The Stone Fey [Hardcover]

Maddy has lost her sheep and even her dog Aerlich doesn't know where to find him. "It would soon be too dark to see anything, but a succulent young lamb would not survive the night in the wild rocky scree beyond the farm; if a foltza didn't get him, a yerig would. Damn." Okay, so Newbery Medal winner Robin McKinley's magical story The Stone Fey is no Little Bo Peep tale, and Maddy, the conflicted, passionate shepherdess, is no Bo Peep. One wild night in the Hills of Damar, a stone fey--a magical creature of the wilds--greets Maddy with her lost lamb in his muscular arms--his skin was gray, with "a rose-quartz flush across his cheekbones." After that fateful night, she can't get him out of her head, despite her commitments to longtime sweetheart Damon, who is due to return from a year away. With all the mist and mystery of a Mary Stewart novel, The Stone Fey is sure to thrill young readers with wildness in their hearts. John Clapp's lovely watercolors perfectly capture the mood of this haunting, innocent exploration of the nature of romantic love. (Click to see a sample spread. Illustration from The Stone Fey by Robin McKinley, illustration © 1998 by John Clapp, reproduced by permission of Harcourt Brace & Company.) (Ages 10 and older) --Karin Snelson

While staying true to her penchant for presenting strong female protagonists, Newbery winner McKinley strikes a softer note with this deeply romantic yet ultimately clear-eyed love story set in the fantasy kingdom of Damar. Maddy has always known who she is and exactly what she wants?to tend her flock of sheep; to marry her childhood friend, Donal; and to earn enough money to build her own farm close beside the "Hills [that] were her flesh and bone." But after she meets and falls in love with a Stone Fey, Maddy finds herself drifting further and further away from the people and things she truly cares for. Only when she accepts the fact that the Fey is unable to return her love (or to feel anything at all) is she free to rediscover her sense of self. Newcomer Clapp's incidental illustrations, dreamy watercolor and graphite paintings reminiscent of the work of Barry Moser, heighten the quiet drama of McKinley's prose. The best of his landscapes evoke the serene stillness of McKinley's writing; one portrait of Maddy, with its masterful play of light and shadow, particularly showcases his craft, as it glows with the power of burgeoning love. McKinley's sophisticated syntax, as well as the text's subtle concern with female sexuality, make the novella most appropriate for teens who can appreciate its empowering feminist message. The superb storytelling, however, will likely hold the rapt attention of readers whatever their politics or gender. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Set in the world of the award-winning The Hero and the Crown (1984), this beautifully illustrated fantasy tells of Maddy, a young woman who lives at home during the year her fiance, Donal, goes away to earn money for their future. Each day, she goes out to her beloved hill country to tend her flock of sheep. A stone fey appears and draws Maddy to him until she is in love, enthralled, and forever changed by the relationship. She gradually pulls away from him, and when Donal returns, they decide to leave the hills and find a farm in the southlands. McKinley tells the story with subtlety and grace. Though the publisher suggests the audience is children "ages 10 and up," it's hard to say what a 10-year-old would make of the book. It looks like a short, illustrated novel in large format, but reads like a short story for teenagers, the audience most likely to follow what is happening and understand what Maddy is experiencing. In fact, the text was first published in 1985, though the artwork in this edition is original. Every few pages, a large watercolor-and-pencil illustration appears, sometimes portraying the characters rather realistically and at other times offering quite beautiful, impressionistic interpretations of the characters and the land. A haunting story in a handsome book. Carolyn Phelan

Maddy has lost her sheep and even her dog Aerlich doesn't know where to find him. "It would soon be too dark to see anything, but a succulent young lamb would not survive the night in the wild rocky scree beyond the farm; if a foltza didn't get him, a yerig would. Damn." Okay, so Newbery Medal winner Robin McKinley's magical story The Stone Fey is no Little Bo Peep tale, and Maddy, the conflicted, passionate shepherdess, is no Bo Peep. One wild night in the Hills of Damar, a stone fey--a magical creature of the wilds--greets Maddy with her lost lamb in his muscular arms--his skin was gray, with "a rose-quartz flush across his cheekbones." After that fateful night, she can't get him out of her head, despite her commitments to longtime sweetheart Damon, who is due to return from a year away. With all the mist and mystery of a Mary Stewart novel, The Stone Fey is sure to thrill young readers with wildness in their hearts. John Clapp's lovely watercolors perfectly capture the mood of this haunting, innocent exploration of the nature of romantic love. (Click to see a sample spread. Illustration from The Stone Fey by Robin McKinley, illustration © 1998 by John Clapp, reproduced by permission of Harcourt Brace & Company.) (Ages 10 and older)
(Amazon.com Review - Karin Snelson )

While staying true to her penchant for presenting strong female protagonists, Newbery winner McKinley strikes a softer note with this deeply romantic yet ultimately clear-eyed love story set in the fantasy kingdom of Damar. Maddy has always known who she is and exactly what she wants?to tend her flock of sheep; to marry her childhood friend, Donal; and to earn enough money to build her own farm close beside the "Hills [that] were her flesh and bone." But after she meets and falls in love with a Stone Fey, Maddy finds herself drifting further and further away from the people and things she truly cares for. Only when she accepts the fact that the Fey is unable to return her love (or to feel anything at all) is she free to rediscover her sense of self. Newcomer Clapp's incidental illustrations, dreamy watercolor and graphite paintings reminiscent of the work of Barry Moser, heighten the quiet drama of McKinley's prose. The best of his landscapes evoke the serene stillness of McKinley's writing; one portrait of Maddy, with its masterful play of light and shadow, particularly showcases his craft, as it glows with the power of burgeoning love. McKinley's sophisticated syntax, as well as the text's subtle concern with female sexuality, make the novella most appropriate for teens who can appreciate its empowering feminist message. The superb storytelling, however, will likely hold the rapt attention of readers whatever their politics or gender. Ages 10-up.
(Publishers Weekly )

Maddy has been roaming the hills of Damar with her sheep since she was a girl. The Hills hold everything she desires: her family; her beloved dog, Aerlich - and soon, her fianc, Donal, who has been away for a year. But one evening a lamb is lost. And when Maddy returns to the Hills to find it, she discovers something else the Hills possess - something that will change her forever...

JOHN CLAPP teaches illustration at San Jose State University. He has illustrated two other children's books, and he lives in Livermore, California.

Robin McKinley won the Newbery Medal for The Hero and the Crown. Her novel The Blue Sword is a Newbery Honor book. She lives with her husband in England.