Patrick Carman is the bestselling author of numerous series for young readers, including The Land of Elyon, Elliot's Park, Skeleton Creek, Atherton, Trackers, Dark Eden, and 3:15. He got his start as a storyteller weaving bedtime tales for his two daughters. He lives in Walla Walla, Washington, with his family.
Kirkus 9/1/05
Alexa Daley and her father return to the walled city of Bridewell,
where Mr. Daley has more strictures for Alexa's behavior than ever.
Nevertheless, Alexa leaves Bridewell through its underground
tunnels led by Yipes, her tiny companion from Dark Hills Divide.
Instructions in a letter from Warvold lead them in a quest to free
the dead leader's wife from imprisonment in the Dark Tower on the
other side of the eponymous valley. Gutsy Alexa centers this story,
always ready to foster cooperation and accept help from
well-intentioned friends, be they human or animal. Animal
characters take an active and effective role in the adventure. The
plot takes off a lot faster than in the first installment, because
Carman integrates the backstory as needed in the text, rather than
allowing it to slow down the pace. Although the resolution of this
tale satisfies, it ends on a cliffhanger, leaving readers to wait
in suspense for the story's finale. Still, a trip with Alexa Daley
through the Valley of Thorns is well worth the effort. (Fiction.
10-12)
SLJ 10/1/05
CARMAN, Patrick. Beyond the Valley of Thorns. 221p. (The Land of
Elyon Series). map. Scholastic/Orchard. 2005. Tr $11.99. ISBN
0-439-70094-9. LC number unavailable.
Gr 4-6-Mystery and adventure entwine in this second book in the
series. Alexa and her odd companions (two men, one of whom is two
feet tall; a squirrel; a wolf; a hawk; and a giant) share
suspenseful and horrific experiences, such as escaping the Black
Swarm (hundreds of deadly bats) and running from zombielike ogres
on flame-covered hills with only jagged rocks and the Lonely Sea
below. Dangerous scenes such as these lend excitement and fear as
the group attempts to defeat Abaddon, an evil ogre who asserts his
murderous will through lesser ogres and bats while chained in a
great pit at the edge of the Tenth City. Carman provides enough
background information for those who have not read the first
installment. The text is poetic, full of c
Kirkus 9/1/05
Alexa Daley and her father return to the walled city of Bridewell,
where Mr. Daley has more strictures for Alexa's behavior than ever.
Nevertheless, Alexa leaves Bridewell through its underground
tunnels led by Yipes, her tiny companion from Dark Hills Divide.
Instructions in a letter from Warvold lead them in a quest to free
the dead leader's wife from imprisonment in the Dark Tower on the
other side of the eponymous valley. Gutsy Alexa centers this story,
always ready to foster cooperation and accept help from
well-intentioned friends, be they human or animal. Animal
characters take an active and effective role in the adventure. The
plot takes off a lot faster than in the first installment, because
Carman integrates the backstory as needed in the text, rather than
allowing it to slow down the pace. Although the resolution of this
tale satisfies, it ends on a cliffhanger, leaving readers to wait
in suspense for the story's finale. Still, a trip with Alexa Daley
through the Valley of Thorns is well worth the effort. (Fiction.
10-12)
SLJ 10/1/05
CARMAN, Patrick. Beyond the Valley of Thorns. 221p. (The Land of
Elyon Series). map. Scholastic/Orchard. 2005. Tr $11.99. ISBN
0-439-70094-9. LC number unavailable.
Gr 4-6-Mystery and adventure entwine in this second book in the
series. Alexa and her odd companions (two men, one of whom is two
feet tall; a squirrel; a wolf; a hawk; and a giant) share
suspenseful and horrific experiences, such as escaping the Black
Swarm (hundreds of deadly bats) and running from zombielike ogres
on flame-covered hills with only jagged rocks and the Lonely Sea
below. Dangerous scenes such as these lend excitement and fear as
the group attempts to defeat Abaddon, an evil ogre who asserts his
murderous will through lesser ogres and bats while chained in a
great pit at the edge of the Tenth City. Carman provides enough
background information for those who have not read the first
installment. The text is poetic, full of c
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