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Summary
Summary
Only a child can find the way to bring Saint George back to the play.
The Boy works for the Magician, and he wants more than anything to learn magic. But the Magician always says, "Not yet, Boy. Not till the time is right." So the Boy has to be content with polishing the Magician's wand, taking care of the rabbits the Magician pulls out of hats, and doing his favorite job: operating the puppets for the play Saint George and the Dragon, which the Magician always performs as part of his act.
Until one day the Saint George puppet disappears, and the angry Magician hurls the Boy into the strange Land of Story to find Saint George. His quest is full of adventures with oddly familiar people, from the Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe to the Giant at the top of Jack's beanstalk. But the Boy's last adventure is the most amazing of all -- and changes his life forever.
Author Notes
Susan Cooper was born in Buckinghamshire, England in May of 1935. She attended Slough Grammar School, and then went on to Somerville College and Oxford. She was the first woman to ever edit the University Magazine, the Cherwell. She graduated from Oxford with an MA in English and went to work for London's The Sunday Times as a reporter on the Atticus Column for Ian Flemming. She evenutally made it to features writer, during which time she wrote her first book, "Mandrake," a science fiction story for adults.
Soon after the publication of "Mandrake," Cooper wrote the children's story "Over Sea, Under Stone" for a publishing house competition. It would later become the first of a five book series she would become famous for. She left England in 1963 to marry an American professor. Once there, she wrote two more books for adults, "Behind the Golden Gate" a study of America, and "Portrait of an Author" the biography of J. B. Priestley. In 1970, Cooper published "Dawn of Fear" an almost entirely autobiographical book about growing up as a child during the war. Even though Cooper wrote "Over Sea, Under Stone" as a entry for a publishing house competittion, she did not know at the time that it would be the first of her most famous copilation, "The Dark is Rising Series." In 1973 she wrote the second in the five book series, entitled "The Dark is Rising," published more than ten years after the first. In1974, Cooper published Greenwitch, book three, and book four, "The Grey King" a year later. "The Grey King" won the Newberry Medal in 1976. "Silver on the Tree" was the fifth and last book published, completing the series in 1977.
After completing the "Dark is Rising" series, Cooper turned to writing for the theater, learning the style from Urjo Kareda at Tarragon Theatres in Toronto. She wrote for Jack Langstaff's "Revels." Her first major play was called "Foxfire," which was written in coolaboration with Hume Cronyn. The play eventually went to Broadway in 1983 and starred Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy, who won a Tony for her performance. Cooper then began working on "Seaward," but was interrupted by Jane Fonda, who wanted her to write the screenplay for Harriet Arnow's "The Dollmaker." She wrote the adaptation with Cronyn and won a Humanitas Award for it, while Jane Fonda won the Best Actress Emmy for her role. Cooper also got an Emmy nomination for her adaptation of "Foxfire" for television. "To Dance with the White Dog," a made for tv movie, was the last collaboration of Cooper, Cronyn and Tandy, Tandy having died in '94.
IN the '80's and '90's, Cooper wrote the text for many children's picture books such as, "Jethro and the Jumbie" and "Danny and the Kings." 1993 marked her return to the Children's Book List with "The Boggart" and int's follow up "The Boggart and the Monster" in 1997. In 1996, Cooper published a collection of essays on children's literature entitled, "Dreams and Wishes." Over the course of her career, Cooper has written for newspapers, books for children and adults, screen[plays for television and cinema, and a Broadwat play. Today, she lectures on children's literture and continues to write.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Newbery Medalist Cooper (The Dark Is Rising) offers a lighthearted fantasy centering on a Magician's helper. While operating the puppets in his master's rendition of "St. George and the Dragon," the apprentice discovers that the St. George puppet has disappeared. When the angry Magician insists that the lad locate the star puppet, the Boy falls into the pages of an open book and winds up in the Land of Story. There a talking signpost bears the words, "Only a child can find the way/ To bring Saint George back to the play." To accomplish this, explains the post, the Boy must "travel through stories" and choose a nursery rhyme. When he selects the Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe, the signpost quips (in one of Cooper's characteristically spry lines), "Not a great choice.... She doesn't get out much." Pinocchio makes a rather bland cameo, but the Boy has more entertaining encounters with the likes of the Pied Piper, Little Red Riding Hood and "four and twenty blackbirds," who finally lead him to the Dragon. The signpost reveals a delectable twist as to the Saint's whereabouts. Despite an inventive finale, the narrative falls short of delivering the magic Cooper's fans have come to expect. The theme feels familiar, and the prose lacks the compelling force of many of her previous novels. Riglietti's half-tone stylized illustrations nimbly capture the story's whimsy, whether single-page or splashing across a spread. Recent graduates to chapter books will most appreciate this caper. Ages 8-12. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
A magician's assistant loses his master's Saint George puppet and is banished to the ""Land of Story"" to find it. Aided by a talking signpost, the boy interacts with fairy-tale characters including the Pied Piper, Pinocchio, and Red Riding Hood. Accompanied by black-and-white illustrations, the unfocused plot and lightweight prose do not showcase the author's normally prodigious talent. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Gr. 2-4. The Boy works for the Magician, but instead of learning magic, the unhappy lad weeds the garden of magic herbs, polishes the magic wands, and operates the marionettes for the puppet play Saint George and the Dragon. One day the Boy is transformed into a character in the land of the puppet play, where he encounters well-known folks from nursery rhymes, nursery tales, and other children's classics. He acquits himself so well in this adventure that he earns a real name for himself as well as the promise of lessons from the magician. Fanciful and mildly amusing, the dreamlike story flows along smoothly through a strange yet vaguely familiar wonderland. Riglietti contributes a series of expressive, stylized illustrations. With large type, wide margins, and one sizable picture in each of the 12 chapters, the book is well designed for independent readers, but it can also be read aloud to younger children. --Carolyn Phelan Copyright 2005 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-4-A master of fantasy tells a fanciful tale for young children. Boy works for a Magician, polishing wands, feeding the rabbits, and performing a puppet show of "Saint George and the Dragon." Then, one day, the Saint George puppet is missing, so the Magician sends the Boy through the Land of Story to find it. On his quest, he meets many nursery-rhyme and fairy-tale characters from stories such as "Jack and the Beanstalk," "Little Red Riding Hood," and the "The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe." Using the cryptic clue, "Only a child can find the way/To bring Saint George back to the play," the Boy steps forward to save the day. The black-and-white illustrations reflect the whimsy and amazement of the story perfectly. This beautifully simple and joyous book is perfect both for newly independent readers to tackle on their own and for adults to share with youngsters.-Tasha Saecker, Caestecker Public Library, Green Lake, WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
The Boy works for a magician: feeding rabbits, polishing magic wands, weeding the garden, and washing dishes. But when pulling the puppets' strings in a production of "Saint George and the Dragon," the Boy is horrified to find that Saint George is missing, and the Boy must travel in the Land of Story to find him. There, he encounters characters from nursery rhymes and fairy tales. He helps the Old Lady Who Lives in a Shoe get her children back from the Pied Piper, warns Red Riding Hood about the wolf, and gets help from four-and-twenty blackbirds. Pinocchio is there, as are Jack, the Giant, and Father Christmas, all in each other's stories to help the Boy on his quest. By story's end, the Boy comes into his own and finds his name: George. Riglietti's magical illustrations perfectly complement the lively text, and large print and generous white space create a pleasing, spacious design. Perfect for reading aloud, the tale will encourage readers and listeners to revisit familiar fairy tales and nursery rhymes. (Fiction. 8-12) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Excerpts
Excerpts
Chapter One There was once a Boy who worked for a Magician. Every day he polished the Magician's magic wands and the gold stars and moons on his great blue robe. He weeded the garden where the magic herbs grew, and crushed their seeds into powder for the Magician's spells. He worked very hard indeed. But he wasn't happy. More than anything in the world, the Boy wanted to learn magic -- but the Magician would not teach him. The Boy fed the six white rabbits that lived in a hutch in the garden, but he was always startled when he saw the Magician pull one of them out of somebody's hat. He washed the dishes in the kitchen, and watched enviously when the Magician picked up an empty jug and poured milk out of it. How did he do these things? "Master," he begged, "teach me! Teach me magic!" But the Magician always said, "Not yet, Boy. Not till the time is right. Not yet." When the Magician went out to perform, the Boy went with him, to help him on stage, and to catch any rabbits he might pull out of hats. The Boy loved those days, because then he had one really special job too. When the Magician performed, he always took with him a little puppet theatre in which he showed the play "Saint George and the Dragon" -- and the Boy was allowed to operate the puppets. The Boy stood on a box behind the tiny stage, hidden by a curtain, and he pulled the puppets' strings while the Magician told the story of the play. It was an odd little play. One of the people in it was Father Christmas, but all he had to do was introduce the other characters to the audience. These were the wicked Dragon, who loved fighting; the Turkish Knight, who fought the Dragon but could never beat him; and the Doctor, who was there in case anyone was wounded. And of course there was the hero, Saint George. The Boy was especially proud of the way he made Saint George kill the Dragon, at the end. The wounded Dragon staggered round in a circle, puffed out three clouds of white smoke, jumped up in the air and fell down dead. (The white smoke was really chalk dust, puffed by the Boy from a little pipe.) The watching children always cheered at this, so the Boy was pleased. It wasn't magic, but it was the next best thing. One Christmas, the Magician and the Boy went to perform at a family party given by a Mr. and Mrs. Pennywinkle, in a grand stone house as big as a castle. "Mr. Pennywinkle is a very important person!" said the Magician, frowning at the Boy. "Everything must be perfect! " The Magician was a very tall man, with a beaky nose, black eyebrows like doormats, and a bristly mustache. He was alarming when he frowned. The Boy said, "Yes, Master! Of course!" He gave the magic wands an extra polish, he shampooed the rabbits, and he repainted the trees on the back wall of the puppet theatre stage. And off they went to the party. Text copyright (c) 2005 by Susan Cooper Illustrations copyright (c) 2005 by Serena Riglietti Excerpted from The Magician's Boy by Susan Cooper, Susan Cooper All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.