The Beatryce Prophecy

by Kate DiCamillo

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Set in a faraway medieval land, The Beatryce Prophecy is a masterful adventure story about a young girl named Beatryce who, unbeknownst to her, is the subject of a harrowing prophecy. On her journey of self-discovery, Beatryce learns the power of stories, and even more importantly, the power of love. Coupled with gorgeous illustrations by Sophie Blackall, The Beatryce Prophecy is another instant classic by Kate DiCamillo that will be cherished by readers for years to come.

A #1 New York Times bestseller

From two-time Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo and two-time Caldecott Medalist Sophie Blackall comes a fantastical meditation on fate, love, and the power of words to spell the world.

We shall all, in the end, be led to where we belong. We shall all, in the end, find our way home.

In a time of war, a mysterious child appears at the monastery of the Order of the Chronicles of Sorrowing. Gentle Brother Edik finds the girl, Beatryce, curled in a stall, wracked with fever, coated in dirt and blood, and holding fast to the ear of Answelica the goat. As the monk nurses Beatryce to health, he uncovers her dangerous secret, one that imperils them all—for the king of the land seeks just such a girl, and Brother Edik, who penned the prophecy himself, knows why.

And so it is that a girl with a head full of stories—powerful tales-within-the-tale of queens and kings, mermaids and wolves—ventures into a dark wood in search of the castle of one who wishes her dead. But Beatryce knows that, should she lose her way, those who love her—a wild-eyed monk, a man who had once been king, a boy with a terrible sword, and a goat with a head as hard as stone—will never give up searching for her, and to know this is to know everything. With its timeless themes, unforgettable cast, and magical medieval setting, Kate DiCamillo’s lyrical tale, paired with resonant black-and-white illustrations by Caldecott Medalist Sophie Blackall, is a true collaboration between masters.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781432891459
Publisher:	Thorndike Striving Reader
Publication date:	11/03/2021
Edition description:	Large Print
Pages:	309
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.02(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Kate DiCamillo is one of America’s most revered storytellers. She is a former National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and a two-time Newbery Medalist. Born in Philadelphia, she grew up in Florida and now lives in Minneapolis.

Sophie Blackall is the acclaimed illustrator of more than forty-five books for young readers and a two-time Caldecott Medalist. Born and raised in Australia, she now lives in Brooklyn.

Hometown:

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Date of Birth:

March 25, 1964

Place of Birth:

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Education:

B.A. in English, University of Florida at Gainesville, 1987

Read an Excerpt

It is written in the Chronicles of Sorrowing that one day there will come a child who will unseat a king.
The prophecy states that this child will be a girl.
 
Because of this,
the prophecy has long been ignored.


Book the First

Answelica was a goat with teeth that were the mirror of her soul—large, sharp, and uncompromising.
   One of the goat’s favorite games was to lull the monks of the Order of the Chronicles of Sorrowing into a sense of complacency by arranging her features in a benign and indifferent expression.
   For weeks, she would bite no one.
   When approached, she would merely stare into the distance as if she were considering something profound. And then, when the brothers had relaxed their guard, thinking that perhaps, somehow, Answelica had changed, the goat would come from behind and butt them in the backside as hard as she was able.
   She was very strong, and she had a very hard head.
   Because of this, the goat was able to send the monks flying great distances through the air.
   When they landed, she bit them.
   She was a goat who formed peculiar and inexplicable antipathies, taking an intense dislike to certain individuals. She would stalk a particular brother, waiting for him in the purple shadow of a building, and then she would leap out and make an unholy noise that sounded like the scream of a demon.
   The monk—terrified, undone—would scream, too.
   The monk and the goat would then engage in a duet of screaming until the goat was satisfied and trotted away looking beatific, leaving behind her a trembling, weeping monk.
   The brothers of the Order of the Chronicles of Sorrowing would have liked to butcher her, but they were afraid of the ghost of Answelica.
   The monks agreed among themselves that the ghost of the goat would surely be more vicious and determined, more impossible to outwit, than the flesh-and-blood goat.
   How would she seek her revenge from the afterworld?
   It beggared the imagination to consider what the ghost goat would do.
   And so she lived.
   Which is just as well.
   Which is, in fact, wonderful.
   Because without the goat, Beatryce surely would have died.
   And then where would we be?
 
 
Chapter Two

All of this took place during a time of war.
   Sadly, this does not distinguish it from any other time; it was always a time of war.
   Brother Edik was the one who found her.
   The world that morning was coated in a layer of hoarfrost, and the brother was late to the task of feeding Answelica because he had stood for too long admiring the light of the rising sun shining on the blades of grass and the branches of the trees.
   The whole world seemed lit from within.
   “Surely, it is evidence of something,” Brother Edik said aloud. “Surely, such beauty means something.”
   He stood and looked at the world until the cold made his hands ache and he came at last to his senses.
   He trembled as he entered the barn, certain that Answelica—displeased at his lateness—was already plotting against him. But he was surprised to find the goat asleep, her legs folded beneath her, her back to him.
   What new ploy was this?
   Brother Edik cleared his throat. He put down the bucket. Still, the goat did not move. He stepped closer. He gasped.
   His mind was playing tricks on him.
   Or rather it was his eye playing tricks—his left eye, which would not stay quiet and still, but rolled around in his head, looking for something it had yet to find.
   “Some demon occupies that eye,” Brother Edik’s father had said, “and that demon has made its way into your mind as well.”
   And now, in the early-morning gloom of the barn, Brother Edik’s wandering eye, his strange mind, was seeing a goat with two heads.
   “Have mercy upon us,” whispered Brother Edik.
   Answelica with one head was already more than the brothers could bear. How could they live with the goat if she had two heads and two sets of teeth?
   She would upend the order of the universe. She would put the king from his castle. Answelica with two heads would be a creature capable of ruling the world.
   The brother took a tentative step forward. He squinted and saw that the other head belonged to a child curled up beside the goat.
   Brother Edik let out a sigh of relief.
   And then a new wave of terror engulfed him when he realized that the child had hold of one of the goat’s ears.

Editorial Reviews

★ 07/19/2021

Set “during a time of war” when “terrible things happen everywhere,” Newbery Medalist DiCamillo’s engrossing medieval fable verges on darkness while examining what changes a world. When gentle Brother Edik finds young Beatryce in the monastery barn, she is covered in blood and dirt, plagued by fever, and holding the ear of the ferocious goat Answelica—who has until now terrorized the Order of the Chronicles of Sorrowing with her bites and butts. Upon emerging from her sickness, Beatryce recalls only her name and her ability to read and write, the latter a dangerous secret in a land where only a few people, solely men, are permitted those skills. Fearful of who might be searching for such a child—and of her possible connection to the prophecy of “a girl child who will unseat a king”—the monastery’s brethren rid themselves of girl and goat, sending Beatryce away with protector Answelica. In the often-harrowing world, Beatryce encounters idiosyncratic individuals she can trust, each with a painful history that’s rendered humanely in DiCamillo’s deliberate third-person telling (characters default to white). Tenderly illuminated by Caldecott Medalist Blackall’s atmospheric, fine-lined b&w art, this compassionate tale rejoices in “the wonder of being known,” the protective powers of understanding one’s identity, and the strength found in the hard head of a beloved goat. Ages 8–12. Author’s agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties. Illustrator’s agent: Marietta Zacker, Gallt & Zacker. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

The story, as well as Sophie Blackall’s lustrous pencil illustrations, lingers in the bright places of work and discovery, illumination and beauty. . . Beatryce, both the character and the book, are easy to love.
—The New York Times Book Review

Somehow, DiCamillo manages to fit a medieval epic into just over 250 pages—and that includes many glorious black-and-white illustrations by Blackall that one can easily envision stitched upon a tapestry. DiCamillo fills her narrative with humor and love . . a gently feminist tale where stories carry the same power as magic and are, perhaps, one and the same.
—Booklist (starred review)

The story is told in language as clear and beautiful as an illuminated manuscript, with characters who spring instantly to life. The fairy-tale conventions give it a sense of timelessness and omnipresence. . . Blackall’s luminous black-and-white illustrations and medieval-style spot art add to this feeling and are wonderful at conveying emotion through posture, pose, and delicate linework. . . . A book with an angelic soul: large, sharp, and uncompromising.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Set “during a time of war” when “terrible things happen everywhere,” Newbery Medalist DiCamillo’s engrossing medieval fable verges on darkness while examining what changes a world. . . . Tenderly illuminated by Caldecott Medalist Blackall’s atmospheric, fine-lined b&w art, this compassionate tale rejoices in “the wonder of being known,” the protective powers of understanding one’s identity, and the strength found in the hard head of a beloved goat.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

The pairing of two-time Newbery Medalist DiCamillo and two-time Caldecott Medalist Blackall is a magical alchemy. Blackall’s black-and-white pencil drawings and ornamented initials convey a medieval setting, while DiCamillo’s elegant, honed prose weaves a beautiful tapestry of true friends, a feisty goat, and a road to a castle where destiny will unfold.
—The Horn Book (starred review)

Melding the language of prophecies with that of fairy tales and whispered dreams, Newbery Medal winner Kate DiCamillo’s latest novel for young readers is both feminist and sweet. . . a gentle and wondrous tale that celebrates knowledge, kindness, and the boundless power of the imagination. . . . Delicate illustrations and rich fairy tales run throughout the book, which stirs hope and joy at every turn.
—Foreword Reviews (starred review)

The deeply satisfying conclusion finds villains properly vanquished, the prophecy fulfilled with a clever spin, and happily-ever-afters grounded on friendships and strong ethics all round.
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred review)

In the beautifully spare prose that has become one of her hallmarks, DiCamillo poses big questions, such as “What does it mean to be brave?” and invites readers to discover their own answers. . . . The Beatryce Prophecy is certain to be cherished.
—Bookpage (starred review)

A gentle tale of the power of love and the determination to do the right thing, even when that thing comes at great personal cost.
—School Library Journal

The descriptive text results in vivid settings that could serve as a fictional component to a medieval unit. This title also fits the bill for teachers looking for a heroine that uses her brains and courage instead of a sword, and one who is not objectified for her physical attributes.
—School Library Connection

In The Beatryce Prophecy, the talents of two-time Newbery medalist Kate DiCamillo and two-time Caldecott medalist Sophie Blackall combine to create an unforgettable medieval epic that illustrates the magical and myriad ways that love and stories change the world. Delightfully unexpected allies find profound connection through a common belief in the importance of compassion, even in the face of evil. . . . With her trademark lyrical language and flair for storytelling, DiCamillo (Flora & Ulysses; Because of Winn-Dixie) writes like a patient knitter untangling a ball of yarn as she knits.
—Shelf Awareness, Kids' Maximum Shelf

A monk finds a girl in a barn. She can’t remember her name, but she can read, which means she belongs to someone rich and important. Could she be the girl prophesized to 'unseat a king?'
—People Magazine

Ms. Blackall and Ms. DiCamillo both produce work marked by great delicacy of feeling, so their pairing here is inspired. Our hearts are engaged, and our minds (Beatryce wonders: ‘What world is this I now inhabit, and how shall I live in it’) and our laughter.
—The Wall Street Journal

A perfect read for kids who love tales of Medieval journeys and prophecies, this new tale by children’s book superstar Kate DiCamillo follows a young girl named Beatryce as she sets off on an epic quest.
—TODAY.com

Extraordinary. . . . DiCamillo’s signature precise and elegant language and Blackall’s lustrous black-and-white illustrations combine to create Beatryce, an unforgettable heroine who demonstrates the power of knowledge, kindness, determination, and what it takes to change a sometimes dark and confusing world.
—The Boston Globe

Part fable, part morality story, ‘The Beatryce Prophecy’ has a heavy load to carry but it is all beautifully light in DiCamillo's hands.
—The Star Tribune

Written in a style similar to the author’s other award-winning books, such as The Tale of Despereaux, this story of hope, kindness, and even betrayal may remind you of a fairy tale.
—The Week Jr.

The book’s drawings make it even more enchanting to read.
—The Week Jr.

Set during a medieval time of war, a mysterious young girl named Beatryce arrives at Brother Edik's monastery in need of help. As Brother Edik discovers her dangerous secret, Beatryce ventures into the forest in search of a castle in this story about fate and love.
—Business Insider

[The Beatryce Prophecy] is about the power of friendship, love and story, and though it is dark at times, it glows with hope. . . . With its resourceful protagonist — not to mention the fearless Answelica — the book carries the message that girls can be their own saviors.
—The Star Tribune

The incomparable Kate DiCamillo offers a lovely fable of a girl, a monk and a goat, a tale that is a testament of the power of love (as so many of her books are) and the power of the written word to change the world for the better.
—The Buffalo News

The Beatryce Prophecy is an extraordinary tale of courage and found family. This book has all the hallmarks of an instant classic: a beautifully layered story with unforgettable characters who take root in your heart.
—Amazon Book Review

The characters in this story will stay with you, as will the story itself, just as all good and lasting tales do.
—Amazon Book Review

The medieval tale of destiny and artistry begins with questions and answers them one by one, in author Kate DiCamillo’s distinctive style, as her idiosyncratic characters unravel a plot that’s a satisfying mix of surprising and inevitable. . . . Everyone ends up where they belong, more or less, although the magic is in how they get there.
—The Virginian Pilot

The Beatryce Prophecy is a compelling tale that opens our eyes to the sheer power of reading and storytelling to crack open the world. . . . Funny and thoughtful, Kate DiCamillo is as delightful to speak with as she is to read.
—The National Endowment for the Arts

In true DiCamillo spirit, the novel is a captivating testament to the power of words and love to right the world.
—The Toledo Blade

[The Beatryce Prophecy] has amazing stories-within-stories, lots of action and adventure, and one great goat named Answelica. And it includes lovely illustrations by Sophie Blackall.
—Book Riot

The Beatryce Prophecy is classic Kate DiCamillo. The writing is gorgeous, the story is thought provoking, and the characters are unique and utterly human.
—Book Riot

A brilliant meditation on love, family, trust, and the stories that bind us to each other.
—The New York Journal of Books

Kate DiCamillo isn’t afraid of lobbing the occasional angel at you, whether it has blue wings or smells like a sewer, but in her latest book The Beatryce Prophecy there’s something else on her mind. Pairing with the utterly lovely Sophie Blackall, the two present us with a story that has all the trappings of a fable, and all the reality of a thoroughly thrilling tale.
—A Fuse #8 Production

This hopeful story of language, leadership, and love has so much to offer readers as an independent read, a whole class read aloud, or a book club exploration. Our weary, virus-laden world needs the goodness and joy this book conjures.
—The Classroom Bookshelf

DiCamillo’s voice as an author is delightful and resembles that of a fairy tale. Her descriptions are unusual and vivid.
—The Historical Novel Society

From the Publisher

10/01/2021

Gr 3–6—The prophecy speaks of a girl who will unseat a king and change the world. It doesn't exactly mention a goat, but true prophecy will find a way to be fulfilled…especially if the hard-headed, and hard-butting, Answelica has anything to do with it. Brother Edik, a monk who illuminates manuscripts and pronounces the occasional prophecy (including the one about Beatryce), is startled to find a very sick girl curled up in the straw next to the monastery's irascible goat. He doesn't realize that the king is looking to capture this very girl; he takes her in and nurses her back to health. The goat refuses to leave Beatryce's side as she is eventually forced to leave the monastery and earn her way by writing (in a world where girls are not allowed to read and write), and ultimately by befriending others who help demonstrate that Beatryce is, in fact, the girl foretold to change everything. Hand to fans of Adam Gidwitz's The Inquisitor's Tale (although there are no farting dragons here). VERDICT DiCamillo's fantasy has no magic, but is a gentle tale of the power of love and the determination to do the right thing, even when that thing comes at great personal cost. Recommended for tweens in all library settings, both independent and read-alouds.—Elizabeth Friend, Wester M.S., TX

School Library Journal

Finty Williams’s gentle narration invites listeners into this wonderous audiobook about the power of words. Beatryce has no memory of her past yet possesses the ability to read and write, a talent forbidden to women. A prophecy about such a girl threatens the current king’s crown, and with the help of a monk, a boy, an ex-king, and a cantankerous goat, Beatryce searches for answers. Williams’s English accent and distinct character voices immerse listeners in this short historical audiobook. Williams conveys Beatryce’s innocent curiosity in a situation she doesn’t understand, as well as the frustrations of an intelligent child who is asked to keep her gifts a secret. This audiobook is so enlivening that listeners won’t miss the illustrations in the print edition. A.K.R. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

OCTOBER 2021 - AudioFile

★ 2021-07-13
DiCamillo returns to fairy-tale mode with the story of a girl destined to unseat a king.

One by one the players take the stage: Answelica, a fearsome goat whose teeth mirror her soul—“large, sharp, and uncompromising”; hapless Brother Edik, who sees beauty everywhere; Beatryce, a bedraggled child who arrives at the monastery knowing only her first name and who shocks the monks by being able to write; Jack Dory, an orphan with a gift for mimicry; and finally Cannoc, an old man who has given up everything except laughter. (There are bad people also, of course, because this story takes place during a time of war, but none of them are given proper names.) Cast out from the monastery and endangered by villains, they take refuge in the dark woods where Beatryce begins to remember more than her name and attempts to answer the question, “what world is this I now inhabit, and how shall I live in it?” The story is told in language as clear and beautiful as an illuminated manuscript, with characters who spring instantly to life. The fairy-tale conventions give it a sense of timelessness and omnipresence without once becoming twee or unwieldy. Blackall’s luminous black-and-white illustrations and medieval-style spot art add to this feeling and are wonderful at conveying emotion through posture, pose, and delicate linework. Characters are described and drawn as White.

A book with an angelic soul: large, sharp, and uncompromising. (Fairy tale. 8-14)

Kirkus Reviews