I found this book very exciting and entertaining, allthough a bit heavy at times. It is appropriate for (and can be understood best at)ages 13-14, I would say. Also,it would be best to research the Shaker religion (which the book is about) before reading it. It makes more sense that way.

The Gift of Sarah Barker by Jane Yolen was a really good book. It teaches you a lot about the culture of the Shakers. I liked how the author gave so much information on a culture that is now almost gone, and put in a good story to make it intriguing. Sarah and Abel fall in love, in a Shaker community where it is forbidden, when Sarah forgets her stockings on Holy Hill and Abel finds them. Of course they need to be returned, and so they meet together at night. They continue sneaking out to meet each other and their love continues to grow. It is hard to live such a terrible secret and they had to find a way to get away. I found myself rooting for Sarah and Abel and wanting to not put it down once I started reading it. This book should be read by many others.

I read, "The Gift of Sarah Barker," written by Jane Yolen. This book is about is about this young girl and this young boy. The young girl is named Sister Sarah and the boy is named Brother Able. They both live in the same Shaker community where it is a sin to even talk to the opposite gender. If you are not a Mother or Father of the community. Somehow through it all Sarah and Able find love. They must keep it a secret though or they will be thrown out of their community. If I were to rate this book on a scale from one to five. I would give it a four. Thats because there were alot of attention grabbers. It was defanatally a girls book. The reason why I think that this book is a girls book is because it's sappy, mushy, and a love story kind of book. It reminds me of "Romeo and Juliet" by Willianm Shakespear. I would love ot read this book agian...

Although a sequel to Sister Light, Sister Dark, this shadowy fantasy weaves a complete tapestry of chiaroscuro. Prophecies on the slant, heroic female protagonists and cruel villains compete for the Dales--an unspecified island realm consisting of two uneasily mixed races. But supernatural folk intermingle with humans, as many women were born with dark sisters (fantasy twins.) Besides the Greena (Little People)who possess curious powers, there is the image of the Great Alta herself--mother goddess to many women of Earth, ruling through a succession of priestesses.

Young teenage Jenna--reluctant to consider herself the Anna of legend--undertakes a quest to warn her sisters in some 17 Hames about the rampages of the scourge of the Dales--perpetrated by brutal soldiers of the usurper. She is joined by a very young priestess named Petra, a middle-aged mentor Sister, Catrona, and ultimately by 3 youths who will become heralds of the true king. Who will emerge at the final coronation: the vicious Toad or one of the 2 rightful heirs?
Can a mere girl effect the ruin of the Hound, the Boar, the Bull and the Cat by her own, delicate hand? Privately seeking her young prince (from Book I), Jenna dedicates her will and her body to saving her sisters and restoring peace to the land. But why do so many insist that she is the legendary Anna?

Intermingling threads of various hues (myth, legend, "History" and the story itself), the author deftly spins a web of medieval intrigue in a supernatural sphere. The plot gradually tautens around the spindle of fate, to its dramatic denouement--interspersed with folk sayings of the Dalians. Jenna blushes with maidenly modesty at veiled sexual inuendoes, but few secrets escape the twinning knowledge of Skada, her dark sister.
Yolen occasionally inserts sly humor in the form of pseudo-scholarly debates among "Historians". Readers will enter a realm where the heart is quicker than the eye, where reality and fantasy inferface with sylvan grace. For ages 16 and up.

You know what they say... sequels are never as great as originals. I waited for what seems like forever for this book, and it was kinda disappointing. It didn't have the same magic Sister Light, Sister Dark had. The storytelling seemed kind of rushed and Skada's role was underplayed too much. All in all, a fizzling conclusion to a good beginning.

Jane Yolen is a superbly gifted artist. In _Sister Light, Sister Dark_, she introduced us to White Jenna, the Anna of prophecy and a young woman caught up in matters beyond her understanding; the end to Jenna's story is found in this sequel, _White Jenna_. Here we see a continuation of a very intriguing, original theme: the difference between myth, legend, history, and truth, where what really happened may strike historians as the incredible thing of all.

It's a shame, though, that the story itself isn't quite as mesmerizing as the theme behind it. The large role promised to Skada on the bookflap is never actually given; rather than sister, Dark Queen, and equal, she seems more like Jenna's convenient and helpful servant, showing up only in times of trouble. Large spans of time are skipped over; the fast-forwarding through the rest of Jenna's life was particularly irritating. Most of the characters either weren't developed as fully as they could have been or seemed like clones of earlier ones--there was remarkably little difference between Pynt and Petra, given that the latter originally seemed much more serious-minded. And despite what I said earlier about the main charm of the book being its comparison of history and truth, myth and reality, Jenna really did seem to accomplish amazingly little for a woman whose coming has been foretold for centuries and who was supposed to be a Goddess's good right hand.

Still, it's not at all a bad book. People who enjoyed the first in the series should likewise enjoy this one, for even with all its flaws, Jenna is as intriguing a heroine as ever, Carum as winsome, and Skada as entertaining. I probably wouldn't advise anyone to read this unless they've already read _Sister Light, Sister Dark_, though; whoever tries to do so is likely to end up very confused.

One of the first fantasy books I ever read, it has stood up to multiple rereadings. De Lint weaves a tale of mystery and magic in a unique land with the courage and compassion of one woman. This book is amazing.

The Story: At a young age, a girl named Angharad who grew up as a tinker, is identified by a wizard as having the Summerblood (being a witch, having some of the green (Faerie) in her). She is taught the ways of a witch, and also is granted a harp, and the ability to play it, by the kowrie (elves). This is all prelude to her being sent, by the old gods, on a dual mission: help reawaken the green (magic) in those who have the ability, and destroy an ancient and evil talisman that could destroy all those who possess the Summerblood. Along the way, she is harassed and tormented, but also finds unexpected allies.

Technical: The writing is flawless, as one would expect from de Lint, but this book differs in format from most of his other books. The pace is much faster than in most de Lint stories and, while Angharad does collect a small band of allies along the way, this story focuses much more on one character than do most de Lint books, which often feature ensemble casts. As usual for a de Lint book, though, there is a heavy cultural component. Another difference is that the culture is a mythical one, albeit one closely kin to Celtic culture. While many of the names are clearly Celtic-ish, the map given in the beginning is NOT of the British Isles (although it is a cluster of island-nations off the west coast of a continent).

Overall: Hang on tight and prepare for a wild and magical ride through a tale that will not be ignored, once begun!

De Lint is by far the best at blending urban reality with fantastical lands that are just "around the corner". He has done it again with this book. I have as many of his books as I could get my hands on...you'll be hooked, although Moonheart was by far his best. If you like him, you'll also like the Taliswoman series by Carole Nelson Douglas...Book 3 of that series is coming in November, 1999. (The other 2 are Cup of Clay and Seed Upon the Wind.)

Two boys - in the same, isolated house, but in different (time) dimensions - with as their only companions a cat and a dog, and as their only protection a circle of rowan trees. Outside, the Wild Hunt is looking for a prey...

I'll say no more, for I might spoil a bit of your fun. Read it and you'll like it, I'm sure.

Jane Yolen taps into mythos and folklore for "Wild Hunt," a short and sweet kids' fantasy with exquisite writing and amazing illustrations. Yolen also experiments with a unique chapter format, as often chapters are split into "Chapter One; Chapter One - Almost; Chapter One - Sort of" which adds extra charm.

Jerrold and Gerund are young boys who live in parallel versions of a huge house, "surrounded by rowan trees that are proof against magic." With each one lives the beautiful, chilly white cat; with Gerund also lives the overenthusiastic Mully the dog (who tends to echo the last few words of each sentence).

Outside, the Wild Hunt has begun; the chaotic, frightening king of winter is on the search for the Lady, who is "She Who Is Ever, She Whose Word Is Law, The Once and Future Queen, Maiden Mother and Crone, Summer and Goodness and Light." (Those last are highly debateable) Gerund and Jerrold are swept into the snowy wilderness, full of frightening hounds and the Moss-man, and the result of the clash between Summer and Winter is something that they never could have dreamed of.

One interesting fact about this book is that since the forces in motion are so much greater than the boys, they are not really able to change much. (I enjoyed the mentions of Aragorn, Ged, and Will Stanton by one of the boys, as fictional heroes) The ending is intriguing -- I really didn't see that coming, but after the events of the climax, I can't imagine it any other way.

Jerrold and Gerund are both brave and interesting, yet freaked enough by what is happening for them to be realistic. Mully's antics may grate on readers, but certain plot developments make him poignant rather than irritating. The horned man is menacing and nasty, but intriguing in his showdown with his wife. She's a bit more of a dark horse, as she seems much sweeter and more refined, but at the same time she is very cold and perhaps as menacing as her husband.

The writing is lovely, lyrical and very evocative. The pictures are simple black and white, very lifelike while retaining a slight softness and candlelit appearance. As far as quality goes, like some Point books it is printed on thick white paper, with a tight binding. No cracks on the edges of the binding, like many mass market paperbacks!

Some parents may not want their younger kids to read this, given the death of a couple characters, the idea of a young boy being used as "bait," a river of blood, and a forest of fruit that is actually maggots, flies, and insects. Additionally, younger children won't be able to fully appreciate the richness and background of this tale, though they may like it. Short as it is, this strikes me as more a YA novel than a children's.

Overall, this is a beautiful tale worthy of many rereadings on a winter's night.

This is a beautifully written, haunting book. The kind that you can't stop reading it when you start, and at the end, you start reading it again because you want to notice all the details you might have missed the first time through. Very original, perhaps a little short. Full of quiet wisdom and harsh conflict. It keeps you in suspense from the first chapter to the very end. And the ending is one of those that keeps you wondering about what happens after that, and leaves lots of room for imagination.

Some of the stories are quite similar to others. Of course, they all have to do with dragons, but several fall in the Hero goes to slay Dragon formula. The Orson Scott Card does not seem to fit in the traditional dragon formula and is the outstanding story. The Anne MaCaffrey is good but overwritten at points. I expected more from the Zelazny. It was very good, but Zelazny has done such mind-blowing work that this seems to be a bit trite. The Friesner is hillarious and the best of the funny stories in this book. The Martin and Tilton are quite good, but not estradordinary. The rest were merely okay, except for The Ever-After which had horrid prose.

This was a fairly good book. It gave a lot of information that someone might use while reading any of Anne McCaffrey's books. I liked this book because of that. Anyone who likes dragons could use this book.

I LOVED this book! I've never in my life read stories of this calliber!I couldn't put this book down.It was delightful from cover to cover.I highly recommend this book to anyone who has fallen in love with the world of dragons.

Many of these stories are disturbingly morbid and unpleasant. If you are a parent, please look it over before letting your child read it.

Defently one of the best books I've ever read. It contains 12 different stories that are happy, sad, and some were downright scary.

Rather like a "Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears" for a younger audience, this book is for anyone who enjoys a good fractured faerytale or stories from the fantasy realm. It has everything, from Yolen's continuation of Alice in Wonderland to the sad story of an Appalachian girl whose mother has returned to life as a vampire. While stories like "The Bridge's Complaint", a twist on the old Billy Goats Gruff story (told by an intellectual bridge) and "Lost Girls," a feminist version of Peter Pan, gave me a good laugh, stories like "Mama Gone," the vampire story, and "Bolundeers" were both sad and heartwarming. "Sea Dragon of Fife" was a tale of legendary proportions and "Wilding" added a bit of sci-fi to the bunch. You won't put the book down until you've read ALL of the stories--many times. And it's by Jane Yolen, it can't be BAD! Get it and be sure to read "Harlyn's Fairy" and "Winter's King," my personal favourites.

Jane Yolen's latest anthology (preceeded by 'Here There Be Dragons' and 'Here There Be Unicorns') is centred around the topic of witches and holds a wide range of writing styles, whether it be poetry, short stories, retelling of legends or dialouge. This variety of these stories and their tones sometimes makes a rather mish-mashed collection; the serious stories don't quite fit with the light-hearted ones and you feel as if they should be in separate books. On the other hand, the range means that there's something for everyone and one gets to see the many sides of witches and their crafts. David Wilgus' black-and-white illustrations are greatly responsible for my enjoyment of this book - he is able to create beauty and realism in each one, no matter how fantasic the subject matter is. I especially like the front and back cover - an old woman on the front, but a beautiful youthful one on the back - but the same snake-ring they were is testimony that they're the same person!

Yolen starts each piece of writing with a short, conversation-like introduction telling the reader how she got the inspiration for each story, what they're about and how she went about writing them, which adds further interest to the stories themselves.

There are seventeen pieces of work altogether. The poems are: 'The Magic House' - a poem about the famous Gingerbread House, 'Witch's Cat' - about the witch's best-known familiar, 'A Conversation Amoung Witches' a rhyming chant of the witches, 'Pythagoras' about the famous wizard philosopher, 'Weird Sisters' a rather dark poem that uses witches as metaphors for a young girl's life, 'When Love Came to Witch Alfre' a lighter poem about a witch who falls in love, and 'Witch Call' about famous witches in history.

Also in the book are stories suited for more grown-up readers such as 'Boris Chernevsky's Hands' a science-fiction type story that stars the famous witch Baga Yaga who helps out a young man dissatisfied with his clumsy hands, and 'Circles' about a young woman living in an abusive home who learns the secrets of casting witch circles and wishing on them.

Humourous stories include 'The Passing of the Eye' about a politically correct knight who comes across three witches and 'When I Grow Up, by Michael Dee' the essay of a boy who is about to be initiationed into the family business of becoming a warlock. As well as this there is 'Witchfinder', the story of a woman accused of witchcraft from many different viewpoints.

My favourites however, and in my opinion Yolen's best, are her re-tellings of old fairytales and her creation of new ones. These are 'The Face in the Cloth', the story of a young Princess struggling to become her own person despite her having her mother's face stitched onto the hood of her cloak, and 'The Promise' about two young people, Kay and Kaya, who are given a promise that they will marry only to be separated by an evil sorcerer when Kay is turned into a fish and lives (unknown to Kaya) in her fishpond. This one's probably my favourite, along with 'The Witch's Ride' about a man who marries the town's beauty only to wake up every morning to find himself more tired than he was the night before. His mother investigates and discovers rather startling truths about his bride...
Then there is 'The Woman Who Loved a Bear' the retelling of an old Native-American story about a Cheyenne woman who meets and is protected by a large bear.

Lastly there is a the rather long story concerning Yolane's favourite subject - Arthurian legend. In this one she distorts the tale of the Sword in the Stone a little by having 'Merlinnus' create the stone and the sword *after* Arthur is considered king. And it's not exactly Arthur who pulls out the sword...This one isn't exactly my favourite, but Yolane's love of the old legends shines through with every word.

All in all, though some stories didn't quite strike my fancy, and others were obviously borrowed from other sources (although she does try to explain herself!) this is a quite good collection of witchy stories that is sure to set off some ideas of your own, and will keep witch-loving kids occupied for some time.

"Here There Be Witches" is as enjoyable as its predecessors, a collection of short stories and poems concentrating on witches. As before, it ranges from humorous to chilling, thought-provoking and well-written.

"The Magic House" is a brief Hansel and Gretel poem. "Witch's Ride" is a grafting of a folktale and some real-life events, about a woman considered a witch who isn't one, and a witch who isn't considered one. "A Conversation Among Witches" is just that, a conversation between three witches. "Boris Chernevsky's Hands" is a SF/F story that includes the legendary Baba Yaga, about a young man whisked away by Baba Yaga in a giant mug. "Witch's Cat" is a self-description by a witch's cat. "The Passing of the Eye" is a hilarious glimpse of what happens when the hero Perseus is a little too polite to the three witches. "The Face in the Cloth" is a poignant story about a young princess whose life is overshadowed by her mother's deal with three witches.

"When I Grow Up, by Michael Dee" is another funny story about a little boy who wants to be a warlock. "Pythagoras" was a little harder to understand, the apparent implication being that he was a wizard. "The Promise" tells of two young children, born in the same hour of two close friends, who are supposed to remain together, but who are threatened by an evil sorcerer. "Circles" is about when wishes are granted through a little magical ritual -- though not always the way that is wished for. "Weird Sisters" is about the Macbeth Witches. "The Woman Who Loved a Bear" is a Native American fable similar to "Cinderella." "When Love Came to Witch Alfre" describes the problems when a witch falls in love. "The Sword and the Stone" is an extremely enjoyable Arthurian tale about Merlin, a mysterious stranger, and a sword in a stone. "Witchfinder" is a story about a poor old woman accused of making cows dry up. "Witch Call" is a Wicca-themed poem.

There are a few dead spots in this collection, but overall it is a highly enjoyable collection of short stories and poems. As with the books "Dragons" and "Unicorns," these will entertain with sprightly prose and original storytelling.

This book is gorgeous! The illustrations are fantastic, and add to the magic of Yolen's writing. A perfect pairing of author and illustrator. The stories are varied, making this an excellent and interesting book for all ages. I checked it out at the library, and now want my own copy for my fifth grade classroom.

I expected nothing but the best from this book, after the stellar "Odysseus and the Serpent's Maze." That one had an endearingly flawed but smart hero, a strong female lead, and a sense of wow-this-could-have-happened. I am sorry to say that its sequel does not.

Hippolyta is one of the princesses of the Amazons, a race of woman warriors who exist completely without men and who prize strength and prowess above all. But her world is thrown into turmoil when her mother has a baby - a boy, her second. There is a prophecy that all second boys must be sacrificed to Artemis, or a horrible curse will befall the Amazons. Except Hippolyta's mother refuses to let her child be killed.

Hippolyta ends up fleeing the city with her baby half-brother, Podarces, and goes to the city of Troy, where the baby's father lives. But circumstances cause her to end up on the run with the Trojan king's other son -- who happens to be her other half-brother, Tithonus. As disasteful as she finds the boy, Hippolyta ends up needing his help -- and that of the gods -- to lift the hideous curse from her people.

This book is -- how shall I say it? -- annoying. The pace of it is uneven, and though the writing has the right balance of description and sparity it fails to really come to life. It felt like the authors had gotten a good idea, but lost inspiration for it somewhere along the way.

And the biggest flaw is the characterizations. Hippolyta is a whiny, self-absorbed, sexist brat who spends most of the book seething over how UNFAIR people and fate are to her, or about what hideous nasty creatures men are. Though she's supposed to change her mind about men, that particular spot of character development feels tacked on. Her rivals and the warrior queen are two-dimensionally nasty, without a single redeeming characteristic. Tithonus actually IS a sympathetic character, whose motivations are fully believable. I found it especially annoying that Hippolyta is perpetually obnoxious (and then near-murderous) toward him.

And, in addition to all this, the plot unravels near the end. We get to see three of the gods, but they resemble less the stately goddess featured in "Odysseus" than the petty deities of "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys." The climax is too astonishingly bad to be believed.

There are worse books out there, but there are many, many better ones as well. Saddled with a selfish, nasty heroine and a meandering plot, this is not recommended. Better wait for the upcoming "Atalanta" book.

I loved this book. It shows that women can do something besides sitting at home like in other stories.

This book is about Hippolyta, one of the princesses of the Amazons. Hippolyta has three sisters and a brother whom she's never met. The story starts and then Queen Otre, Hippolyta's mother, has a baby. It's a boy and the queen cannot have more than one boy live. Unfortunantly, they have to sacrifice the baby, but Queen Otre doesn't want to.

Yolen and Harris have, once again, produced a terrifically fun book in their Young Heroes series. The basic premise - of looking at characters from Greek myth when they were children - is intrinsically full of interest, and with writers like these two in charge, it works beautifully.

One of the (many) great strengths of the collaboration of Yolen and Harris is the singular depth of the characterization. Throughout the book, Hippolyta is - well, a teenager. By turns charming, despairing, arrogant, boastful, and deeply self-absorbed, with all the focused self-righteousness of one who has never questioned what she has been told. This beats the 'the heroine/ hero is always sympathetic' vein of writing children's books hollow. Even I know too many teenagers to buy that one!

This is a coming-of-age novel in a profound sense, as Hippolyta is forced by circumstances - of kinship with a babe and a younger brother, of dealing with the gods and with more immediately threatening human enemies, of dealing with her own history and heritage - to examine her beliefs and her actions for the first time. That she does so with occasional ill-grace and stubbornness, while still acting like a true hero - saving unfortunates in distress, fighting off gryphons in a ruined city, even facing up to the gods - is a lovely tang of reality in this journey towards self-realization.

The book also has large doses of wry humour, like its companion volume Odysseus in the Serpent Maze, which makes it a fun read for both children and adults. The fact that the authors have woven into the book so much historical/archaeological information that I, for one, didn't know about Amazons, is really just the icing on the rich and satisfying cake of this novel.

This collection of seventeen poems presents fourteen different species of birds to the reader. The poems vary in length from just a few lines to multiple stanzas. The poems are at times lyrical, thoughtful, and whimsical. Each poem gracefully presents a unique charactereistic, behavior, and/or habit of each bird to the reader. The poems are complemented by double-page water color paintings which accurately depict each bird. There are short notes about each bird at the back of the book. The book is beautiful and would appeal to elementary as well as middle school students.

In Bird Watch, the poet integrates a fact or two about the bird as she paints an elegant picture of its uniqueness and beauty. The reader can envision the cardinal, brilliantly sitting atop the white blanket of snow, "A brilliant blot on winter's page." Or see the song birds, sitting on telephone lines that in one's mind now become lines of music and the birds "like scattered notes." Other inviting features of the book include the bird facts in the back and Ted Lewin's illustrations, marvelously bringing each bird to life. When in search for nature poetry, Jane Yolen is the end of your journey. Enjoy!

This story is about an eight-year-old boy who is abandoned in the woods of medieval England. A year passes. A year of hunger, sleeping in trees, and outrunning packs of wild dogs. Until one day a man, who lives near by, captures him and takes the boy home with him. While the boy is living with the man, the man teaches the young boy to be mature. Then one day when the boy reveals something he never knew before.

My opinion is this book is boring because it does not tell you enough information. It is too short and if it had more details it might be okay. And it does not have enough stuff a good book should have.

I love Jane Yolen's work; I've been reading her stories for decades, and I rarely find her depth, imagination, and power as a writer surpassed. I know her Merlin story is going to be wonderful too, but I'm disappointed in the marketing of this one. Passager is a chapter, not a part, of the story. I came away feeling overcharged for it, and I've decided to get the remaining volumes out of the library rather than buying them--even though I usually collect Yolen's works. What were they thinking?

I do not know why this book was published as part of a trilogy, rather than the trilogy being one larger book. Nevertheless, it's a must-see for lovers of lyrical wording.

This book follows the early life of a young boy abandoned in the forest, who rapidly forgets who he is and where he has come from. He adjusts rapidly, though, living in the glory of nature, outside of contact with other humans. His one fear, however, is dogs.

He is found and adopted by a kind woodsman named Robin, the boy's fatherly reintroduction to the human race. The scenes in which Merlin encounters such "marvels" as glass are wonderfully done, as is the scene where he remembers his name. We are never told fully where he comes from -- there are only hints at beginning and end.

The writing style is lovely. Yolen is one of the few writers of our time who can captivate with almost no dialogue -- through a good portion of the book, people are not talking. Yet it never grows overdescriptive nor too stark. It's like a very long poem at times, with the descriptions of the forest where Merlin lives and of the things that he sees.

If you want to introduce your kids to Arthurian fiction, start with this. A wonderful book, a must-read! (On to the next two books)