The Silver Arrow
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
'There's nothing so rare as a fantasy that elicits genuine wonder and that uses marvellous things to enrich a child's appreciation of ordinary ones. Lev Grossman's novel The Silver Arrow is something special.' WALL STREET JOURNAL
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Discover the magical, timeless children's adventure from Lev Grossman, author of The Magicians. Now a New York Times bestseller!
When Kate is given a colossal steam train, the Silver Arrow, for her birthday, she can't believe her luck. After eleven years of waiting, adventure has finally found her!
Soon the Silver Arrow is whisking Kate and her brother Tom to a magical station where their passengers stand ready to board. From the porcupine to the pangolin, each one is rare and wonderful.
But these animals have been waiting a very long time too. Can Kate deliver them home ... before it's too late?
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Lev Grossman's first children's book is a journey you'll never forget: a rip-roaring adventure from desert plains to snow-covered mountains and everything in between. Packed with exciting creatures from the indignant porcupine to the lost polar bear and the adorable baby pangolin, The Silver Arrow is a classic story about saving our endangered animals and the places they live.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Blending elements of conservation and magic, Grossman (The Magicians, for adults) crafts a timeless-feeling, Travers-tinged adventure in his middle grade debut. On her 11th birthday, Kate's uncle Herbert, "very rich and totally irresponsible," gives her an unexpected present: a life-size steam locomotive named the Silver Arrow. Kate and her younger brother Tom, finding the train fueled, are soon swept away by the sentient locomotive which communicates with them via printed messages first to acquire a selection of train cars (including delightfully stuffed candy and library compartments), and then to serve as conductors on an international rail system that transports talking animals, large and small, to new habitats. While learning to run the train and solve problems on their own, the siblings bond with myriad passengers and begin to understand global issues surrounding endangered and invasive species, habitat loss, and environmental stewardship. Though it's unclear why the magic train burns coal a nonrenewable resource in service of otherwise strong ecological messaging, whimsical details and well-wrought moments of adventure are neverthless certain to draw young readers. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8 up.
