The Beatryce Prophecy
Kate DiCamillo, Sophie Blackall (illustrator)
Kate DiCamillo's The Beatryce Prophecy is the story of a goat, a monk, a boy, a hermit, a queen, and a girl. The monk, Brother Edik, speaks a prophecy, “There will one day come a girl child who will unseat a king and bring about a great change.” Some time later when Brother Edik goes to feed Answelica, the goat belonging to his monastery, he sees that she has two heads. On looking closer, he realizes that only one of the heads is Answelica's, the other belongs to a girl, who gives her name as Beatryce. Beatryce has fled the King and is still being hunted. And -- this is even a greater wonder to Brother Edik -- Beatryce can read and write. Answelica and Brother Edik are the first of the friends that Beatryce gathers to herself. Thus begins the story of the fulfillment of the prophecy.
This is a lovely little fairy tale, beautifully told by DiCamillo and beautifully illustrated by Sophie Blackall. (Aside from the cover, the illustrations are grayscale and worked well on my kindle paperwhite.) It is a surprising story because Beatryce and her friends don't win in the usual way of fairy tales. No sword lops off an evil king's head. There is violence, but only against Beatryce and her friends, never by them (not counting head-butts by Answelica). Stories and learning and love win the day. It is all terribly, terribly wholesome, but imaginative and fun.
Comments
Post a Comment
Add a comment!