When Eloise moves to the town where, centuries ago, Joan of Arc fought her greatest battle, her life takes a shocking turn. Like Joan before her, she hears a voice—one that tells her the story of Joan of Arc as no one has heard it before. . . . Slip back in time with Eloise, and meet Joan, a seemingly ordinary French girl who hears the voices of saints and is called upon by God to save her country from the English. She faces this challenge with fierce determination, astounding courage, and unflagging faith. Her victories—and the price she paid for them—have never been forgotten.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Following their Robin of Sherwood and Arthur, High King of Britain, Morpurgo and Foreman turn their talents to historical fiction about the Maid of Orl?ans. Morpurgo frames his chronicle of Joan of Arc within a contemporary story about Eloise, a 17-year-old French girl who has set her heart on playing Joan in the annual tableaux in Orl?ans, where Eloise's family has just moved. When Eloise narrowly loses a contest to portray Joan, she seeks the solace of the sparrow she has befriended down by the river. There a voice from on high ("from deep inside the light, deep inside the silence") tells her the complete story of Joan of Arc, including Joan's lifelong companionship with a white sparrow ("He was her best friend on this earth"). Told in smooth, expansive chapters, the narrative skirts some of the more searching questions about Joan's voices and vocation (such as those raised in Diane Stanley's recent picture-book biography, Joan of Arc) and accepts Joan's religious visions at face value. Indeed, with the introductions of a supernatural narrator and of a sparrow that enjoys an almost mystical relationship with Joan, Morpurgo signals that his storytelling is premised on faith. Foreman, too, adopts only the look of realism. His deceptively sunny palette offsets the often brutal matter of the narrative, and his familiar, informal, representational style balances his allusions to religious imagery. If the work is not as provocative as Stanley's, its polish and panoramic scope will lure and hold readers. Ages 9-14. (Mar.) contemporary story set in Devon and focusing on a storytelling grandfather and his grandson (Pavilion [Trafalgar, dist.], $16.95 paper 80p ages 7-10 ISBN 1-86205-192-5; Mar.).
-, $16.95 paper 80p ages 7-10 ISBN 1-86205-192-5; Mar.).
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
-, $16.95 paper 80p ages 7-10 ISBN 1-86205-192-5; Mar.).
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 6-8-As in the earlier books by this author and illustrator team, this tale begins in the present day with a young person searching for historical truth. When her family moves to Orleans, France, 17-year-old Eloise Hardy studies the legends of Joan of Arc, visits the 15th-century locales, and longs to be selected for the annual pageant honoring the city's most famous figure. One day she hears a voice telling the saint's story, from her childhood to her martyrdom. Morpurgo is an accomplished writer and storyteller. Facts and popular beliefs, history and legend are drawn upon to create an exciting tale. In order to give immediacy to his story, he creates an eyewitness to Joan's life in a small bird-a white sparrow she calls Belami-who comforts and consoles her, and witnesses her cruel death. The device is contrived but succeeds in showing Joan as a real person, buoyed by her belief in her divine mission, troubled by human doubts and fears, and full of compassion for her fellow soldiers and love for God and country. Foreman's dramatic, sweeping watercolor illustrations in shades of blue, gold, and earth tones mark the high points of the plot with full-page visual representations. Readers will enjoy comparing this story of Joan of Arc with Nancy Garden's novel Dove and Sword (Farrar, 1995) and will appreciate Diane Stanley's nonfiction picture book Joan of Arc (Morrow, 1998) as well.
Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJ
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJ
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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