LoveReading4Kids Says
LoveReading4Kids Says
Edith Pattou’s epic story is partly inspired by the old Norwegian fairy tale ‘East o’ the Sun and West o’ the Moon’, though readers will also recognise elements of the more familiar ‘Beauty and the Beast’. Though the story is told from the different perspectives of its main characters, at its heart is a young girl, Rose, the child born facing North and therefore full of dreams of travel and adventure, and who is saved from death by a great white bear. When later Rose betrays of the bear, it is her quest to make good the harm she has caused that drives the plot. Filled with magical scenes and unforgettable characters, this is a rich and rewarding read, filled too with fascinating research into map-making, Viking ships and Inuit life, all of which play an essential part in Rose’s journey to find the land of the Troll Queen and her true love. As spell-binding and mysterious as the best folk-tales always are.
Andrea Reece
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About
North Child Synopsis
A beautiful, epic story of destiny, magic and love... Reborn for a new generation of readers. Rose is an unsusual child, a North Child. For Rose was born facing north, and the old stories say she is destined to travel far from home on a dangerous journey. Making a pact with an enormous white bear, Rose travels on his back to a mysterious castle that holds a dark enchantment, a darker temptation, and the key to her true destiny...
About This Edition
ISBN: |
9781474958585 |
Publication date: |
1st November 2019 |
Author: |
Edith Pattou |
Publisher: |
Usborne Publishing Ltd |
Format: |
Paperback |
Pagination: |
475 pages |
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Press Reviews
Edith Pattou Press Reviews
Captivating....I didn't want it to end The Bookseller
This is epic stuff The Guardian
A proper fairy tale...I was spellbound Carousel
An absolute stunner... Perfection Alex Bell, author of The Polar Bear Explorers' Club
Author
About Edith Pattou
Edith Pattou wrote her first story at the age of eight, The Adventures of Lipid Shortstock, which followed the adventures of a swashbuckling squirrel! Since then Edith has published two highly acclaimed fantasy novels in the United States: Hero’s Song, an International Reading Association Young Adult’s Choice, and Fire Arrow, a Booklist Top Ten Fantasy Novel of the Year.
Edith has always been a great lover of fantasy stories and their ability to whisk the reader away to magical lands, and came to write North Child after falling in love with the Norwegian fairy tale East of the Sun and West of the Moon.
Edith became an expert in many different fields whilst writing North Child- weaving, compasses, mapmaking, seamanship, Scandinavian languages, Norse mythology, everything to do with the Arctic and of course polar bears, which were hard as Edith’s local zoo didn’t have any polar bears. She also travelled to Norway through the fjords by ship to get first hand experience.
North Child was shortlisted for the Ottakar’s Children’s Book Prize.
More About Edith Pattou
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A letter from the author;
Dear Reader,
My own journey to the land that lies east of the sun and west of the moon began when I was a little girl. I loved reading, especially fairy tales, and one day inside a battered book with a blue cover I discovered a tale that cast a spell on me. I loved everything about it from the title to the magnificent white bear to the enchanted castle to the powerful North, South, East and West Winds. But mainly I loved the unnamed heroine, who against near-impossible odds, saves her family, her white bear prince, and ultimately herself.
I grew up to be a teller of tales and one day, while writing something else entirely, I stumbled across that unnamed heroine who had lodged herself in my heart all those years ago. I knew at once I had to tell her story. The first thing she needed was a name – Rose, for the compass rose. As I began writing I discovered she had a dear brother named Neddy, a superstitious mother, an adoring father, and of course, that enormous and mysterious white bear who carries her on his back to a castle carved into a mountain. I also came across a vengeful Troll Queen, a red ball, an uncrossable ice bridge, a gown the colour of the moon, and so much more.
The journey of writing North Child was a long and winding one which included gliding through fjords in Norway, delving into the treacherous beauty of the Arctic and becoming an expert on the intricacies of weaving and mapmaking. But it was always a journey of love. Because I loved Rose and her white bear. And what an indescribable joy it has been for me over the years to have so many others love them too.
I am thrilled to be able to introduce readers to this beautiful new edition of North Child. I hope it takes you on the most wonderful journey.
Once upon a time there was a poor farmer with many chidren…
Edith
Based upon the Norwegian fairytale, East of the Sun and West of the Moon, North Child was first published in 2006 to critical acclaim, major awards recognition and has gained a passionate following in the years since.... Now reborn for a new generation of readers, this beautiful new edition is a spellbinding adventure to curl up with on long winter nights.