The Fog Catcher's Daughter

by Marianne McShane, Alan Marks (Illustrator)

Overview

A brave young girl rows out to meet her destiny in a lavishly illustrated original tale steeped in fairy lore, from a traditional Irish storyteller.

A daughter embarks on a perilous journey to rescue her father in this beautiful, eerie, and timeless original folktale. Eily and her father live in Ireland, three fields from the sea, within sight of the enchanted isle of Lisnashee. The fairy folk who live there cause mischief and harm to any who trespass, but once a year at Midsummer, Eily’s father, the Fog Catcher, rows out to collect magic from the fog around the island. His sole protection is a charm tucked in his pocket, and when Eily finds the lost charm in a hedgerow after he departs, she knows at once what she must do. Haunting watercolor paintings evoke the beauty of the Irish coastline in an imaginative coming-of-age tale about honoring the past and taking courage with an open heart.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536211306
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	06/28/2022
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	11.00(w) x 9.75(h) x 0.41(d)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Marianne McShane, a seanchaí, or traditional Irish storyteller, is the author of Rónán and the Mermaid, illustrated by Jordi Solano. She lives in Ireland.

Alan Marks is the award-winning illustrator of many picture books, including the Carnegie Medal winner Storm by Kevin Crossley-Holland. He lives in England.

Editorial Reviews

Solemnly told and infused with Irish folklore, this atmospheric tale feels familiar yet timeless. Watercolors in pastoral shades of green, blue, and brown ground the rather dreamy story in reality. Menacing, ghostlike fairies and roiling, white-capped waves increase the drama. . . A haunting, lyrical, original tale that leans into the magic and mystery of the Emerald Isle.

—Kirkus Reviews

Delicately worked watercolors by Marks (Daring Dozen) capture the dance of land and sea: frothy waves, shrouds of mist, and, with just a hint of menace, the icy, wraith-like fairies themselves. The closeness of the relationship between father and daughter can be read in the tenderly outlined faces of Eily and her Papa. . . Eily’s intrepid rescue gives this story a big dramatic arc, and love for her father warms it.
—Publishers Weekly

Marianne McShane evokes the folklore and superstitions of old Ireland in ‘The Fog Catcher’s Daughter,’ an atmospheric picture book about a girl who braves an encounter with fairies to save the life of her father. . . . . In the verdant Irish setting of Alan Marks’s windblown watercolor paintings, the fairies whirl like evil eddies of smoke.
—The Wall Street Journal

From the Publisher

2022-01-25
A young girl confronts her worst fears in hopes of saving her father.

Young Eily lives on the Irish coast near the enchanted isle of Lisnashee where the Good People, or fairy folk, dwell. The villagers are careful to stay far away from the island, fearing the consequences of angering the sinister sprites, who have been known to spoil livestock, wreck ships, and steal people away in the night. Despite the danger, Eily’s family members have visited the island for many generations. As fog catchers, they must journey to Lisnashee once a year to gather magical beads of mist that will help grow herbs the local apothecary uses for protection charms, potions, and healing ointments. Fierce winds and dark skies herald a treacherous crossing to Lisnashee for Eily’s father this year. When she discovers his protection charm bracelet, accidentally left behind, she makes the perilous sea voyage to rescue him. Solemnly told and infused with Irish folklore, this atmospheric tale feels familiar yet timeless. Watercolors in pastoral shades of green, blue, and brown ground the rather dreamy story in reality. Menacing, ghostlike fairies and roiling, white-capped waves increase the drama and tension for a satisfying, although somewhat abrupt, conclusion. Eily and her father present as White. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A haunting, lyrical, original tale that leans into the magic and mystery of the Emerald Isle. (author's note) (Picture book. 5-9)

Kirkus Reviews