Harmonicas

by David H Mitchell

Overview

The magical kingdom of Harmonicas is under seige from evil Queen Zerolan who has swooped down from the frozen northlands. Forced to flee, Princess Alanna propels her long time friend, an owl named Twig, across the galaxy in search of help. Twig returns with three earth boys, who team up with more of Alanna's friends from the magical forest where she is hiding. Aided by a wee lovable brofair, once thought to be a mythical character, the adventure takes several unexpected twists and turns. A pirate named Spyglass, fueled by his endless desire for treasure, hampers the groups quest, and they are foced to hatch a dangerous plan to handle the pirate and his motley crew of cutthroats. Avoiding a deadly swamp, outwitting tunnel banshee's, and paddlling through dangerous rapids are just a few of the entanglements that Alanna and the boys must navigate in their daring attempt to save Harmonicas.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781489594433
Publisher:	CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date:	12/05/2013
Pages:	332
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.69(d)

About the Author

From his many adventures as a young boy in the wilderness of northern British Columbia, to his inspiration (his fourth grade teacher, a fantastic spinner of yarns), David Mitchell's early life was fertile ground for an epic adventure.

The characters in Harmonicas were crafted from Mitchell's imagination, from real life experience buoyed by his teacher's talent with a tale. A particularly challenging canoe trip with two close friends in his late teens seeded the story's character creation and the tremendously exciting and varied narrative of Harmonicas.

Mitchell grew up in the sparsely populated area of northern British Columbia. His childhood was spent having wilderness adventures, which he states "was the entertainment of the day, often still is today." He is also the father of three grown children, who no doubt benefited wildly from their father's youthful, spontaneous, and creative imagination.

Editorial Reviews

2014-01-07
Mitchell's middle-grade fantasy novel offers a little bit of everything, including intergalactic travel, talking animals, an evil witch and swashbuckling pirates. When the evil sorceress Zerolan invades the peaceful kingdom of Harmonicas, Princess Alanna makes a daring escape and sends her pet owl, Twig, off into the unknown to find help. Twig ends up on Earth, where he meets three boys on a camping trip and takes them back with him to help rescue Harmonicas from Zerolan's clutches. The boys team up with the princess and pick up a few more helpers along the way. Together, they use magic, cunning and some luck to defeat their foes as they travel across the land by owl, kayak and hot air balloon. The book is suited to young readers; although there are hints of developing romances, they go no farther than some hand-holding and a peck on the cheek. Older teens and adults may sometimes have difficulty suspending their disbelief; for example, they may question the fact that the residents of Harmonicas speak English but have their own words for terms of measurement, as noted in ongoing parenthetical asides: "I'm afraid you are yulhydrons (billions) of space-likets (light-years) away from your planet." There are a few violent scenes that may be too much for very young readers: "The sword sliced through their midsections like a knife cuts through jelly." Also, although the boys from Earth are described as modern-day teens, they tend to talk in a hokey, old-fashioned way, using phrases such as "jumpin' jackfish" and "[m]y Dad's going to tan my hide." By the novel's end, the three boys make it back to Earth, but they aren't alone: Friends and foes from Harmonicas have joined them, setting the stage for a possible sequel. Young readers will likely appreciate the twists, turns and touches of humor in this episodic adventure tale.

Kirkus Reviews