The Firework-Maker's Daughter - Hardcover

Pullman, Philip

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0590187198 ISBN 13: 9780590187190

Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books, 1999

Synopsis

From the author of The Golden Compass comes a fantastical new story that follows Lila, a young girl who will do anything to become a Firework-Maker like her father, as she, along with a vocal white elephant named Hamlet, confronts pirates, demons, the Fire-Fiend, and anyone else that stands in the way of her dream. 30,000 first printing.

About this title

About the Author

Philip Pullman is a renowned author of works for young readers, and the winner of many awards, including the prestigious Whitbread Award for Best Book of the Year for The Amber Spyglass - the first time a children's author has won this coveted prize.

Reviews

This comical adventure about a girl who longs to follow in her father's footsteps crackles with Pullman's (The Golden Compass; Clockwork) usual flair. Lila desperately wants to be a firework-maker like her widower father. Although he has raised her amid the dancing sparks, he wants her to have a husband rather than a vocation. With the help of her entrepreneurial friend Chulak, the personal servant to the king's talking white elephant, Lila tricks her father into revealing the secret to his profession, then bravely departs to retrieve the royal sulphur from Razvani the Fire-Fiend at the heart of a volcano. Pullman marries elements of fairy tale with slapstick humor as Lila outwits a vaudevillian band of pirates and scales jagged mountains on her quest. Gallagher's (Blue Willow, reviewed above) softly focused graphite drawings lend magical mystery as Lila fearfully contemplates the dancing fire imps at Mount Merapi and emphasize the absurdity as the elephant, his flanks emblazoned with advertisements, kneels before the Goddess of the Lake in order to save Lila from Razvani. If the tale, first published in Britain in 1995, isn't as polished as Pullman's other works, it's worth the trip just for the climactic fireworks scene in which Lila gets to show her stuff. Ages 8-12. (Oct.) FYI: As of September, Pullman's Sally Lockhart Trilogy is being reissued in paperback: The Ruby in the Smoke; The Shadow in the North; and The Tiger in the Well; as well as The Tin Princess, which features characters from the trilogy. (Knopf, $4.99 paper each ages 12-up ISBN 0-394-89589-4; -82599-3; ISBN 0-679-82671-8; -87615-4)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Pullman (Clockwork, 1998, etc.) has created a strong-willed heroine who will risk her life in order to experience and become transformed by the world. Bent on becoming a firework-maker like her father, young and determined Lila travels to Mount Merapi to obtain Royal Sulphur from Razvani the Fire-fiend. She arrives at Mount Merapi without the three gifts required as exchange for the sulphur and without the magic water that will protect her from the flames; Lila's hopes of appeasing Razvani seem impossible until Hamlet, the King's elephant, and Chaluk, his keeper, arrive with the magic water. Entering the flames, Lila learns that the three giftstalent, courage and luckwere within her all the time. Falsely imprisoned for stealing Hamlet, Lila's father relies upon her to help prepare a firework display that will earn his release. Called the Foaming Moss, its spectacular presentation leaves the King, his subjects, and the other firework-makers in awe. Characteristically, Pullman builds anticipation to a breathtaking conclusion, while Gallagher's distinctive black-and-white illustrations lead readers on a fantastical journey fraught with danger and a dream realized. (Fiction. 8-12) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Grade 3-6-A story set "A thousand miles ago" and very far away. Having grown up amid the clutter and creations in her firework-maker father's studio, Lila wants only to follow in his footsteps, but Lalchand thinks more of finding a husband for his daughter. Since he won't see things her way, Lila enlists the aid of her friend Chulak, keeper of the king's (talking) white elephant Hamlet, to help her find out what she needs to complete her apprenticeship and become a master firework-maker. Chulak learns that the final test is to obtain the royal sulfur from the Grotto of Razvani the Fire-Fiend, and Lila runs away to do this, before Chulak finds out that it takes more than determination to accomplish this quest. Now Lila's life is in danger, from more than the bumbling pirates who kidnap her along the way, and it is up to Chulak and Hamlet to find her before it is too late. Stately but expressive graphite drawings open each chapter and, along with decorated title and half-title pages, add to the expanded folktale feel of this story. This title is similar in length and probable audience to Pullman's Clockwork (Scholastic, 1998); however, where that book used horror and suspense to rivet readers to the page, this one will be remembered for its broad humor and gentle moral featuring a determined girl who reaches her goals through hard work, courage, and perseverance. Young readers will see, hear, smell, and be dazzled by the fireworks that burst forth, as Lila earns her heart's desire.
Susan L. Rogers, Chestnut Hill Academy, PA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In an unspecified Asian setting "a thousand miles ago," Lila grows up with her father and learns to love his trade, firework-making. Confused and dismayed when she hears him despair that he will never find her a husband, Lila undertakes a quest to obtain royal sulphur, the magical ingredient that will make her a true fireworks artist. Along the way she submits to kidnapping by crew of bungling buccaneers, frightens off an attacking tiger, and boldly faces Razvani the Fire-Fiend. Aided by her friends, Hamlet the white elephant and Chulak his caretaker, Lila triumphs. She returns home to help her father escape a death sentence imposed by the king. Reminiscent in spirit of Lloyd Alexander's tales with their strong, clever heroines, this story is abundantly good natured and rich with humorous scenes and philosophical underpinings. Pullman portrays his main characters deftly, sets them in a colorful, convincing world, and brings the story to a memorable climax in a fireworks competition of grand proportions. Black-and-white, shaded pencil drawings will illustrate the text, though the finished art was not available for review. A dramatic tale for reading aloud or reading alone. Carolyn Phelan

Edition details

• Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0590187198
• ISBN 13: 9780590187190
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 112