This has been driving me crazy since at least 1995.
There was a book that I loved so much in elementary school, I even contemplated stealing it from the school library.
Of course I didn’t (drat my good lil’ heart) and now I have no clue as to what the name of it was.
It was the book that got me started on fantasy novels and would love to find it as a present for my niece for when she gets a bit older.
Nuff said.
Major points I can remember:
Main character was a blonde or brunette with brown eyes which made her unusual because….
Everyone else had white hair and blue eyes.
She wove tapestries.
It’s set on a mountain top that’s surrounded by a huge (maybe poisoned?) fog
A giant lives in the fog and I believe he had a pet owl.
Heroine falls in love with the prince and weaves 3 of her golden…(ok, obviously she had to be blonde) into the tapestry as part of a spell/charm for him to fall in love with her.
Also, I was in elementary school around 1983-85 but I have no idea how new the book was at that time.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Sorry I can’t help you myself, but you might try looking over the following link. My sister and I have used it several times, all sucessfully, to find childhood books. I even submitted a solution to one query, and I never miss a chance to plug this place.
Just in case it isn’t the one don’t ask reckons, you could also try The Spellcoats by Diana Wynne Jones. To be honest, only the weaving part and the fantasy part match, so you’d really have to garbled it pretty badly in your memory. It’s a good read, though.
I’ve never heard of Tatsinda, but I used to read and re-read all of the Elizabeth Enright books I could find. I even coughlostcough cough the library’s copy of “Return to Gone-Away” (only to have it mysteriously reappear after my mom had already paid for it - I was such a terrible child!).
You have no idea how tempted I am at this moment to order it…
Thanks so muck to everyone for their help. Risha – I’m going to try out some of her other books, since you sound so enthusiastic about the author.
Of course at age seven, it didn’t really occur to me that the author may have written more than one book.
PookahMacPhellimey, I’ll try that one too. I love fantasy books, and right now the easier the read, the better.
&
Baker, I book marked that site incase I needed to look up another.
Thanks again,
Harmless
Well, Diana Wynne Jones is indeed one of the greatest fantasy authors ever, but I wouldn’t call her books exactly easy, even if they are officially categorized as children’s. But don’t let me stop you! Read everything she’s ever written! And the sooner the better!
harmless, glad I could help. Though I thought that I should warn you… most of her work isn’t fantasy. At least, not in the swords-and-sorcery-and-dragons sense.
Oh, and I second the suggestion of Diana Wynne Jones - she’s one of the best fantasy writers working today. Her work is always so endlessly surprising, so you never know what’s going to happen when you begin one of her books. It can also be very dark and complex. I’ve always thought it unfair that she gets pushed off to the children’s section. Then again, I think that about Robin McKinley and Garth Nix, too. Maybe I’m just a child at heart.
If you’re looking for fantasy-adventure oriented stuff, you ought to read some of Robin McKinley’s stuff. It’s classified as kid’s stuff but it holds adults quite well, too. I’m specially fond of The Hero and the Crown and Beauty.
Also, if you haven’t read Patricia C Wrede’s Enchanted Forest series, you really ought to check it out. They have a light-hearted, wry take on the traditional fairy tale that’s reallly a lot of fun. They’re also filled with all sorts of little allusions to various fairy tales and nursery rhymes, sort of like Shrek was.
I really like to give these books to little girls to read, because they’re full of strong, decisive heroines who take matters into their own hands, instead of sitting quietly by while the boys have all the adventures.
Oh, and you should have a go at the Dragonlance Chronicles. Not the later books published under the trademark, as a lot of them are fairly crummy, but the original trilogy. They’re really quite good. Based rather heavily on Tolkein’s LOTR series, but still quite good.
I ran into it , oh, mid - late Sixties. It’s got Robin Hood in it and a boy with, I think, a jackdaw. It was a fairly large book, not that thick, but long and wide. Bigger than a novel. It’s not “Bows Against the Barons”. I loved that one to, though!
Amen, hallelujah, and pass the potatoes. I’d much rather train my girls into Wrede’s heroine than the Disneyfied Sleeping Beauty and Snow White kind. Ugh. Fall victim to the transparent scheme and wait for some guy to come rescue you. What a life lesson.
On the plus side, do you also recommend (I think it’s Munch’s) The Paper Bag Princess? That’s a great “girls-can-do-it” story for the younger chicks, say around 3-6.
Oh, well, hey, as long as we’re recommending cool fantasy with heroines, let’s throw out Diane Duane’s extremely spiffy Wizard series, starting with So you want to be a wizard. The first 3 date from the early-mid 80’s and were brought back into print by HP, the last three are recent, but just as good. Totally addictive and with great twists and ideas, start them today!
I’ve never read The Paper Bag Princess, I wasn’t horribly into books for that age range when I was that age and never developed the taste since. I’m only as well-read in the “young adult” range as I am because my mother’s been teaching sixth grade for over twenty years and I always had access to her class selections and classroom library.
OMG! That’s my favorite book from middle school.
I so desperately wanted that one I asked the librarian if I could buy it.
No dice.
A friend “somehow” acquired a used library copy and gave it to me for Christmas about 10 years ago. I read it 1-2 times a year.
Just last year I bought The Blue Sword. Great book, IMHO.
Have you visited McKinley’s website, though?
Seems quite the grouch at first, but I think it’s just that she gets bugged a lot.
Are you actually standing in my library?
I have at least 30 of the original series. Laminated most of the very first ones, even.
My mom tried to make me throw them out when I was a teen. Claimed that they must be devil worship books that were making me act that way.
Hey, Mom? Maybe the reason I was so moody was that I WAS 13!?
:rolleyes:
I have to get to the bookstore with all these suggestions!
I tried the used store for Tatsinda, but no luck.
That’s pretty where I get most of my books because they’ll let me trade in my old ones (read: all my SO’s books. If I like ‘em, I don’t get rid of them).
Right now I’m reading a book my boss lent me. The Ozark Trilogy I think it’s called.
Any opinions?
I’m just into the first chapter and so far not too impressed. Is it worth sticking with? zoogirl This probably doesn’t help, but out of curiosity I googled it.
Top result says: Bold Robin Hood : Shipton-under-Wychwood, Oxon. - 1913-1916
Maybe try Baker’s link if no one knows. They looked really helpful.
