Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru
Girl Who Speaks Bear, The
Girl Who Speaks Bear, The
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Disgrifiad Saesneg / English Description
Found abandoned in a bear cave as a baby, Yanka has always wondered about where she is from. She tries to ignore the strange whispers and looks from the villagers, wishing she was as strong on the inside as she is on the outside.
Manylion y cynnyrch / Product details
- ISBN 13
- 9781474940672
- Gwales Code
- gwales.com.9781474940672
- Gwerthwr / Vendor
- Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru
- Long Title
- Girl Who Speaks Bear, The
- Awdur / Author
- Anderson, Sophie
- Current Price ex VAT
- £6.99
- Current Price inc VAT
- £6.99
- Availability Status (EN)
- Non-Stock Item - Ordered on request
- Availability Status (CY)
- Archebir yn ôl y galw
- Dyddiad cyhoeddi / Publication Date
- 2019-09-05
- Cyhoeddwr / Publisher
- Usborne Publishing Ltd
- Media Type (EN)
- Paperback / softback
- Media Type (CY)
- Clawr meddal
- Pages
- 416 pages
- Size
- 133 × 200 mm; depth 25 mm
- Language Code
- English
- Categori / Category
- CY: Plant a Phobl Ifainc (Nofelau a Storïau) (yn Saesneg) | EN: Children's Books (Novels and Short Stories) (in English)
Adolygiad y Cyhoeddwr / Publisher Review
" ... For adventurers with belief and imagination ..." These words were ‘found on one of the wooden planks, almost hidden by frost’ on a frozen flying ship. It is now carrying Yanka, the heroine of this story, and her new found ‘herd’ of animal friends towards the Fiery Volcano. They are intent upon a momentous battle with Smey, the Fire Dragon, the only one who prevents this strange girl, half-human, half-bear from reaching the Lime Tree, and releasing her from a long-established curse, affecting both her past and her future. This all sound rather complicated and it is! The tale is set in an imaginary snowy wilderness of Eastern Europe, or maybe Russia itself. It involves a quest, a search for an answer as to why a young girl, much bigger and stronger than the other children, living in a tiny village with her foster mother Mamochka, and her animal familiar, Mousetrap (a house weasel) suddenly develops bear feet (not bare feet!) and sets out to find her ‘real’ parents and the secrets of her strange thoughts and behaviour. The journey is interspersed with fairy tales, first told to Yanka by Mamochka’s mysterious trapper friend, Anatoly, and then retold by her to her increasing number of animal companions. These include Ivan an old wolf, Yuri a young elk, and Blakiston, the owl, who each have a part to play in the unfolding adventures. Gradually, through these traditional tales, of princesses and dragons, of woodcutters and fisherfolk, and the appearance of the traditional Russian house with chicken legs, surrounded by skeletons and inhabited by a Baba Yaga, the history of Yanka’s true parentage is revealed. As suggested, it’s complicated but carefully crafted! This text is accompanied by a selection of simple but effective illustrations, some double paged, some used as borders, to differentiate between the main story-line, and the interlinking fairy-tale progression. There is also a clear map – Anatoly’s Map of the Snow Forest – which itself features in the narrative and helps both Yanka and the reader find their way through the almost impenetrable snow-covered woodlands, and draws attention to the main characters and locations. It’s a long (over 400 pages) but satisfying read, and behind the adventures and imaginative twists and turns, runs a thread of reality, about every young person’s search for identity and family, for belonging and for acceptance, as well as appreciation of the natural wild world.
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