Dark Horn Blowing [School & Library Binding]

Dahlov Ipcar (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1997

Captive in the castle of an evil king who decides to make her his wife, Nora turns for help to the young prince she has raised, who possesses developing magic powers.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dahlov Ipcar was born in 1917, daughter of the artists Marguerite and William Zorach. In 1923, the family bought a farm in Robinhood Village, near Georgetown, Maine, where Ipcar continues to live today, still creating joyous and compelling words. Although educated at progressive New York City schools and Oberlin College, Ipcar was essentially self-taught as an artist. She considers herself an artist first, and then a writer, and is best known for her colorful, kaleidoscopic paintings of the jungle and other natural scenes.

Ipcar has published dozens of illustrated children's books, and several fantasy books for young adults, including A Dark Horn Blowing and The Queen of Spells. Some of her better-known children's books include Lobsterman (a Maine favorite), One Horse Farm, Calico Jungle, A Flood of Creatures, and Brown Cow Farm: A Counting Book. Long-time supporters of the arts in Maine, Ipcar and her husband received the Maine State Award from the Maine Commission of Arts and Humanities in 1972. Ipcar has also received honorary degrees from the University of Maine, Colby, and Bates College, as well as the Deborah Morton Award from Westbrook College in 1978. In 1986 she received the Living Legacy Award from the Central Maine Area Agency on the Aging, and in 1998 she was honored with the prestigious Kerlan Award for her children's books.

The Ipcars have chosen to live out of the mainstream, but have always made their home open to the artist community, and raised two sons, Robert and Charlie. A major retrospective of Ipcar's work was held at the Portland Museum of Art in October 6, 2001- January 27, 2002, concurrent with a retrospective of her parents' artwork.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• School & Library Binding
• Publisher: Rebound by Sagebrush (September 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0613048105
• ISBN-13: 978-0613048101
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,371,639 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An unusual book, February 29, 2000

By 

Kirsten A. Edwards "kannealmstedt" (Duvall, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Dark Horn Blowing (Paperback)

I first read this book when I was a teenager, nearly two decades ago. The plot is a melding of folksongs and ballads: A young wife is stolen to be nursemaid to the child of the evil king of elfland, leaving behind a beloved husband and newborn baby. Nora hates her situation but she pities the elf-queen and her weak child and gives him all the love she yearns to give her lost baby. This selflessness is rewarded when her foster child learns human love in spite of his father. This love will save both of them from the elf-king's cruelty. Unfortunately for most readers the language *is* lyrical, owing more in its rhythms and word-choices to old ballads than to modern prose. The characters are archetypes rather than individuals: A Dark Horn Blowing is driven by setting, mood and plot rather than by an in-depth exploration of character. Fans of the mythopoeic, however, will not be disappointed.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Rather disappointing, April 8, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: A Dark Horn Blowing (Paperback)

A Dark Horn Blowing has several factors in its favor: its publication in the generally decent Magic Carpet series (including better entries such as The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip), a very appealing cover, and an intriguing mix of old ballads and poems. They are, unfortunately, insufficient to cover its faults. The prose tends to be overwritten, only very occasionally possessing the beauty it intends. (For lyrical fantasy, I strongly recommend anything by Patricia McKillip and Robin McKinley.) The story line is also detracted from by the constant change of first person narrators. While it can be interesting to see what other characters are thinking, it causes the story to become rather choppy. It is annoying and unrealistic how the five year old prince, Eelie, speaks, thinks and acts like an adult. As to the use of old ballads, they often seem awkward and disjointed, and are inserted sporadically. Things that are never in the least hinted at just suddenly happen (particularly the magic, which is very superficially explained), and the plot sprawls out in several directions, with only the sketchiest of character motives. The characters never seem real or elicit compassion from the reader.

With all that said, it must be fair to concede that A Dark Horn Blowing did create a decently surreal and enigmatic atmosphere. A decent attempt to combine ballads, but a far better one is The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope, which is a retelling of "Tam Lin" with some of "The Twa Sisters" mixed in.

Ailanna

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everyone should read this book!!!!, November 18, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: A Dark Horn Blowing (Paperback)

'A Dark Horn Blowing' is the kind of book that is impossible to put down. The characters are described in such detail that I can relate to them, and understand how they feel, even though I have never been in their position. The main reason that I enjoyed this book is because it showed how each character was feeling about the same (or almost the same) situation. I knew exactly what the setting looked like from the author's explainations. I love the descriptions of Ornhest, the horse. I adore all the characters, Owen, Eelie, Eben, and especially Nora. She shows strength and loyalty. Owen is brave and Eelie is sure of himself. Eben wishes only for the best. I wish that there were a dozen books like this one!