Passager: The Young Merlin Trilogy, Book One (Hardcover)

by Jane Yolen (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
These three books make up the author's Young Merlin trilogy, imagining the childhood and coming-of-age of the famous wizard of Arthurian legend. Ages 9-12.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal
Grade 3-8?Eight-year-old Merlin lives alone in a medieval forest. Surviving on plants and fish and sleeping in trees to avoid wild dogs, he gradually forgets the habits and language of those who abandoned him. One day a man comes to the forest with a hunting hawk, and the fascinated boy follows him out of the woods to the first bed, bath, and bread he has seen in a year. Struggling against captivity at first, he is gradually won over by kindness. In a final electric moment, the man introduces him to his falcons, and readers share the youngster's shock of recognition when he is "...given back his own true name." There is no magic or fantasy in Yolen's stark, poignant, and absorbing tale. Readers feel the sun, rain, hunger, and fear as the child does, along with the intense curiosity and longing that lead him back to civilization. This "skinny" book will entice reluctant readers, but its rich language and poetic phrasing make it compelling and challenging. Some readers may not catch the similarities between the boy and the passager, but all will anxiously await the next volume in what promises to be an outstanding trilogy.?Susan L. Rogers, Chestnut Hill Academy, PA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books; 1st edition (April 15, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152003916
• ISBN-13: 978-0152003913
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,183,452 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It's a chapter, not a book, August 16, 2000

By	Growllingbear (Half Moon Bay, CA USA) - See all my reviews

I love Jane Yolen's work; I've been reading her stories for decades, and I rarely find her depth, imagination, and power as a writer surpassed. I know her Merlin story is going to be wonderful too, but I'm disappointed in the marketing of this one. Passager is a chapter, not a part, of the story. I came away feeling overcharged for it, and I've decided to get the remaining volumes out of the library rather than buying them--even though I usually collect Yolen's works. What were they thinking?

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Short and sweet, April 5, 2001

By	E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I do not know why this book was published as part of a trilogy, rather than the trilogy being one larger book. Nevertheless, it's a must-see for lovers of lyrical wording.

This book follows the early life of a young boy abandoned in the forest, who rapidly forgets who he is and where he has come from. He adjusts rapidly, though, living in the glory of nature, outside of contact with other humans. His one fear, however, is dogs.

He is found and adopted by a kind woodsman named Robin, the boy's fatherly reintroduction to the human race. The scenes in which Merlin encounters such "marvels" as glass are wonderfully done, as is the scene where he remembers his name. We are never told fully where he comes from -- there are only hints at beginning and end.

The writing style is lovely. Yolen is one of the few writers of our time who can captivate with almost no dialogue -- through a good portion of the book, people are not talking. Yet it never grows overdescriptive nor too stark. It's like a very long poem at times, with the descriptions of the forest where Merlin lives and of the things that he sees.

If you want to introduce your kids to Arthurian fiction, start with this. A wonderful book, a must-read! (On to the next two books)

3.0 out of 5 stars The Passager, March 15, 2005

A Kid's Review

I liked this book very much. The author was specific and didn't put in any useless information. It also had a good theme, you can't judge a book by its cover. There was enough detail so you could visualize what things looked like, but not to much that it got boring. I would recommend this book to someone else.

The worst part of the book was that it wasn't that exciting. The whole story was about a wild boywho got a name and a home. The book wasn't long enough to have to have enough excitment. That was the only bad thing about the book.

The setting and the characters were the most vivid to me. The author gave detail to make the setting appear real in my mind. The characters that lived in these settings seemed as real as their home. It was as if you were watching a movie with subtitles.