The Pictish Child: Tartan Magic, Book Two [Hardcover]

Jane Yolen (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: Tartan Magic

Even witches have to retire from magic sometime. When Peter, Jennifer, and their four-year-old sister, Molly, visit the Eventide Home, they find just what their gran promised: a coven of kindhearted, retired old witches. But on the heels of their visit, the children themselves are visited--by a Pictish girl fleeing a massacre more than a thousand years earlier. Evil forces are hunting the Pictish child, forces that have tracked her across centuries, bent on fulfilling the dark designs of a single mysterious person in the Eventide Home.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Grade 3-6-Thirteen-year-old twins Jennifer and Peter and their little sister Molly, introduced in The Wizard's Map (Harcourt, 1999), are visiting their grandparents in modern-day Scotland when they once again find themselves in the midst of magical events. Their Gran, an affirmed witch, introduces them to a kindly coven ensconced at the soporific Eventide Home for the elderly. One of the witches gives Molly a talisman that leads the children to a Pictish girl, who is fleeing through time from violence in her own ninth century. With the help of the children and the coven, the time traveler is able to return home and prevent some of the bloodshed. The action-paced plot is nearly as winding as the rain-drenched stone lanes of Gran's ancient village, but the important twists are all resolved in the tale's conclusion. The story has a good dose of humor, often provided by an obnoxious talking dog left over from the siblings' first adventure. The novel stands alone but is more enjoyable when read after Wizard's Map, especially for insights into the characters and an appreciation for the occasional references to events in it. Both books will appeal to fans of Susan Cooper's The Boggart (McElderry, 1993).
Beth Wright, Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, VT
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Twins Jennifer and Peter with their younger sister Molly have come from America to spend the summer with Gran and Da in Scotland. It rains most of the first week of their visit and they begin to run out of things to do. When Gran suggests an outing to Eventide Home to visit her elderly friends, the children don't think that sounds like much fun. But they grudgingly go along since they can't think of anything better to do. They never imagined what an adventure they were embarking on. They encounter witches, both bad and good, and hints of magic but they aren't prepared for what happens when they venture into the nearby cemetery. They meet a strangely dressed young girl who speaks a language none of them recognize. She turns out to be the Pictish child who has come from the far past to try to, well, to change her story and history. Following her is a dangerous mist that threatens all of them. This tale, that includes a horse and dog that talk, will keep the reader turning the page to find out what happens next. This is the second in Ms. Yolen's "Tartan Magic" series. Tantalizing references to incidents from the first book, The Wizard's Map, don't impede the story but do make the reader want to go back to read that book, as well. At the end is an intriguing glimpse of The Bagpiper's Ghost, the third book. The book includes a glossary of Scottish terms that might be unfamiliar to the reader. 1999, Magic Carpet Books/Harcourt, (Janet Crane Barley - Children's Literature )

Grade 3-6-Thirteen-year-old twins Jennifer and Peter and their little sister Molly, introduced in The Wizard's Map (Harcourt, 1999), are visiting their grandparents in modern-day Scotland when they once again find themselves in the midst of magical events. Their Gran, an affirmed witch, introduces them to a kindly coven ensconced at the soporific Eventide Home for the elderly. One of the witches gives Molly a talisman that leads the children to a Pictish girl, who is fleeing through time from violence in her own ninth century. With the help of the children and the coven, the time traveler is able to return home and prevent some of the bloodshed. The action-paced plot is nearly as winding as the rain-drenched stone lanes of Gran's ancient village, but the important twists are all resolved in the tale's conclusion. The story has a good dose of humor, often provided by an obnoxious talking dog left over from the siblings' first adventure. The novel stands alone but is more enjoyable when read after Wizard's Map, especially for insights into the characters and an appreciation for the occasional references to events in it. Both books will appeal to fans of Susan Cooper's The Boggart (McElderry, 1993). Beth Wright, Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, VT Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. (Library Journal )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books; 1 edition (October 4, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152022619
• ISBN-13: 978-0152022617
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,466,300 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born and raised in New York City, Jane Yolen now lives in Hatfield, Massachusetts. She attended Smith College and received her master's degree in education from the University of Massachusetts. The distinguished author of more than 170 books, Jane Yolen is a person of many talents. When she is not writing, Yolen composes songs, is a professional storyteller on the stage, and is the busy wife of a university professor, the mother of three grown children, and a grandmother. Active in several organizations, Yolen has been on the Board of Directors of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, was president of the Science Fiction Writers of America from 1986 to 1988, is on the editorial board of several magazines, and was a founding member of the Western New England Storytellers Guild, the Western Massachusetts Illustrators Guild, and the Bay State Writers Guild. For twenty years, she ran a monthly writer's workshop for new children's book authors. In 1980, when Yolen was awarded an honorary Doctor of Law degree by Our Lady of the Elms College in Chicopee, Massachusetts, the citation recognized that "throughout her writing career she has remained true to her primary source of inspiration--folk culture." Folklore is the "perfect second skin," writes Yolen. "From under its hide, we can see all the shimmering, shadowy uncertainties of the world." Folklore, she believes, is the universal human language, a language that children instinctively feel in their hearts. All of Yolen's stories and poems are somehow rooted in her sense of family and self. The Emperor and the Kite, which was a Caldecott Honor Book in 1983 for its intricate papercut illustrations by Ed Young, was based on Yolen's relationship with her late father, who was an international kite-flying champion. Owl Moon, winner of the 1988 Caldecott Medal for John Schoenherr's exquisite watercolors, was inspired by her husband's interest in birding. Yolen's graceful rhythms and outrageous rhymes have been gathered in numerous collections. She has earned many awards over the years: the Regina Medal, the Kerlan Award, the World Fantasy Award, the Society of Children's Book Writers Award, the Mythopoetic Society's Aslan Award, the Christopher Medal, the Boy's Club Jr. Book Award, the Garden State Children's Book Award, the Daedalus Award, a number of Parents' Choice Magazine Awards, and many more. Her books and stories have been translated into Japanese, French, Spanish, Chinese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Afrikaans, !Xhosa, Portuguese, and Braille. With a versatility that has led her to be called "America's Hans Christian Andersen," Yolen, the child of two writers, is a gifted and natural storyteller. Perhaps the best explanation for her outstanding accomplishments comes from Jane Yolen herself: "I don't care whether the story is real or fantastical. I tell the story that needs to be told."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book of magic., May 9, 2001

By 

"211reviews" (S.F, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pictish Child: Tartan Magic, Book Two (Hardcover)

I thought this book was enchanting. The way she wrote it made you want to read more. The way she described the pictish child was very specific. This book was magical and exciting. It was not the kind of book with all describing and no adventure though. She managed to include both. I enjoyed the way she put the glossary in the back of the book. It helped me understand the books Scottish words, and it was fun to say them and nobody would know what I was saying!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Pictish Child, November 24, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Pictish Child: Tartan Magic, Book Two (Paperback)

When I started to read this book I thought that by the cover and how they describe it that it would be great because I love magic!! Yet I was bored to DEATH by this book. Only two parts that interested me in the least, where the "THING" is chasing after the children and when the women who runs the old home tries to take over the powerful "witches". The rest of the book was a big disappointment and hardly any real links or clues were found to connect the whole story. I mean it took them about two minutes to figure out what they had to do and then the book was over. I wouldn't waste 5 bucks on this flimsy little book that has a horrible ending that isn't even interesting because the girl just goes back to her own time and thats that . There was no real mystery at the end like a struggle or another attempt to get the stone, nothing like that. If you do like a book that solves things quickly and easily, that has some interesting chase and mind games, I recommend this book. But if you are the type that likes Lord of the Rings forget this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very enjoyable!, May 31, 2004

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Pictish Child: Tartan Magic, Book Two (Paperback)

This is the second book in Jane Yolen's Tartan Magic trilogy, and picks up soon after the events in The Wizard's Map. In this book, Jennifer, Peter and Molly, three American children on vacation in Scotland are taken by their Scottish grandmother to visit three sisters living in a home for the elderly. But, there's strange magic at work here, and when an ancient amulet brings to life a Pictish child that died some 1000 years ago, the children are in for the ride of their lives. An ancient wrong needs to be set right, and a modern wrong needs to be averted.

My thirteen-year-old daughter first introduced me to these books, and I must say that I enjoy them as much as she does. Jane Yolen does an excellent job of bring Scotland to life for the American reader (please remember that there is a Scottish glossary at the back!). In general, the author does not spend too much time on character development (outside of the children and their grandmother, the characters are very two-dimensional), but for many young readers, this will not prove a problem.

So, let me just say that my daughter and I both enjoyed this book, and we highly recommend it to you!