The Wizard's Map: Tartan Magic, Book One [Hardcover]

Jane Yolen (Author)

Book Description

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

Three American children, while visiting relatives in Scotland, come upon exactly what their mother has always said they lack: patience. Only this Patience is an old card game--one that summons sinister magic from the past: an ancient map that when altered, alters the world. And worse still, the children call forth the map’s owner--the wickedest of Scotland’s dark wizards, the bloody-minded Michael Scot. Can the children foil Michael Scot before he gets hold of his map and rewrites the world in his own image?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Yolen gathers all the ingredients for a compelling middle grade fantasy novel, but the recipe falls short in this first book of her Tartan Magic series. Reluctantly spending his summer vacation with his family in Scotland, visiting his mother's foster parents, 13-year-old Peter grows scornful when Gran and Da start talking about magic as if it were an everyday occurrence. But after Peter's four-year-old sister, Molly, colors on a strange map in the attic, thereby freeing a power-mad wizard, Peter and his twin sister, Jennifer, must admit that magic not only exists, but is far more menacing than they had ever imagined. The sorcerer kidnaps Molly in order to force the twins to cede the magical map to him, then holds the rest of the family hostage. Aided by a dragon, a unicorn and a dog brought back to life after being entrapped in an iron bench, Jennifer uses her innate but undeveloped magical powers to defeat the malevolent wizard. Eschewing character development, Yolen gives readers little reason to care for the fate of her protagonists. Her unorthodox decision to have the adults "in" on the magic raises the stakes but, because they are passive bystanders who contribute little to the resolution, her fantasy plot is that much more difficult to swallow. Though some readers may find light entertainment here, most will be left wanting a more believable, substantive story than this tale delivers. Ages 8-up.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7-Solidly rational 13-year-old American twins Jennifer and Peter are dragged to Scotland by their parents to spend the summer with elderly relatives. From the moment they arrive, they find themselves enmeshed in the workings of ancient magic. Exploring the cottage's small walled garden on her very first evening, Jennifer becomes lost in an impossibly large woods. Investigating the attic the next day, the twins discover an old Patience game, and Peter is amazed when a hand that he has begun is mysteriously completed. When their four-year-old sister, Molly, finds an antique map, Gran tells them about its owner, an evil wizard named Michael Scot. Before long, the wizard appears and abducts Molly. The adults disappear soon after. Peter is captured and Jennifer is left alone to rescue her family from the evil magic. She succeeds with the help of a dragon, a dog, and a unicorn that she frees from a magic spell. The setting and characters are described cursorily, and loose ends abound. Michael Scot takes possession of Peter from time to time, but his reasons for picking Peter and his goals are never made clear. However, the action moves swiftly and young readers may well be too busy following the story to care.
Kathleen Isaacs, Edmund Burke School, Washington, DC
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books; 1st edition (April 26, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152020675
• ISBN-13: 978-0152020675
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,189,725 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

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The place where magic is real, May 4, 2002

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Wizard's Map: Tartan Magic, Book One (Paperback)

"Wizard's Map" is the first of the delightful Tartan Magic books, a series about magic and mystery in a small village in Scotland. Currently numbering three, I hope these books don't stop anytime soon.

The Dyers arrive in Scotland -- the parents, thirteen-year-old twins Peter and Jennifer, and their little sister Molly. They're staying with Gran and Da, an elderly couple who were once surrogate parents to their mother; Gran and Da seem a little weird but very nice. The same can be said of the house: A card game finishes itself without Peter, and Molly finds a magical piece of paper in the "actic" and scribbles on it.

Upon seeing the paper, Gran is aghast, claiming that it's the map of the seemingly long-dead wizard Michael Scot. The others are, unsurprisingly, skeptical since the map is written in modern English and shows modern landmarks. But the next day, nearby wheat fields have been hit with crop circles -- crop circles that look exactly like Molly's scribbles. And on a sightseeing trip, a mysterious black-haired man simply vanishes into thin air -- with Molly. Scot is back, and he wants the map.

Don't be fooled by the short length of this book. It's packed with excellent characterization, fast writing, and a charming, chilling plot. Yolen demonstrates her excellent skills at writing yet again, and she's in top form here.

The characters, except for the parents (who aren't really around enough to make much of an impression): Gran and Da are great, especially Gran. Molly is a thoroughly believable tot, with all the irritation and cuteness that that implies; Peter and Jennifer are great counterparts to one another, similar but not alike. (That would be boring, and it isn't boring)

Yolen's writing is nicely descriptive, and the aura of anything-could-happen is heavy on this book. Such events as the dragon, unicorn and dog are introduced in an especially evocative way, as is the showdown with Scot. From the moment the kids meet Gran and Da, you get the distinct impression that this wee corner of Scotland is magical.

For fans of Susan Cooper's "Boggart" books, and mythology-laden tales like "Wild Hunt," this would be a great read. On to "Pictish Child"!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very enjoyable!, May 24, 2004

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Wizard's Map: Tartan Magic, Book One (Paperback)

This is the first book in Jane Yolen's Tartan Magic trilogy about three American children visiting Scotland, who get a lesson in magic. In this book, the thirteen-year-old twins Jennifer and Peter, and four-year-old Molly discover a worthless old map. But, when Molly colors on the map, she inadvertently releases an evil wizard of great power, Michael Scot. And now, it's up to Jennifer, who possesses a magic she didn't know she had to set things right!

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 bringing 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!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Disappointing Story With Disappointing Writing, August 5, 2008

By 

Barb Mechalke (in the lovely Finger Lakes Region of Upstate New York) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Wizard's Map: Tartan Magic, Book One (Paperback)

Let me first says that I am choosy. I am particular about what I read and what I read to my children.

I expected that this would be a well done and exciting story coming from such an accomplished author as Jane Yolen. But sadly I was very disappointed.

I thought the story was lacking, the characters were flat and the dialog stiff and unbelievable (and I'm not talking about the Scottish brogue).

I love books in a series and with Scotland as a setting and I thought this would be a great series for my daughter and I to read to together but I will not be reading the next one and I won't be recommending it to anyone else either.