Bartlett and the Ice Voyage - Hardcover

ODO HIRSCH

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0747544549 ISBN 13: 9780747544548

Publisher: BLOOMSBURY, 1999

Synopsis

The Queen is a very busy woman who rules over seven kingdoms, some of which she has never even seen. Each kingdom is filled with its own exotic delights, and her loyal subjects constantly send her gifts from far and wide. But there is one fruit she craves--the melidrop--which, until now, has been out of her reach because it rots on the long journey from the far off country in which it grows. This is where Bartlett--the intrepid, stubborn, inventive and irreverent explorer--comes in!

A rip-roaring, fantastical roller-coaster of an adventure story overflowing with wit and rollicking suspense. This is good, old-fashioned storytelling at its very best!

About this title

About the Author

Odo Hirsch grew up in Melbourne, Australia where he trained to be a doctor. He now lives in London where he spends his time writing children's books. Bartlett and the Ice Voyage won the Blue Peter Book Award in the UK.

From Publishers Weekly

Be careful of what you wish for and what is required to get it-is only one of the lessons covered in Hirsch's (author of the Antonio S. series) charming fantasy about the perils of desire. Legendary "mouth-watering melidrops" grow in the young Queen's empire, faraway in the south in a time when refrigeration, air travel and electricity have yet to be invented. "The Queen had tasted every fruit that grew in her seven countries, every single fruit except the melidrop." After hearing about the delicious fruit that must be eaten the day it is picked, nothing else will do. Laced with humor, the novel, told by an omniscient narrator, deposits little gems along the way (when the Queen pretends the melidrop does not exist, for instance, the narrative advises, "When you try to pretend something doesn't exist, you end up spending more time thinking about it than you ever did before"). Sutton Prufrock, ancient world traveler and expert on melidrops, suggests that it will take "Inventiveness, Desperation and Perseverance" to locate a melidrop for her Royal Highness and bring it back while it is still fresh. The explorer extraordinaire Bartlett is the man for the job-if she can wait seven months. The merits of honesty and resourcefulness waft through this lighthearted adventure tale. Even the Queen herself learns a lesson she doesn't bargain for as she waits for the melidrop to be procured-the importance of patience and trust. Ages 8-14.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: BLOOMSBURY
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0747544549
• ISBN 13: 9780747544548
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 176