The Snow Spider (Lythway Large Print Children's Series) [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Jenny Nimmo (Author), Joanna Carey (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1987 | Series: Lythway Large Print Children's Series

Gifts from Gwyn's grandmother on his tenth birthday open up a whole new world to him, as he discovers he has magical powers that help him heal the breach with his father that has existed ever since his sister's mysterious disappearance four years before.

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

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

One night, Gwyn asked his sister Bethan to go up the mountain and rescue his ewe; she was never seen again. Now he is 10, still blamed by his father for Bethan's disappearance, and wonders if his grandmother's hints that he is a magician could possibly be true. If he is, he wants to use his powers to get Bethan back. A girl, in fact, arrives in the village, so similar in her ways to Bethan that her presence acts as a salve on the family's wounds. And Gwyn, with the overeagerness of an apprentice, unleashes the darker side of his magic. Nimmo's story, set in the Welsh countryside, contains elements of SF and fantasy, but it's firmly grounded in very real themes of blame and responsibility. She displays a mastery of family nuancesthe little rituals that can keep a family whole or tear it apart if those same gestures are ignored or forgotten. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7 Gwyn's birthday is the anniversary of his sister's unexplained disappearance. Nain, Gwyn's grandmother, presents him with a collection of strange items including a brooch which eventually turns into a silver spider. Nain, either mad or a witch, looks for special powers of the ancestral magicians to be found again in Gwyn and tries to convince him that the magicians of the old Welsh legends are reborn in him. As the snow spider spins webs that reveal another world, Gwyn comes to understand that he is a magician, and he yearns for his heart's desire, the return of his sister. A new classmate enters his life and is befriended by his family. She is surely Bethan, the sister who had been taken to the other world seen in the web. The occurances of arcane and bizarre wonders increase extravagantly, almost out of control. But the reality of Gwyn, his parents, and the Welsh setting give this fantasy equilibrium and an appealing warmth. The pace is brisk and captivating. A good choice to lead into ``The Dark Is Rising'' series (Macmillan) by Susan Cooper. Lucy Hawley, Wescott School Library, Northbrook, Ill.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: G K Hall & Co (October 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0745105904
• ISBN-13: 978-0745105901
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,078,547 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Snow Spider, November 14, 2000

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Snow Spider (Hardcover)

Gwyn's 5 gifts from his grandmother, Nain, take Gwyn's imagination to a whole new level. After finding out that he's a witch, he experences new things that he never thought was possible without the gifts. But the most important things that he wants most of all, is to bring his sister back that disappeared 4 years earlier and to bring his family back together. With the help of a magical snow spider named Arainwen he goes to beat the challenges of the mortal world to bring his sister home.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating!, July 30, 1998

By 

jennie42 (AZ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Snow Spider (Hardcover)

I read this book about eight years ago and I still remember it to this day. I love this book and even though I'm a bit more "grown-up" than I was when I first read it, it is still as fascinating today as it was then.

5.0 out of 5 stars Enchanting children's tale, August 20, 2005

By 

Ajean Veasse (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Snow Spider (Paperback)

I first read this at some young age long enough ago that I can't remember exactly when, but I remember very well the sense of awe and enchantment of the story. Even now, many many years later, I can pick it up and be just as engrossed even though it's such a short read. Highly recommended for all ages, if you enjoy a magical tale that somehow seems real, along with the very real story of a young boy's emergence into adulthood.