Luke Pearson's illustrations capture the wide-eyed inquisitive nature of Hilda. The world Hilda lives in contains normal things like a home and a mother, but also odd creatures like trolls. She seems to take all her adventures in stride rather well. Her mother is not so happy that she skips meals, doesn't want to just relax and watch a movie together, and even lies about where she has been and what she has been doing. Like most mothers, when her warnings are not heeded, she lowers the boom and grounds Hilda for disobeying her.
Hilda is a curious blue-haired girl who decides slip out of the house even though she is grounded. When her mother interrupts the transition through a magical portal, they are both thrown out a different opening than Hilda had planned on. They have to find their way home, along with Hilda's adorable pet, Twig. Their travels take them through a strange stone forest filled with trolls and grub-like creatures that can actually eat rocks. With no idea where they are, and no magic portal in sight to whisk them back, will they ever find their way home?
Readers will enjoy the results of Hilda's adventuresome ways. When she complains about being tired, her mother asks if she doesn't usually like this type of thing. Hilda replies, "It's nice to be in peril when I know you're waiting for me at home." Isn't that true of most of us? We enjoy having our hearts race as we read or watch thrilling scenes, but we want the comfort of home to come back to after the excitement.
I read a review copy supplied by the publisher through edelweiss.
No comments:
Post a Comment