Falcon and the Charles Street Witch

Falcon was a great character when she first appeared in 1995, in the magical "Falcon's Egg." At long last, she is back, with more magic than ever. This time Falcon is surrounded by a new collection of wacky, fascinating characters, most notably Blinda the Charles Street Witch and Dirus Horribilus the old dragon (with a digestive problem whose consequences make for one of the book's most hilarious scenes). This is a book a kid can get happily lost in, while soaking up Luli Gray's witty, sophisticated and lyrical storytelling.

In this second Falcon book, she has even more friends, and more dragons. If you like dragons and friendly witches and hilarious saints, you'll love this book. It's a great, great story!

The first Falcon book, "Falcon's Egg", was a great insight into what a child of separated parents goes through. Falcon has to take care of her brother Toody as her mother is unable to deal with raising her kids and so she bears much responsibility on her young shoulders. Finding Egg, and the adventures that follow, give her a powerful secret and something she could choose to care for. What she learns is that loving something sometimes means letting it go, and that there are people in your life who will share some of the weight of world with you if you let them. In this book, the sequel, Falcon watches as Toody is swept out of a plane and she follows him as she tries to save him. From that moment on, these two enter a world that is both real and fantasy. There is more magic in this book than in the first, and it is sillier. But it is a very enjoyable silliness that contrasts with the seriousness of "Falcon's Egg". I particularly liked Dirius, the old dragon with a little gas problem (hilarious) and Belinda Chomondley, the Charles Street Witch.

For those of us who have been waiting for the sequel to the enchanting, brave and serious Falcon's Egg, this book is water upon parched soil! Moving from the grounded and richly rendered Manhattan of the first book, the author takes us to a surreal (and parallel) universe of Australial aborigines, Scottish bagpipers, classics-misquoting dragons and, most strange of all: happy, friendly New Yorkers! Falcon's Egg was a love letter to New York and a tribute to great children's book authors of the past, like E. Nesbitt. In Falcon and the Charles Street Witch, the author follows the lead of Lewis Carroll and whips up a story that is absurd, energetic, and often hilarious. I just hope these books keep coming, as Falcon is a character I want to know for a long time!