The Low Road

September 8, 2008
In his debut novel, picture book author/artist Kirk (Library Mouse
) delivers a complicated magical tale, the first installment of a projected trilogy. The veil between the elfin world and the human world has grown thin, and with humans cutting down forests to build houses and subdivisions, the elf community begins to lose its battle to keep its secrets. Two children, Matt and Becky—whose developer father is poised to destroy the trees that protect the elfin city of Alfheim from discovery—stumble upon a long-lost sacred wedding shoe that elfin royalty desperately wants back. The fate of the elves becomes intertwined with that of Becky and Matt, who must decide if they are willing to risk everything to save this magical realm. Without sacrificing plot for message, Kirk offers a subtle critique of the ways humanity mistreats the planet. His illustrations add an otherworldly beauty to what is otherwise a light, playful (if not a tad long) tale. Ages 10–up.

December 1, 2008
Gr 5-8-Readers fond of elves, fairies, and trolls will enjoy this fantasy feast. When Jim McCormack takes his young daughter, Anna, on an early-morning hunting expedition in the nearby woods, he stumbles on a royal fairy wedding, and, aiming his gun at a deer, he accidentally kills the groom. This precipitates an already smoldering conflict between the human and fairy worlds, exacerbated when Jim's son grows up and begins cutting down trees to build a development in the fairy woods. When Jim's grandson, Matt, cuts his foot on an important fairy shoe, the two worlds collide. The action is fast paced, and the fragile line between fairy and human worlds is clearly drawn. Characterizations are well done. Young Anna becomes a kind of human sacrifice, kept prisoner for years by the fairies as punishment for the murder of the fairy prince. Stunning imagery paints a believable sylvan fairy world, eerily spooky and dangerous. Humor in the form of a troll named Agar whose lair is cluttered with hoarded treasures lightens the mood. Large, full-page black-and-white sketches of elves with huge eyes and pointed ears emphasize the haunted, otherworldly atmosphere. After reading this intriguing fantasy, readers will take a careful look around them while walking through the woods."Quinby Frank, Green Acres School, Rockville, MD"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 15, 2008
The well-known author and illustrator of works like Snow Dude (2004) and Library Mouse (2007) ventures into the realm of elves in his first book for older children and younger teens. The Cord, or low road traveled by the elves throughout their realm, is failing, resulting in a collapse of the boundaries between human and elfin worlds. Fourteen-year-old Matt, while playing on the site his father is clearing for a housing development, steps on a sharp object. He pulls from his heel a small, bejeweled shoe, which is part of a pair that the elves hold dear and intend to get back at all costs. Matt meets an elf Mage to exchange the shoe for foot-healing medicine, an encounter that leads to further entanglements. The complex, suspense-filled plot pits humans against elves and elves against elves. Highly imaginative, intricately described, and filled with a wide cast of memorable characters, this is a thoroughly engaging fantasy that never lags. The story is a bit more sophisticated than Kirks accompanying action-filled illustrations, and the human protagonist seems a bit younger than his chronological age. Still, readers will be easily absorbed in the story and will look forward to the second book in the planned trilogy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)