Swan Children — David Day

Gr 4 Up-- Long ago, Lir, a king among the Tuatha de Danaan, marries and has four beautiful children. After his wife's death, the children are cared for by their aunt Ava, who comes to hate them, cursing them to live as swans for almost ten centuries. Only the tolling of a Christian bell, marking the end of ancient spells and curses, changes their fate. Unable to survive in this new world, they return to their father, now in a fairy kingdom under the sea. Day tells this haunting story with style and color. The minimal changes made in the retelling are arguably matters of emphasis, but some power is lost in not having the terms of the enchantment pronounced at the time of the cursing. The numerous colored pencil drawings, done in muted greens, blues, and tans, convey an appropriate sense of otherworldliness, achieved through unusual perspectives, an uncommon mix of curves and angles, and an eccentric placing of figures. The effect is uneasy and distracting, strange rather than mysterious, and so not entirely satisfying. Nonetheless, this worthy purchase calls attention to one of the Emerald Isle's great traditional stories, previously available only in collections. --Cynthia Bishop, Onondaga County Public Library, Syracuse, NY