Lila knows everything about making fireworks, but she learns that to be a true firework-maker, one must face the Fire-Fiend of Mount Merapi. After she sets off, her friend Chulak discovers another halfo of the secret, and without it, Lila will perish.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
"A thousand miles ago, in a country east of the jungle and south of the mountains, there lived a firework-maker called Lalchand and his daughter, Lila."
Lila, the heroine of Philip Pullman's charming fable, was, as a baby, "a cross little thing, always crying and refusing her food, but Lalchand built a cradle for her in the corner of the workshop, where she could see the sparks play and listen to the fizz and crackle of the gunpowder." Once out of her cradle, she showed a marked talent for pyrotechnics, even inventing her own fireworks with names like Tumbling Demons and Shimmering Coins. Nevertheless, when Lila tells her father she'd like to become a master firework-maker, he's shocked. Firework-making is no job for a girl, he tells her; besides, with her burned fingers and singed eyebrows, he's afraid he'll never be able to find a husband for her.
If Lalchand is horrified by Lila's ambitions, his daughter is equally appalled by the prospect of a husband. Instead, she decides to run away to Mount Merapi, where every firework-maker must go to claim some of the royal sulphur from Razvani the Fire-Fiend. Lila's adventures on the road to Merapi alternate with those of her best friend, Chulak, and his talking white elephant, Hamlet, who set out after her when they learn something that could mean life or death for Lila. Along the way, they meet pirates, wild animals, and supernatural beings of every stripe until, at last, Lila must face the scariest obstacle of all: her own fear. Pullman invests The Firework-Maker's Daughter with wit, wonder, and more than a few goose bumps. The charm of the prose is reflected in the black and white illustrations by S. Saelig Gallagher that punctuate this slim novel. Though not as sophisticated as Pullman's remarkable fantasy novels The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife, this engaging story does share a courageous heroine, an exciting adventure, and a singular philosophy that ties everything together in a deeply satisfying denouement. (Ages 9 to 12) --Alix Wilber
From Publishers Weekly
This comical adventure about a girl who longs to follow in her father's footsteps crackles with Pullman's (The Golden Compass; Clockwork) usual flair. Lila desperately wants to be a firework-maker like her widower father. Although he has raised her amid the dancing sparks, he wants her to have a husband rather than a vocation. With the help of her entrepreneurial friend Chulak, the personal servant to the king's talking white elephant, Lila tricks her father into revealing the secret to his profession, then bravely departs to retrieve the royal sulphur from Razvani the Fire-Fiend at the heart of a volcano. Pullman marries elements of fairy tale with slapstick humor as Lila outwits a vaudevillian band of pirates and scales jagged mountains on her quest. Gallagher's (Blue Willow, reviewed above) softly focused graphite drawings lend magical mystery as Lila fearfully contemplates the dancing fire imps at Mount Merapi and emphasize the absurdity as the elephant, his flanks emblazoned with advertisements, kneels before the Goddess of the Lake in order to save Lila from Razvani. If the tale, first published in Britain in 1995, isn't as polished as Pullman's other works, it's worth the trip just for the climactic fireworks scene in which Lila gets to show her stuff. Ages 8-12. (Oct.) FYI: As of September, Pullman's Sally Lockhart Trilogy is being reissued in paperback: The Ruby in the Smoke; The Shadow in the North; and The Tiger in the Well; as well as The Tin Princess, which features characters from the trilogy. (Knopf, $4.99 paper each ages 12-up ISBN 0-394-89589-4; -82599-3; ISBN 0-679-82671-8; -87615-4)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another delightful tale from Philip Pullman,
This review is from: The Firework-Maker's Daughter (Hardcover)
Philip Pullman never ceases to amaze me with his versatility-- from the complex His Dark Materials series, to his gothic (and surprisingly funny) Count Karlestein, to the creepy Clockwork... The Firework-Maker's Daughter is different from anything I've read by Pullman before, and yet it possesses his trademark wit. Short and aimed at a younger audience, The Firework-Maker's Daughter is nonetheless a lot of fun for even older readers. Lila and her various friends and types of fireworks are absolutely charming. While Pullman's tone is decidedly more satirical than Lloyd Alexander's, if you liked either Alexander's quest-type books or Philip Pullman's other works, you'll enjoy this one.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Explosive!,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Firework-Maker's Daughter (Hardcover)
I loved the cast of colourful characters that fill this book. I think my favourite was uncle Rambashi - the failed chicken farmer and part-time pirate. An engaging story with a strong female protagonist - explosive!
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An engaging short book with wonderful language!,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Firework-Maker's Daughter (Hardcover)
I read this book to my 2 kids (7 and 10) and they loved it! The tale is an engaging, not too- predictable story of a girl who wants to follow her father's trade. There is much rich langugage and a variety of characters all neatly brought together and woven into the story. There is much imagination and wry wit. If you are looking for a fairly short (just over 100 pages) slightly fantasy/fiction book for your kids, give this one a try!
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
A thousand miles ago, in a country cast of the jungle and south of the mountains, there lived a firework-maker called Lalchand and his daughter, Lila. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Mount Merapi, Colonel Sparkington, Emerald Lake, Lotus Blossom, Signor Scorcini, Crackle Dragons, The Bloody Murderer, King Neptune New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
A thousand miles ago, in a country cast of the jungle and south of the mountains, there lived a firework-maker called Lalchand and his daughter, Lila. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Mount Merapi, Colonel Sparkington, Emerald Lake, Lotus Blossom, Signor Scorcini, Crackle Dragons, The Bloody Murderer, King Neptune New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 2
books:
- His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman in Back Matter
- The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, Book 1) by Philip Pullman in Back Matter
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