La gran aventura. (The Great Adventure)
Reviewed by Coop Renner, formerly from El Paso Independent School District, TX -- Críticas, 7/15/2008
Sierra i Fabra, Jordi.
illus. by Josep Rodés. Spain: Bambú, dist. by IPG. 2007. 122p. ISBN 978-84-8343-022-4. $8.95.
Gr 3-6–Prolific author Sierra i Fabra combines didacticism and fantasy in this great adventure. Bella (Beauty), Peter Pan, and Hercules petition Equilibrio del Universo (Universal Balance) to be converted into energy so that they can travel into the sleeping mind of Milo Zederiak and free the imaginary characters and ideas isolated there. Zederiak’s magnificent stories have enriched children for years but, since his wife's death, the great writer has sunk into silence. Now the products of his creativity are in danger of dying off completely, thus impoverishing the world. Once Equilibrio accedes to their request, the three are off, knowing that if they cannot free Zederiak’s creations before he wakes, they too will be trapped. Menaced by Bad Ideas and assisted by the mischievous Infiltrating Sprite, the trio works against the clock, traveling through the writer's mind and convincing his creations that they must leave that world in order to survive. The tale asserts the power of imagination to enrich the world and blends action and humor (the final escape is through the writer’s nose) to keep pages turning. Recommended for larger libraries and bookstores where middle-grade fantasy is popular.
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