The Snow Spider (Magician Trilogy) (Hardcover)

by Jenny Nimmo (Author)
Key Phrases: black ewe, broken horse, silver pipe, Land Rover, Gwydion Gwyn, Dewi Davis (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
For the first time in five years, Gwyn's mother marks his birthday with a party in their Welsh farmhouse. His father is unable to celebrate, for he sees it as the anniversary of the night when Gwyn's sister, Bethan, mysteriously disappeared. A convergence of events brings about changes: Gwyn learns that he is a wizard; his grandmother gives him a collection of apparently useless but soon-to-be magical objects; and a waif of a girl joins the family for a time. Nimmo weaves elements of Welsh folklore into a story that combines magical elements with a realistic modern setting. For a somewhat younger audience than Nimmo's Charlie Bone series, the Magician Trilogy promises a child-size adventure story with likable characters that are deftly, succinctly portrayed. Offer this accessible fantasy, the first in the Magician Trilogy, to the many young readers requesting books that are "at least 100 pages" (but preferably not much more). Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Description
On Gwyn's 9th birthday, his grandmother tells him he may be a magician, like his Welsh ancestors. She gives him five gifts to help him--a brooch, a piece of dried seaweed, a tin whistle, a scarf, and a broken toy horse. One blustery day, unsure what to do with his newfound magic, Gwyn throws the brooch to the wind and receives a silvery snow spider in return. Will he be able to use this special spider to bring his missing sister, Bethan, home? THE SNOW SPIDER spins an icy, sparkly web of mystical intrigue that sets the stage for the next two books in this outstanding trilogy!

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Orchard Books; 1 edition (September 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439846757
• ISBN-13: 978-0439846752
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #27,669 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent start to what looks to be an excellent trilogy, October 2, 2006

By	T. Burger (Chicago) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Jenny Nimmo does several things very well, but what she does best (in this reviewer's humble opinion) is create believable and unique "systems of magic" for her books. That just might be the most difficult task for an author trying to write fantasy, because thousands of fantasy books have been written, and virtually every conceivable method that could be construed as magic seems to have been used.

Until this book, I was only familiar with the Charlie Bone series, and was always impressed with the unique talents, and how those talents were "deployed", so to speak, so to step back to such an early point in her career and see her starting out with such originality is all the more impressive.

The Snow Spider picked up steam as it moved toward an exciting climax, and as the dust settled and everyone started to go their separate ways, there was an overpowering sense that this was leading to something much greater than itself.

The first chapter of the second book in The Magician Trilogy is included at the end, and it was as if the doors to the world she created (yes, this is being told in our real world, but think Harry Potter - that's also a created fantasy world that's told in our world) blew open. There is no question that there is more here than meets the eye.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a Spider You Can Love!, January 1, 2007

By	Amy Graham (Scottsdale, AZ) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The Snow Spider is the first book in a new Trilogy (The Magician's Trilogy, no less) by Jenny Nimmo and I have to say, it's a delightful read. I was pleased to see a mix of fantasy and Welsh folklore/mythology...not exactly something you see everyday in kid's fiction and it makes for an interesting read! In this first book of the trilogy we are introduced to a group of characters that I suspect will be with us for the entire series. The main character is Gwyn a young man celebrating his tenth birthday as the story begins. We also have his Nain (grandmother) a kind of kooky but loveable woman who initiates Gwyn into his destiny; Mr. & Mrs. Griffiths his parents; Bethan, Gwyn's sister who has been missing for four years; Alun Loyd (and the entire Loyd family) his best friend; and Erlys the pale girl who plays an interesting part in the whole story.

As Snow Spider starts out Gwyn has been given five rather unusual birthday presents (A scarf, a brooch, a broken wooden horse, a whistle, and a bit of seaweed)...items which initially seem like the silly gifts of a grandma whose maybe gone a little dotty, but which ultimately serve as his entrance into a whole new world. As it turns out, Nain is right, Gwyn IS descended from a long line of magicians and it is through these gifts that he can reclaim this birth right.

It all starts with the offering of the broach, which brings him the mysterious spider Airanwen, a very special spider indeed. There are elements to Snow Spider that seem common with most children's fantasy stories...Gwyn's father is mean to him on his birthday because he blames the boy for his sister's disappearance four years earlier, he's got a plucky best friend, and while the adults in this story are largely caring, Gwyn is offered lots of opportunities to be out on his own and be the hero of his magical little story.

Overall, The Snow Spider is a wonderfully magical start to a new series and we are eagerly awaiting the next installment (due out this month). I give Snow Spider five stars; it's a short read that manages to deliver a fantastic story that leaves the reader wanting more!

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Snow Spider, September 27, 2006

A Kid's Review

The book I have chosen to read is The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo. I guess I would have to summarize this story by saying the main theme of this book is about a boy named Gwyn who sets out on a journey to find his sister who everyone thinks has died. He also discovers special abilities he has as a magician. Ultimately, a special snow spider will help Gwyn with both of these issues.

I really liked this book for a couple of reasons. The more I read this book the more I actually felt like I was a character in the story. The author was very descriptive when telling this story. You could actually picture yourself or the characters in this book and the adventures they had throughout the book. I was very interested in the main conflict of this story because setting out to find a loved one would be something that would be very important to me. I was interested to see how Gwyn would find his sister.

I think Jenny Nimmo had a very neat type of writing style. I could always see each characters personalities come out in the words they spoke. I think you could even imagine what type of voice they had, whether it was a loud voice, soft voice, deep voice or high pitched voice. You could actually feel what they were feeling when they talked.

I really enjoyed this book very much. When rating this book on a scale of 1 to 10, I think I would rate this book a 9. It was one of very few books that actually kept my attention throughout each chapter. I would definitely recommend this book to other kids who enjoy adventure, mystery, and like fantasy and using their imagination.

Overall, I think this was a really good book. I think that if kids like stories like Harry Potter, then they would enjoy reading this book too. This was a story that really opened up my imagination and even made me interested in reading more books in the future. Again, I really liked this book and I think you will to.

Book reviewed by Emily