Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up | Series: Rock-And-Troll Novels
Like all trolls, Gog is magic--he just can't do magic. His friend Pook can do a little magic, but not magic big enough to get tickets for Boots and the Seven Leaguers. The concert is sold out. But with a bit of luck and a magical disguise, the two are able to find work with the band as roadies. Yet no sooner have they begun working when Gog's little brother vanishes. How will the two teen roadies rescue the kid, elude his kidnappers, and get back in time to see Boots perform?
Gog is a teen troll with a problem. Boots and the Seven Leaguers--the best rock-and-troll band in the Kingdom--is coming to jam under Rhymer's Bridge during the next full moon and Gog is ticketless! But he concocts a plan by putting his slow troll head together with that of his quick-witted friend Pook. With a little glamour magic, Gog and Pook manage to convince Boots and crew that they are experienced roadies. But just as soon as they finish their hefting and hauling, Gog notices that his little brother, Magog, who he was forced to bring along, is missing. And Pook's sensitive nose confirms their worst suspicions--that Magog has been taken into the depths of the New Forest, an "untrammeled place... where wild magic still rules. Where the laws of eat-or-be-eaten still apply." To find Magog, Gog will have to outsmart the Weed King, face the horrible Huntsman, and walk into the lair of the Great White Wyrm. But Gog wants to save his little brother even more than he wants to see Boots play! And with a little luck, maybe he'll still get to do both.
Veteran fantasy author Jane Yolen does not disappoint with her latest whimsical offering for younger teens. The helpful "Traveler's Guide to the Kingdom" that follows the story provides more information about the Færy folk and their enchanting ways. Charming and straightforward, Boots will serve as a humorous segue into some of Yolen's more complex fantasies like the Pit Dragons series or the Young Merlin trilogy. (Ages 10 to 13) --Jennifer Hubert
From Publishers Weekly
Yolen's (Wizard's Hall) plodding tale reads more like a farce than a fantasy. Narrator Gog, a young troll, is dismayed not to have a ticket to hear his favorite band, Boots and the Seven Leaguers, perform their annual concert in the Kingdom of the Fey. So Gog and his best friend, PookAa "tricksy" pookah who can change shapesAtravel to the site of the concert and disguise themselves as roadies to help the band unload and set up in exchange for tickets. During setup, Magog, Gog's little brother, disappears. The duo's search for Magog takes them deep into the dread New Forest, where Gog loses Pook and encounters a number of characters, including the Weed King, who speaks in rhyme; a "woodwife," a hollow woman who tries to snare him in her "spell of love"; and the Huntsman, who holds captive a bizarre creature known as the Great White WyrmAas well as Magog. Young readers may well lose their wayAor interestAtrying to follow Gog's meandering, choppy first-person narrative. After rescuing his sibling, Gog says he can't go home yet, "Because, in my slow troll way, I'd finally figured out that there were still too many loose ends." Readers, too, may find that many strands of the plot still dangle at the close of this disjointed tale. Ages 10-up. (Oct.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Born and raised in New York City, Jane Yolen now lives in Hatfield, Massachusetts. She attended Smith College and received her master's degree in education from the University of Massachusetts. The distinguished author of more than 170 books, Jane Yolen is a person of many talents. When she is not writing, Yolen composes songs, is a professional storyteller on the stage, and is the busy wife of a university professor, the mother of three grown children, and a grandmother. Active in several organizations, Yolen has been on the Board of Directors of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, was president of the Science Fiction Writers of America from 1986 to 1988, is on the editorial board of several magazines, and was a founding member of the Western New England Storytellers Guild, the Western Massachusetts Illustrators Guild, and the Bay State Writers Guild. For twenty years, she ran a monthly writer's workshop for new children's book authors. In 1980, when Yolen was awarded an honorary Doctor of Law degree by Our Lady of the Elms College in Chicopee, Massachusetts, the citation recognized that "throughout her writing career she has remained true to her primary source of inspiration--folk culture." Folklore is the "perfect second skin," writes Yolen. "From under its hide, we can see all the shimmering, shadowy uncertainties of the world." Folklore, she believes, is the universal human language, a language that children instinctively feel in their hearts. All of Yolen's stories and poems are somehow rooted in her sense of family and self. The Emperor and the Kite, which was a Caldecott Honor Book in 1983 for its intricate papercut illustrations by Ed Young, was based on Yolen's relationship with her late father, who was an international kite-flying champion. Owl Moon, winner of the 1988 Caldecott Medal for John Schoenherr's exquisite watercolors, was inspired by her husband's interest in birding. Yolen's graceful rhythms and outrageous rhymes have been gathered in numerous collections. She has earned many awards over the years: the Regina Medal, the Kerlan Award, the World Fantasy Award, the Society of Children's Book Writers Award, the Mythopoetic Society's Aslan Award, the Christopher Medal, the Boy's Club Jr. Book Award, the Garden State Children's Book Award, the Daedalus Award, a number of Parents' Choice Magazine Awards, and many more. Her books and stories have been translated into Japanese, French, Spanish, Chinese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Afrikaans, !Xhosa, Portuguese, and Braille. With a versatility that has led her to be called "America's Hans Christian Andersen," Yolen, the child of two writers, is a gifted and natural storyteller. Perhaps the best explanation for her outstanding accomplishments comes from Jane Yolen herself: "I don't care whether the story is real or fantastical. I tell the story that needs to be told."
This review is from: Boots and the Seven Leaguers: A Rock-and-Troll Novel (Hardcover)
Once again Jane Yolen creates a unique fantasy novel that left me reading it a second time. And a third. Not as complex as the "Pit Dragon" trilogy or as eerily poetic as the "Merlin" books, "Boots and the Seven Leaguers" is nonetheless good fun.
Gog is an average teen - oh wait, he's also a troll who has trouble with magic. It's just a matter of days before the rock band "Boots and the Seven Leaguers" shows up, and Gog and his friend Pook don't have tickets. The two manage to magic themselves into the concert as roadies - only to lose Gog's younger brother, Magog. The two troll-teens set off to find Magog and encounter such colorful creatures as the Huntsmen, Weed King, and the White Wyrm.
The characters are pretty much perfect. Any teen will see themselves in Gog, and his desperation both to find his little brother and to get back in time to see Boots perform. And who didn't have a best friend like Pook?
Yolen's writing is as snappily descriptive as ever, managing to be concise while bringing images into the reader's mind. There is, also, a decidedly funny undertone. The viewpoint is just non-human enough to make us see how a troll thinks without losing the reader's interest.
A fairly short but wonderfully-done book that I could read over and over.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Boots and the Seven Leaguers by Jane Yolen is a fictional story of a teenage troll who discovers that his brother is missing. As he sets out to find him, many surprises await. Everybody in the kingdom loves the rock band Boots and the Seven Leaguers.
I thought this book was alright, but it wasn't great. I like the fact that it has a rock and roll theme. The book has a good adventurous feel to it. I also like that there are a lot of different mythological creatures in the story.
I don't like how the main character always says things in the moment just to prove his point like "all trolls are afraid of heights" or "all green-kids are tricksters." In my opinion, it wasn't focused enough on Boots and the Seven Leaguers to be named after them; in fact, they were hardly in the book at all. In addition, I found the book a little childish.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This was a very creative book. It will keep you going with every page. I was amazed at how much imagination the author put into this book! You'll know what is going on because she creates a great picture in your mind. The charachters in this book are just a silly group of teenagers that are trying to go to a rock concert, but Magog, (Gog's)little brother gets stolen! Gog and his friend Pook have to save him from the White Wyrm. Find out who really stole Magog. Was it the big White Wyrm? The Author explained the setting of this book real well and I think that's great! Gog's life is just like regular life, except that he is a troll. The poetry is funny. The charachters in the New Forest are weird and probaly took alo of time for Jane Yolen to think of.The New Forest was my favorite setting because it's a spooky jungle that no troll or monster would dare go into, and the Wood Wife that lives in it has secret magic powers that make you fall in love with her. This book was great because it's not normal. It's abnormal. I would recomend this book to anyone who likes haunted houses, and funny, scary Halloween stories.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
