A half-starved fox was limping towards the outskirts of the sprawling grey city over which the storm spread its black and ragged wings. It stopped to sniff at the wind and read the warnings and signals. But its anguish was so great that if the world were to end it would not have minded. It limped on. The fate of the elf-troll, Little Fur, becomes entangled with the mysterious fox, Sorrow, who longs only for death. Together they must travel to Underth, the troll king's underground city, on a dangerous quest to uncover his evil plans. The wise Sett Owl has foreseen that the future of the earth spirit, and perhaps all living things, depends on the success of this quest. Led by a greedy, devious rat, how can they succeed? But how can they fail, when so much is at stake?

About the Author

Isobelle Carmody has written many award-winning short stories and books for young people. She began the first of her highly acclaimed Obernewtyn Chronicles while she was still at high school. The Gathering was a joint winner of the 1993 CBC Book of the Year Award and the 1994 Children's Literature Peace Prize, and Billy Thunder and the Night Gate was shortlisted for the Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children's Literature in the 2001 NSW Premier's Literary Awards. The Legend of Little Fur is Isobelle's first series for younger readers.

Reviews

Gr 3-6-Shortly after her first adventure in Little Fur: The Legend Begins (Random, 2006), elf troll Little Fur is on another dangerous quest. In order to discover what evil plot the Troll King has conceived to destroy the earth magic running through the natural world, she joins a fellowship that ventures beneath the city to Underth, the realm of the trolls. Her companions include her loyal feline friend Ginger, two stealthy sibling ferrets, and an unwilling rat as a guide. However, the most intriguing member of the group is Sorrow, a fox whose sole wish is to die and who joins the quest to achieve that end. Little Fur's healer instincts demand that she attempt to discover and cure what ails the fox's body and spirit, but he proves an unwilling patient. Though the story builds on the events of the previous novel, it is not necessary to have read it to enjoy this one. In fact, this installment is more cohesive and less didactic than the earlier one and has a better developed and more rounded character in Sorrow. The simple pen-and-ink drawings add little to the narrative. Patrick Carman's "The Land of Elyon" series (Scholastic) is similar and superior, but readers who enjoy a tame eco-fantasy should be satisfied with Little Fur's return.-Amanda Raklovits, Champaign Public Library, IL Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.