Celandine (David Fickling Books) (Hardcover)

by Steve Augarde (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Grade 7-10–A prequel to The Various (Random, 2004). Celandine is the odd student at her new boarding school, the one who doesn't fit in. World War I has just begun and her brother has enlisted, leaving her feeling even more alone. She hatches a plan to escape the institution's cruelty and ridiculous rules and regulations, returning to familiar ground and the friends she left behind–the Various, who inhabit Howard's Hill near her home. But all is not well with the little people, and a tribal war breaks out. The intrigue begins early in the story, but some readers might find that the flashback takes up too much of the novel; it travels back three years in time and doesn't return to 1915 until 200 pages later. However, those who stick with it will be rewarded, as, in the end, they find out why Celandine acted as she did and learn more about the Various.–Dylan Thomarie, Johnstown High School, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Gr. 7-10. This prequel to The Various (2003), which focuses on Midge's great-aunt Celandine, amplifies the little peoples' saga. Celandine's beloved brother is lost in the Great War, and boarding school is a horror; the set pieces about the war and about the cruelty of girls and female teachers are powerful and terrible. But on her parents' farm, Celandine has found a way to the Various--winged warriors, travelers, foragers, and others, who do not mingle or trust one another and call humans ogres and Gorji. They possess two great treasures, the touchstone and the orbis. The safety of and the relationship between these artifacts form the unresolved core of the story line. Both worlds are finely imagined, down to the details of a tiny Various child or the burdensome maintenance of Celandine's thick golden curls. This is a fast and compelling read despite its length, although it ends with the fate of the Various unknown and Celandine about to make a cliff-hanger of a choice. Celandine is a teen protagonist who doesn't fear her own darkness but hasn't yet mastered her gifts. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: David Fickling Books (August 22, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 038575048X
• ISBN-13: 978-0385750486
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #194,578 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two Great Books, March 23, 2007

A Kid's Review

Hello! I am eleven years old and I am a homeschooled kid. I like to read books with my dad and we are always on the lookout for things we can read together. I found The Various in a bookstore last fall. I showed it to my dad and he said, "Let's try it!" We had no idea how good it was going to be and that when we finished it we would order Celandine right away. Celandine is a prequel to The Various and these are the first two books in a trilogy but the third book hasn't been published yet.
I enjoyed both of these books because they are about imagining a world and a place beyond what we know and what we normally think about. In The Various you will be introduced to a race of little people organized into "various" tribes that don't always get along. One thing they do agree on though is that they want to stay hidden from the world of humans but are accidentally discovered by a young girl named Midge who is the main character in the first book. As the story unfolds Midge experiences a strange connection with another girl named Celandine who lived in the past and turns out to be the main character in the second book.
Both girls find their worlds connected with the world of the Various in mysterious ways that will make you want to keep reading about their adventures. The Various possess highly individual characteristics just like humans but there also is a magical dimension to their existence. Some of them can fly and others have special ways of communicating. They believe in a destiny that connects their past and future with a place called Elysse I am so excited to read the third book because when I read the first book I thought the storyline was so interesting and then when my dad and I started reading the second book it just kept getting better. I have a feeling that the third book is going to explain how the world of the Various and the world of humans is the same world after all.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Celandine, November 6, 2006

By	Captain Blood "Captain Blood" (Tinton Falls, NJ) - See all my reviews

Most, if not all of the previous reviews I see here are actually for The Various. Celandine has to be special ordered or bought on-line. This is a shame for readers, who can't see this book on a bookstore shelf in the US. I found Celandine to be wonderfully written. As with The Various, I found myself reading ahead of my daughter to see what happened next.
Celandine follows the misadventures of Celandine Howard, Midge's great-great-aunt, and the Various on Howard's Hill. Most of the action takes place in 1914 and 1915, so the fantastic runs in parallel with the historical events of the first year of the Great War. In the fantastic realm, the Ickri return from the north of Britain to Somerset to rejoin the rest of the Various. They arrive to find that Celandine has taken refuge with the Various. This return of the Ickri leads to multiple conflicts.
I particularly liked Celandine's departure from her boarding school.
I enjoy the juxtaposition of the everyday with the fantastic. Perhaps that doesn't appeal as much as pure fantasy does to young readers. Go figure. Given the basic premise of the book (5 tribes of people 15 inches tall or less, with virtues and faults much like those of the rest of the world), the problems of the Various seem real-world.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Engaging and Enjoyable Escape, December 15, 2006

By	M. Fisher (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Celandine is a very good follow-up to The Various. It is sufficiently interwoven with the first story so that I find myself wanting to re-read The Various. There are enough plot resolutions to satisfy, but also ample loose ends which increase my anticipation for the third book. The setting of the story is pleasing- a visit to the past; the past is always "romantic". I also like the moral backbone of the stories - promoting mercy, kindness, and promise-keeping, while showing in a negative light some of the nasty things that people (little and large) can do. He seems to be suggesting reincarnation, which I loathe, but it's not enough to ruin this lovely story. In Celandine, Mr. Augarde once again skillfully knits his magic together with real life. Stories that bring the enchantment into our world seem much more charming to me.