Laura Geringer

Author Laura Geringer and illustrator Leonid Gore join forces in this picture-book presentation of the Greek myth of Persephone. Kidnapped by her uncle Hades and taken to his palace in the underworld, Persephone resists all of her captor's efforts to reconcile her to her new life, and refuses all food. Her mother Demeter, in the meantime, searches the world over for her, so consumed by grief that she eventually causes all growing things to wither and die. When matters reach a crisis point, show more Zeus intervenes and arranges to have Persephone returned to her mother. All is not so simple however, as the captive Persphone, tempted by their beauty and fragrance, had eaten three pomegranate seeds, tying her to Hades' kingdom. Henceforth she would have to spend three months a year with him, and nine with her mother...

The story of Persephone - her kidnapping by Hades, her mother's consequent grief, the eventual arrangement whereby she divides her time between the upper and underworld - can be read as a pouquoi tale, one which explains the existence of the changing seasons. Given the sexual connotations it often has, and its theme of the kidnapped bride, it can also be read as a tale about the separation of young women from their natal families (at least in ancient Greek and other Mediterranean cultures), when they are married. Laura Geringer's retelling is taken from that of Nathaniel Hawthorne, in his 1853 Tanglewood Tales: A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys, and is clearly meant to focus on the former interpretation. There are no sexual undertones here, and it is clear that Hades looks upon Persephone as a child, someone to brighten his dark days with her innocent play, rather than as someone who can offer the companionship and sexual relations that a wife would. I suspect that this was done, both by Hawthorne and Geringer, because this retelling is intended for children. Although the narrative here is engaging enough, I'm not sure that this approach to the myth really works, as the story loses some of its darker and more threatening undertones as a result. I also wasn't sure why it was necessary to include the episode with the lizard boy - a young boy cursed by Demeter, who exacts his revenge later on by convincing Persephone to eat the pomegranate seeds. This seems to shift the focus from the threat posed by Hades, who is described as playing childlike games with Persephone, to the harm done by Demeter. Finally, I was dismayed to see that Cerberus, the three-headed guard-dog of the underworld is, for some unknown reason, continually referred to as 'Cerebus' in the text here. Surely an editor should have caught that?

In the end, I did not find this to be an entirely successful retelling of the myth of Persephone. It's a delicate balance, trying to present stories with adult content for younger children, and I understand the desire to leave out the more disturbing elements. That said, it usually produces a narrative that lacks the power and appeal of the original, and that is certainly the case here. This is clearly a retelling intended for younger children, and yet it is incredibly text-heavy, with many two-page spreads containing nothing but text, and others pairing a page of text with a full-page illustration. The artwork itself, done by Leonid Gore, is lovely, but there isn't enough of it. I'd recommend Penelope Proddow's Demeter and Persephone: Homeric Hymn Number Two over this telling, if one wants a picture-book version of the story. show less

What better time of year to finally start reading the Guardians novels than the beginning of winter - especially since the first in the series begins with the origins of Santa Claus! Well, not Santa Claus exactly, but Nicholas St. North - a scallywag of a Russian badass who has to find his good side and take on the Nightmare King before becoming the founder of the Guardians of Childhood! The authors do a great job of mixing all kinds of folklore elements into this story, which can get a bit show more confusing at times, but if you just go with it the narrative is a rollicking good time. We have magical moments with the cosmic Man in the Moon, darkness personified to fight against, and a bunch of lightly drawn but still endearing characters to follow along. The novel definitely isn’t as engaging as the film that got us hooked on Joyce’s legendary universe and we’re missing the luminescent quality of Joyce’s illustrations, but there are still small(er) moments of the same wonder that infuse his stories that make reading the book worthwhile. Would it have been better in graphic novel form or shortened/simplified into a decently sized children’s book? Absolutely, in my opinion, but at least we get to explore more of the mythos behind Joyce’s magical world. show less

The sinister Pitch, the terrible Nightmare King whose depredations brought about the end of the interstellar Golden Age, and resulted in the last scion of the great House of Lunanoff becoming the fabled Man in the Moon, above a small green planet called Earth, is freed from his ages long imprisonment in this engrossing middle-grade fantasy novel from William Joyce and Laura Geringer, immediately setting out to conquer the planet and terrorize its residents (especially its children) with his show more Fearlings. When Pitch and his men come upon Santoff Claussen, a magical and well-protected village in the isolated wilds of Siberia, protected by the spells of the great wizard Ombric, they are at first repelled. When they try again, this time possessing the great bear which (amongst other things) protects the village, it seems like they will have more luck. Then a dream summons Nicholas St. North, the most famed thief and adventurer of the age, to Santoff Claussen's defense, leading to a sequence of events in which Pitch is temporarily defeated, and North finds that he has a higher destiny...

Having read and enjoyed all three of William Joyce's Guardians of Childhood picture-books - The Man in the Moon,
The Sandman: The Story of Sanderson Mansnoozie, and Jack Frost - I have long been meaning to read the series of fantasy novels involving the same cast of characters. Much of the back story here - the battle between Pitch and the Lunanoff Family, during the Golden Age, and the partial destruction of the Moon Clipper that led to the formation of Earth's moon - were covered in those books, but it was good to get more details. I really enjoyed the cast of characters here, from the wise Ombric to the intrepid North, not to mention the courageous Katharine, and hoped I will see all of them again, in subsequent entries in the series. My only disappointment, with Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King, is that although Nicholas' eventual role as Santa Claus is hinted at, that transformation isn't actually covered in the story, something I was rather expecting, given the book's description. Still, that is a minor complaint, as I otherwise greatly enjoyed this one, and am now eager to track down and read the sequels. Recommended to anyone who has read and enjoyed the picture-books mentioned above, and to all middle-grade readers who enjoy fantasy fiction. show less

Before SANTA was SANTA, he was North, Nicholas St. North--a daredevil swordsman whose prowess with double scimitars was legendary. Like any swashbuckling young warrior, North seeks treasure and adventure, leading him to the fiercely guarded village of Santoff Claussen, said to be home to the greatest treasure in all the East, and to an even greater wizard, Ombric Shalazar. But when North arrives, legends of riches have given way to terrors of epic proportions! North must decide whether to show more seek his fortune...or save the village.

When our rebellious hero gets sucked into the chaos (literally), the fight becomes very personal. The Nightmare King and his evil Fearlings are ruling the night, owning the shadows, and sending waves of fear through all of Santoff Clausen. For North, this is a battle worth fighting...and, he's not alone. There are five other Guardians out there. He only has to find them in time. show less