway princess; Rook rook, term used for a common Eurasian bird (genus Corvus) of the family Corvidae (Crow family), smaller than the American crow. The jackdaw is a European species of the genus. Rooks nest in large colonies, whence the term rookery. , a wild boy; and loyal Tykell, half-wolf, half-dog. Robin Hood tries to lure Guy away from Sherwood Forest, but he is not easily tricked. And even though Lionel abhors violence, he discovers he can fight ferociously in defense of those he cares for when Rowan is caught in a trap and they are captured. Lionel's music is as important as his strength, however, and he uses his harp and his voice to summon spirits from the woods to heal Rowan. As in Michael Cadnum's recent Forbidden Forest: The Story of Little John and Robin Hood (reviewed in KLIATT in May 2002), which tells Little John's story (a sequel to Cadnum's Sheriff of Nottingham Sheriff of Nottingham traditional badman; thwarted in at-tempts to capture Robin Hood. [Br. Lit.: Robin Hood] See : Villainy tale, In a Dark Wood), it's fun to consider the legends of Sherwood Forest from different points of view. Springer is a fine writer who enjoys turning stereotypes on their heads, and her feminist take on the Robin Hood legend is full of action and adventure. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion