The Waterstone

When I read this book several years ago, I remember it being the first book in a long, long time to keep me up past midnight. It was the first book in a very long time to perfectly capture in a few words all the emotions that I was feeling and put it into the main character. It was the first book I read in a while that could do what all great books do -- make your heart swell and break and heal -- all in a few pages. Some of the scenes and dialogue ring in your mind long after you put the book away, and finally you just have to read it again, to re-experience it all. When Tad's spear flies to the bottom of a pond and Tad goes after it, the last thing he expects is to meet a water-spirit there, Azabel. But this meeting is but the first of strange things, because slowly but surely the water supply of the Fisher tribe is drying up. When Tad, his father Pondleweed and his sister Birdie go to investigate the cause, they find something terrible has happened to the lake that was once their water-source: it is black and dammed up. Pondleweed is drawn into the water by a strange song, and doesn't return. Tad and Birdie are left alone. Fighting back the memories-that-aren't that are growing ever stranger and more disturbing, Tad has to discover what has happened to the water. He must make allies with everyone from weasels (Not slaves!) to the different Tribes of Diggers and Hunters, and unite them all for the dangers to come. Tad must discover his own identity and destiny as the Sagamore of legend. Most importantly, they must retrieve the Waterstone in order to save the tribes -- and the world -- from certain destruction. But nothing ever comes without a price...and sometimes the price is too painful to imagine. Rating: Masterpiece

This delightful book was - and yet is - the best piece of children's fantasy I have ever read. And I have read A LOT of children's fantasy (Cooper, McKillip, McKinley, Hunter, Jacques, Lewis, Rowling, White, Banks, O'Brien, Weis and Hickman, Pullamn, Paolini, etc., and many of these authors I would NOT recommend.) But I cannot say enough to recommend this outstanding author and her work. First, unlike others who could not put this book down, I was so captivated by Rebecca Rupp's colorful, miniature world and its sensitive, hilarious characters that I read the story as sloooooowwwwly as possible, often relishing favorite passages multiple times before moving on. Inspired by an imaginary nature God (named Pondleweed) that the author's son created as a child, this is the tale of a young Fisher boy (a pixie-ish and frog-like tribe of tiny people) who discovers a wonderful gift, and embraces the responsibility that gift entails to recover the Waterstone from the evil Nixies (water sprites.) The nature of the hopes, dreams, fears, frustrations, and challenges of Tad, Birdie and the others they meet and journey with will prove entirely recognizable to any child, as well as any adult who remembers struggling through childhood. Especially wonderful are Rupp's detailed portraits of the Fisher/Hunter/Digger Tribes and their cultures. Her interpretations of various forest animals, in particular the hawk with his hunting song and the weasels with their "earth-soft minds" provide some of the best moments in the story, effectively counteracting the otherwise heart-wrenching features. With its rich language and vivid imgery, the text is intelligent enough to capture any adult reader's imagination without threatening a young reader's confidence. The plot is easy to follow, yet complex enough to keep the reader guessing until the end, and the climax is enough to touch any but the most hardened souls (yes, I cried and cried and cried, but how noble the sacrifice. That is all I can say.) Though I did not want this story to end, it left me with a tidy conclusion and a necessary (although bittersweet) sense of security, which is essential to any child's world. Alas, all will be well with the Fishers, Hunters, and Diggers from now on (unless there is a sequal....) But, for now, how privileged we are to have such upstanding, quality writing at our fingertips. With originality and style so perfectly complete, Rupp's work is completely perfect.

I loved this book! Tad (Tadpole), the main character and one of the Fisher tribe, Birdie (Redbird), his little sister, and Pondleweed, their father, notice something is wrong when the water level at their pond (the family lives in a tree by a pond) is dangerously low. The supicious Fisher family, aware of their peril if the water level continued to drop, journeys upstream to get to the root of the problem. There Pondleweed disappears in a big black lake, and Tad and Birdie are left to themselves to help save the world from Drying completely. They then employ the help of a Dryad, which is a tree spirit, a Kobold, an earth spirit, two new friends (one is a Hunter, the other, a Digger), and the unity of all the tribes, Diggers, Hunters, and Fishers, to help fight the water-hogging Nixies and to get back the Waterstone.If you like fantasy, action, and a teeny-tiny bit of romance (just a little bit!), you'll like this book!