The Faery Flag: Stories and Poems of Fantasy and the Supernatural - Hardcover

Yolen, Jane

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0531058387 ISBN 13: 9780531058381

Publisher: Orchard Books, 1989

Synopsis

A collection of stories and poems on various fairy tale, ghost, or supernatural themes.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Grade 4-10-- Yolen's collection begins with a poem which celebrates storytelling in a series of evocative images, concluding "If you ask me,/ I would have to say/ all the world's magic/ comes directly from the mouth." The nine stories and five poems which follow are fresh and original, yet firmly rooted in folklore and legend. The title story is based on the old Scottish belief in the faery folk, while "The Foxwife" has Japanese origins. "The Face in the Cloth" has echoes of European fairy tales. There is a rich diversity of tone, plot, and setting. "Words of Power" is a strong fantasy about a young woman's coming of age. "The Singer of Seeds" and "Wolf/Child" are both frightening in very different ways. "The Boy Who Drew Unicorns" takes place on a present - day school field trip. "The Tower Bird" has a surreal quality. The remarkable thing is that Yolen seems equally at home in all these varied voices and settings. Her characters come vividly to life. Only "Happy Dens," which strains toward humor with a retelling of favorite tales from the wolf's point of view, doesn't quite ring true. The stories resonate with deeply felt emotions of love, hatred, wonder, terror, and a particular haunting quality which is Yolen's own. They are interspersed with strong, direct poetry just as intriguing as the stories and equally fine for reading aloud. --Ruth S. Vose, San Francisco Public Library
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly:

The rhythmic voice in this collection of nine stories and six poems is unmistakably that of a master storyteller and poet. "Once upon a time. . . ," says the narrator of the first poem, and the reader is transported immediately into realms where words, like the faery flag of Dunvegan Castle, are "as true and warming as you let them be." The works are varied and polished; particularly satisfying are the touching soliloquy from Beauty upon the occasion of her first anniversary with the Beast; "The Face in the Cloth," a haunting tale of desire; and "Happy Dens or A Day in the Old Wolves' Home," a clever story about Nurse Lamb's encounters with familiar wolf tales, told this time from the wolves' point of view. Yolen's words are strong and true, convincing the reader that "all the world's magic comes directly from the mouth." Text decorations not seen by PW. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Orchard Books
• Publication date: 1989
• ISBN 10: 0531058387
• ISBN 13: 9780531058381
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 120