Into the Woods - Hardcover

Lyn Gardner is a theater critic for The Guardian and goes to the theater five or six nights a week, which should leave no time for writing books at all. Prior to joining The Guardian, she was a tea lady, a waitress, sold (or failed to sell) advertising space for a magazine called Sludge, wrote for The Independent, and helped found the London listings magazine, City Limits, the largest publishing co-op in Europe.

Mini Grey's last picture book, Traction Man Is Here!, won the 2005 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award and received five starred reviews.

Starred Review. Grade 5–9—This gothic, wildly adventurous romp through the dream country of fairy tales celebrates the power of sisterhood. The Eden girls—beautiful, domestic Aurora; bold, reckless Storm; and baby Any—live at Eden End, a dilapidated estate near a rat-infested village in a setting that vaguely resembles rural Victorian England. On her deathbed, their mother bequeaths Storm a pipe, whispering "Beware of its terrible power." A year later, their grief-stricken father departs on a mysterious expedition, leaving a note that warns Aurora to be careful on her 16th birthday. Enter the mysterious, evil Dr. DeWilde. He wants the pipe. He and his ravenous wolves chase the sisters from their home and pursue them across a landscape familiar to readers of European myths, fairy tales, and fantasy. Elements of "The Pied Piper of Hamlin," "Rapunzel," "Hansel and Gretel," "The Snow Queen," and many other tales figure in the story. The breathless plot, which pulls readers into an escalating series of dangerous situations, hairbreadth escapes, bitter defeats, and surprising triumphs, is grounded in the realistic personalities of the sisters. As their relationship develops, they appeal to readers as much for their flaws as their strengths. Grey's black-and-white illustrations, interspersed with the text, advance the action. A descendant of Joan Aiken's The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (Doubleday, 1963) and its sequels, this book is distinguished by a strong, descriptive style. It should have wide appeal as a family read-aloud or absorbing read-alone.—Margaret A. Chang, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, North Adams
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