Shannon Hale, a talented local Utah writer, is well known for her Goose Girl series, which won the 2007 Beehive award for children's books. Now Hale has taken an old Grimm fairytale and brings vividly to life the cliched "princess locked in a tower" in The Book of One Thousand Days.
Or rather, she brings us into the thoughts of the princess's maid during this confinement. It is Dashti, a lowly peasant, who keeps them fed and warm, organizes their escape, and grows to respect her own talents without losing her compassion. One of my favorite scenes is of Dashti's delight in discovering that they have SEVEN YEARS worth of food locked in the tower with them - she can't believe her good fortune in being able to count on so much to eat. And Dashti's love of her animals - My Lord the Cat, and the most wonderful yak in the world, enrich the story immensely. A tale of courage and perseverance which I hope you will enjoy as much as I did.
Grand for kids, teens and adults to read on their own, or as a wonderful family read aloud, we are fortunate to be blessed in Utah with an author with such a feel for language and characters.
