Branta and the Golden Stone [Library Binding]

Walter Wangerin (Author), Deborah Healy (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up

A year after her father's death, Branta retrieves her father's Golden Stone and is faced with a daunting task. By the author of Elisabeth and the Water-Troll.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this resonant work from the pair who collaborated on Elisabeth and the Water-Troll , the depth and richness of Wangerin's text is deftly matched by Healy's dynamic oil paintings. Branta is a girl who lives alone in a cottage on a lake "on the northernmost island in all the world." She remembers her father, a magus, who on his deathbed gave Branta his most prized possession: the Golden Stone that he had taken as a gift to a Baby King born long before in a distant kingdom. When this Child touched the stone, He left a deep print and the stone was imbued with the power to make people "whatever they wanted to be." Rather than leave his gift, Branta's father slipped it back into his pouch, and for years used its magic--to good and ill effect. Frustrated when she cannot lure a family of geese indoors to save them from a fierce winter storm, Branta calls on the power of the Golden Stone to change herself into one of them, bringing this graceful, timeless tale to an inventive close. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6-On his deathbed, Branta's father tells her that many years ago he foretold the birth of a Baby King and journeyed with his brothers to see the child and bring him gifts. When the magus saw the power given to a nugget of gold by the Babe's touch, he kept it. He came to regret that decision, and to avoid causing more harm withdrew, with his daughter, to the remote island where they live. Now alone, Branta is delighted when spring brings a pair of geese to the island, followed by six goslings. When a storm threatens the flock, the girl uses the gold to become one of them and herds them into her warm cottage.. This is a lengthy, thoughtful tale for mature readers and patient listeners. Most children will recognize the parts of the Christmas Story that are incorporated here, but may be disappointed when the tale goes off in its own fanciful direction. Healy's richly colored, expansive illustrations, many of which are full-page, are somewhat abstract but still expressive. The heroine is a dark-skinned, dark-eyed beauty. Wangerin's unusual story is reminiscent of Andersen's tales in its length and element of tragedy, but both characters and setting seem so distant that it will spark interest and curiosity more than empathy or grief. Useful where there is an audience for long, well-illustrated fairy tales.
Susan L. Rogers, Chestnut Hill Academy, PA
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Library Binding: 1 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (Juv) (September 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671796933
• ISBN-13: 978-0671796938
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 10.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #891,666 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Walter Wangerin Jr. is widely recognized as one of the most gifted writers writing today on the issues of faith and spirituality. Starting with the renowned Book of the Dun Cow, Wangerin's writing career has encompassed most every genre: fiction, essay, short story, children's story, meditation, and biblical exposition. His writing voice is immediately recognizable, and his fans number in the millions. The author of over forty books, Wangerin has won the National Book Award, New York Times Best Children's Book of the Year Award, and several Gold Medallions, including best-fiction awards for both The Book of God and Paul: A Novel. He lives in Valparaiso, Indiana, where he is Senior Research Professor at Valparaiso University.