About the Author:
Ever since the first grade, Jennifer Armstrong knew that she would become an author. She loved making up stories and sharing them with others. Her family treasured books and this led her to become an avid reader of all types of fiction. It was no surprise when she chose to study English and American Literature at Smith College in Massachusetts.
Armstrong is the author of over 50 books for children from kindergarten through high school. Best known for writing historical fiction, she has also been successful in
creating picture books, easy readers, chapter books, young adult novels, as well as nonfiction.
Armstrong, who grew up outside of New York City, now lives in Saratoga Springs, New York.
Jennifer Armstrong is the winner of the Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World. Many of her books have been designated as Notable Books by the American Library Association and the International Reading Association.
For more information on Jennifer Armstrong, visit her website at www.jennifer-armstrong.com, or read her blog at www.jennifer-armstrong.blogspot.com.
From the Hardcover Library Binding edition.
From School Library Journal:
Grade 2-4?In this mystical tale, benevolent King Cormac is goaded into a losing battle with the tyrannical King Bregant. Cormac is blinded by a fall and left for dead on the battlefield. After wandering into the woods, he removes an arrow from the wing of a wounded crow. When the man is captured by opposing soldiers and locked in his own castle's tower, the crow comes to him with a promise to kill Bregant and restore the kingdom. It acts as Cormac's eyes, telling him of events in the castle, and, when the prisoner relates them to his captors, they think he has magical abilities. Insecure Bregant is afraid when Cormac prophecies his downfall, and fear leads to his death. The two kings represent pure good and evil, but this makes them one dimensional, and readers are unlikely to care about them. The plot moves quickly but with little fleshing out, and one is left with the impression that this story is but an episode in a larger legend. Younger readers may take Cormac's allegorical prediction of the tyrant's death literally and wonder why the actual demise is so different. Armstrong does not spin a magical tale, with the exception of Cormac's prophecy, which is almost Biblical. Rohmann's illustrations feature a dark palette similar to his Time Flies (Crown, 1994), and he uses color to reflect the different moods of the story and shapes to define the characters. However, the art merely reflects the text and does nothing to enhance it. This original tale tries to shape itself as a classic legend, but does not succeed.?Cheri Estes, Dorchester Road Regional Library, Charleston, SC
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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