Believing Is Seeing

November 15, 1999
Gr. 6^-12. Six of the seven stories gathered here have appeared in previous story collections, including the author's own "Warlock at the Wheel." Buy the book anyway, not only for the excellent stories but for the fantasy contrasts they offer. "The Sage of Theatre," for example, is a lighthearted, alternate-world fantasy in which the gods are perhaps too well organized--until the Sage of Dissolution appears. In sharp contrast, "The Master" is a nightmarish, edgy story about a young vet summoned on an emergency call to an experimental wolf preserve that seems to include werewolves. A schoolgirl at home with a bad case of the mumps invents a miniature fantasy heroine who comes to life and threatens her creator in "Enna Hittims," and an aged cat narrates a fairy tale of sorcery and true love in "What the Cat Told Me." Several of these stories would make wonderful read-alouds. Give this book to fans of McCaffrey, Pratchett, Wrede--and, of course, the remarkable Ms. Jones. ((Reviewed November 15, 1999))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1999, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2000
As an introduction, Jones explains the genesis of each story in this fantasy volume. All but one tale were previously published in other books. Dragons, a talking cat, fierce wolves, a girl who turns into a tree, and Chrestomanci all make appearances in the diverse collection. While the stories have no one unifying theme, they are all thought provoking and imaginative.

(Copyright 2000 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)