White Horse Talisman

November 1, 2002
Gr 4-7-Chantel and Adam are on summer vacation in England with their cousins Holly and Owen. The first night, Chantel sees a shooting star, and because she believes in magic, Equus, one of the Wise Ones, is able to communicate with her. Because the powers of the Dark Being are growing stronger, the Wise Ones need human help to find their three "objects of power" that were buried on Earth for safekeeping in the old times. On a visit to the Uffington White Horse carving, Chantel works "horse magic" and finds half of Equus's talisman. The other half can only be found when the children uncover the lost carving of the Red Horse. Adam is jealous of her and angry about numerous things, so he is receptive to the honeyed, sly words of Worm, the dragon that tries to get him to find the other half of the talisman, thus setting up the classic battle between good and evil. The novel has all of the makings of a typical British fantasy, though it is not as well executed as Susan Cooper's "The Dark Is Rising" series (McElderry). The historical information about the Uffington White Horse and other legends is interesting, but the plot is rather predictable to anyone who reads much fantasy, and the characters are fairly flat. Still, readers looking for something light may be entertained.-Cheri Estes, Detroit Country Day Middle School, Beverly Hills, MI

Copyright 2002 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2002
Gr. 4-7. Magic is not what Canadians Chantal and Adam anticipated when arriving at their cousins' home in the English countryside for the summer. But when the children find half of a magic talisman near the mysterious, ancient White Horse carving in the hillside, they're thrown into a quest--to help the White Horse, a Wise One of the universe and a force of good find its missing half and fight the dark force of the honey-tongued dragon. Fantasy fans will anticipate many of the plot conventions, and the backdrop of the Canadian parents' divorce is somewhat intrusive and overly didactic. But the characters are likable, and the story, steeped in appealing Celtic lore and actual places, is inventive, well paced, and bursting with action that is just right for middle-graders who love classic battles between good and evil. Book one in the Summer of Magic Quartet starts things off well.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2002, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2002
In this derivative fantasy, four children must mend a gold talisman and discover a chalk figure drawn on an English hillside to help a magical horse fight off the Dark Being. Although the reality-based chalk figure aspect is intriguing, the books shallow characterization, stilted dialogue, poorly evoked emotions, and weak fantasy structure make it a tedious read.

(Copyright 2002 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)