Finished Mo’s favorite book today, The Wind Singer by William Nicholson. The book reads very much like Lord of the Rings, a fantasy book. It also is a trilogy, but only read book one. The Hath family determines to fight the leaders of the city of Aramanth who tests each family (and individual) through a system to gauge intelligence. Each family is then placed in their respective “divisions” based on their scores, highest get best accommodations, etc. The Hath family is doing fine until their daughter of two (Pinpin) has her testing date and wets her pants while sitting on the lap of the judge. All goes downhill from there as her sister Kestrel decides to “fight back” and not respond to the “rules” of the land, especially in school where she defies her teacher’s wishes. This leads to Kestrel and her brother, Bowman, and the class idiot, Mumpo, to escape the city and go on a journey to find the wind singer, who could restore joy and dreaming to the city where tests and scores rule the day. Kestrel somehow finds the Emperor, who has been locked up for years and provides her with the old map that will give her the relic that will unlock the Wind Singer. The journey brings them to forests, “old people,” giants, and others who want to kill them. Mumpo and Kestrel’s twin brother join in fighting each evil force that they face. Mumpo actually ends up helping to save the day and Kess becomes his friend in the end. The book is quite the fantasy of characters for the ages. Kestrel is a strong lead female character, not always found in these type of books. Her perseverance helps to save the day and the city can rejoice in the end, well at least for this book one. The evil Examiner ends up being Mumpo’s father and the orphan is reunited with his father. A feel good journey where the story keeps one engaged and wanting to turn the page. I think kids with imagination would really enjoy this book for sure. Maybe a holiday present? Add to your list.
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