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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Very dissappointing and sluggish, 26 Jan 1999
By A Customer
As an admirer of author's previous two books, I was interested to see what direction he would take in his third effort. As a new mother, I was delighted when I heard it was to be a children's book. But after reading it myself, I'm not sure when if ever I would give it to my child. Author's prose has become increasingly robotic and airless, and the preponderance of Christian metaphors has become tedious. Too much (questionable) philosophizing, and the psychology of the characters is so flat. (Yes, I know they're animals, but even animals have inner lives.) Stick to the stories, Mr. Hanson! And what has happened to the sense of humor so evident in the first book? Very tiresome tale, probably fit only for very religious children who are leading very drab lives. They'll consider it moving and uplifting. To the rest of us, this book, and that reindeer, are a big drag.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
A beautiful children's book, 7 Dec 1997
By A Customer
Hansen's book "The Chess Garden" concerned, about many other things, the necessity of stories. Now that he's writing for children, he doesn't have to explain: he simply creates a moving, beautiful story about love, loss, courage and finding one's way home. As before, his research is so impeccable yet so carefully used that you feel that he's simply transcribing very real events -- even when relating the inner thoughts of a sparrow. There are two very particular acheivements inthis book. The first is the character of Caesar, the most indomitable, admirable animal hero I've come across -- imagine Horton the elephant crossed with Bigwig, from Watership Down. His brave, faithful nature is exactly what you'd expect a reindeer's to be. And the second achievement is its careful grappling with the things that children really think about: family, love, loss, and even death. Its spiritual lessons are equal in weight (thought different in intent) to those of Wind In the Willows or The Lion, the Witch, in the War
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