The Emperor's Ostrich

by Julie Gardner Berry

Overview

Magic and mayhem abound in this fantasy adventure from the author of The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place.

Young dairymaid Begonia has lost her cow Alfalfa. So she has set off on a search across the countryside even though she has nothing but a magical map to guide her. Along the way she meets a mother and baby, a woodcutter, a very dirty young man, and an eight-foot ostrich.

Meanwhile, the emperor has gone missing from the royal palace in a most mysterious manner. Was it murder? Was it magic? It will take all of Begonia's wits to save the empire and get Alfalfa home safely.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781596439580
Publisher:	Roaring Brook Press
Publication date:	06/13/2017
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.10(d)
Lexile:	680L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Julie Berry is the author of many books for children and young adults including The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place. She lives in southern California with her husband and four sons.

Editorial Reviews

2017-04-17
What do you do with an emperor who has "the heart of a rotten onion and the spine of a soup noodle"?You teach him a lesson, of course, and two venerable, omniscient Ancestors will do just that, plucking him from the palace to do so. No one is exempt from their magical plan: Alfalfa the dairy cow runs away, pursued by her milkmaid, Begonia. In short order she meets Key, a self-appointed rescuer of damsels in distress. In their travels, damsel-not-in-distress Begonia and Key encounter a very rude and cowardly young man escorted by an ostrich. When Alfalfa and the ostrich fall in love and run away together, Begonia, Key, and the stranger (who readers will no doubt guess is the emperor) follow. Meanwhile, a trio of villainous noblemen schemes to take the throne, and a greedy con man is out to procure a "postrich" for his traveling carnival. Together, and without knowing it, Begonia and Key are on a mission to get the rightful emperor back to the throne. After he learns his lesson, of course. The evocation of the emperor and his palace relies on Orientalist tropes, but the countryside where the bulk of the story takes place feels like many a faux-European medieval countryside. Begonia, Key, and the emperor are drawn on the cover with black hair and light skin, though the emperor has the look of a movie Genghis Khan. Cheeky commentary about class and feminism, giggle-inducing wordplay, and jokes about the ridiculousness of imperial overindulgence round out this story. Readers looking for easy laughs will find them here. (Fantasy. 8-13)

Kirkus Reviews

The Emperor's Ostrich:

“Cheeky commentary about class and feminism, giggle-inducing wordplay, and jokes about the ridiculousness of imperial overindulgence round out this story. Readers looking for easy laughs will find them here.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Berry (The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place) creates a lively, magic-laced folktale featuring a self-centered emperor, a dairymaid, a farmer boy with grand romantic ideals, and two very stubborn animals. . . . Whimsical details, including an enchanted map and a pot of mustard that changes flavor, will delight readers, and the nonstop action will keep them on the edge of their seats.” —Publishers Weekly

"This whimsical, rambling adventure also serves as a coming-of-age tale. . . . This novel is well written and well executed, with Berry's clear prose holding together a complicated plot and increasingly eccentric cast of characters. . . . Give to kids who enjoy a clever story and don't mind a strong dose of silliness, or to anyone who loves the idea of a cow who becomes besotted with an ostrich." —School Library Journal

From the Publisher