By Lance Lee (author)
"Return to Crouch End and hear the fable of Daisy and Little Boots. Based on the Greek mythology story of Demeter and Persephone, an Old Woman is left bitter by her daughter going away with a handsome stranger."
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Return to Crouch End and hear the fable of Daisy and Little Boots. Based on the Greek mythology story of Demeter and Persephone, an Old Woman is left bitter by her daughter going away with a handsome stranger. Years later a young girl, Daisy is growing up in Crouch End and flowers seem to grow wherever she goes.
Then there’s Little Boots, a magical Cat that doesn’t seem to stop growing. The community are worried and want them to leave, blaming Little Boots for trouble in the area. Will the Old Woman succeed in driving Daisy and her family away? This is an interesting fable that introduces the Greek myth while also nurturing it into a wholly new story.
This is a quick light-hearted read that would be great for young readers that like traditional tales. The lovely colourful illustrations by Nathalie T. Retivoff brings the characters to life and young readers will enjoy seeing how big Little Boots is growing. I laughed at the image of him sitting beside Mr Timmidson.
Daisy is a bright, positive character that young readers will enjoy meeting in this quick, magical tale.
Charlotte Walker, A LoveReading4Kids Ambassador
What happens if you try to seize beauty and freeze time? This fable tells you, serious yet whimsical, full of myth and magic, contemporary reality and joyful fantasy-centered around a cat always in danger of being too big or too small. It is set long ago, a "Once Upon a Time" story that unfolds seamlessly among modern children and their parents and School in a contemporary urban setting.
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In this Tale a woman long ago tries to keep her beautiful daughter to herself, yet who is so saddened when she loses her daughter to a handsome stranger that things wilt in her presence and die at her touch. Magically she lives into the modern era nursing her resentment until she meets a little girl called Daisy. Everyone and everything blooms in Daisy's delightful presence, who has a 'green thumb' to challenge all green thumbs!
Try as she does, the sad, now old, woman has no effect on Daisy until the mysterious gift of a kitten, Little Boots, brings Daisy and her family to grief. For the kitten won't stop growing, until their neighbors and the other parents and children at School turn on Daisy and her family. The local Council decides Little Boots may be a rare, semi-mythical English 'Beast' but he must go, along with Daisy and her family.
Climactically Daisy discovers it is all the Old Woman's doing and finds how to reverse what has been a subtle spell on Little Boots, facing then the problem of keeping her cat from growing too small. The children and parents confront the Old Woman who retreats before Daisy, at whose touch flowers grow, until she runs into her old, wooden home. At Daisy's touch that too bursts into life—and the Old Woman is never seen again.
Lance Lee is a Manhattan-born author, poet and playwrite whose poems, stories and articles for adults and children, have appeared widely in both American and English journals. A number of his plays have been produced and published.
His works also include a children's novel, Orpheus Rising, 2021, "A Best Book of 2021, Indie" Kirkus Reviews, and a children's novella, The Tale Of Brian And The House Painter Mervyn , 2022, in addition to The Tale Of The Animals' Christmas In Crouch End , 2023.
Lance can be found on LinkedIn here
About finding beauty where others may not see it, and how easy it is to lose sight of the beauty in life
Great illustrations and good to have the myth at the start of the book to set a tone, and the first words making it relatable for the reader. Sentence structure is a bit haphazard to begin with. I understand if the idea was trying to make it like a fairy tale but if aimed at children, some are long and a bit hard to follow, but I can sense a rhythm in the shorter sentences.
The questions at the start of the chapters make it seem deeper and not so much a kids story which is good as it's aimed at children and parents.
The theme or moral seems to be about finding beauty where others may not see it, and how easy it is to lose sight of the beauty in life.... Read Full Review
What happens if you try to seize beauty and freeze time? This fable tells you, serious yet whimsical, full of myth and magic, contemporary reality and joyful fantasy-centered around a cat always in danger of being too big or too small.
The Tale Of The Wicked Old Woman And The Very Nice 'Beast' Of Crouch End features in the following genres: Indie Author Books , Recommendations
Paperback. Not Available.
The Tale Of The Wicked Old Woman And The Very Nice 'Beast' Of Crouch End was written by Lance Lee and published by Lwl Books
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