Sky Song

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Can tribes see past their differences and deep suspicions of ‘outsiders’ to unite against a common enemy? Can Flint, - himself a far from standard warrior, with his belief in Old Magic and his gift for inventing, - punch through prejudice and learn to trust the unknown? Just maybe: I have some news that may interest you.” Slither smirked. “The contraption I have been working on these last few months is almost finished.” Abi Elphinstone's magical adventure already feels timeless, stuffed with close calls, fantastical creatures and deliciously evil villains. The world of Erkenwald is beautifully imagined, with stunning images unfurling in your mind and astonishing hideaways waiting to be explored.

What I love is how the story takes on a version of The Long Winter, by Laura Ingles Wilder, which also happened in the Dekota territory, and uses it to tell Shashana’s story. The Wilder book too place in 1880. This story is taking place in 1905, but blizzards can be just as deadly no matter when they are happening. A land of ice and magic ruled by an evil Ice Queen is in many ways reminiscent of C S Lewis's now classic Chronicles of Narnia. A chosen child bonded with an eagle is also similar to the bond between Lyra and her daemon in Philip Pullman's hugely successful The Dark Materials series. Add to this a fast moving plot and a dusting of an almost forgotten magic and Sky Song has all the elements required for a fantasy adventure that will enthral and entrance middle grade readers. This is a story about an eagle huntress, an inventor and an organ made of icicles. But it is also a story about belonging, even at the very edges of our world . . .

The year is 1905, and things haven’t been easy for Shoshana and her family. Violence against Jewish families like Shoshana’s has escalated in their Ukrainian village. The family is forced to leave everything familiar behind, fleeing their Ukrainian village to start a new life on the North Dakota prairie. But life in America isn’t easy either. Shoshi’s older sister, Libke, has trouble learning English. Both girls face bullies and prejudice at their new school. And the North Dakota winters are long, harsh, and terrible. Death Songbook was broadcasted online by BBC Cymru Wales across the weekend of 6th – 7th March 2021 as part of GŴYL 2021 When Brett Anderson, Charles Hazlewood, and Paraorchestra were joined by guest vocalist Nadine Shah plus Adrian Utley (Portishead) & Seb Rochford (Pulled By Magnets, Acoustic Ladyland, Sons Of Kemet)

At the heart of this warm, imaginative tale is a sense of the magic to be found in the wilderness. As Eska learns: “You have the wild on your side and the wild doesn’t play by ordinary rules.” I found this book to be a grand adventure of happiness, sorrow and everything else in between. The prologue and the epilogue are written in mythical style writing, and sometimes while this doesn't work, it really suited the book. The writing is simple, yet it bears some rather important messages of love, hope and courage, that the reader is able to determine with ease.

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A magical wintry story filled with adventure, wonder and edge-of-your-seat excitement, this is the perfect read for fans of Michelle Harrison, Piers Torday and Emma Carroll. Once an adventure digs its claws in, there is not an awful lot you can do about it. Especially when magic is involved . . .’

Eska’s mind whirled. The Ice Queen often spoke like this—about cursed marks and dreadful Gods—but, even though Eska could recall nothing from her past about either, some deep-rooted things couldn’t be erased, like knowing right from wrong and sensing truth from lies. Something about the Ice Queen’s words smelled of lies, as if she was spinning a story that just happened to suit her, and for this reason Eska kept her voice a secret inside her. In a historical fiction book like this I feel like more often than not the topic of colonization and what happened to the Indigenous people that were there first is not really discussed. I was surprised to read about Shoshi's family discussing what happened to the people but was glad for it. Filled with wonderful characters and stunning settings, Abi immediately transports her reader effortlessly to the harsh, wild landscape of Erkenwald where an evil Ice Queen is gradually stealing voices. A Queen intent on driving division between tribes, dissolving all trust and compassion until all are pitted against each other.Shoshanna and her mother and four sisters are in Liubashevka, Ukraine, and her father and older brother Anshel have emigrated to North Dakota because life is becoming increasingly difficult for Jewish citizens in the early 1900s. When life becomes too dangerous in Ukraine, the family is fortunate enough to be able to join the men on their claim in the US. The boat trip is rough, and Shoshanna is angry with her mother that she couldn't take her cat, although she does find one in the port that she manages to smuggle onto the train. The father has a dugout, and while it looks odd to the girls, he assures them that it has advantages in the winter and summer. Shoshanna and her older sister Libke are able to attend a local school, and their teacher is very nice. Some of the other students, however, are not. Some are actively cruel, like Irene and her brother Clive (whose parents run the general store) who give them a hard time for being Jewish, and use a variety of slurs against them. Some, like Evie, speak out of ignorance and repeat what they have heard at church. Evie's mother doesn't quite understand why Shoshanna's mother wouldn't want to attend a church and meet "good Christian people", although she brings food to the family and greets them warmly. There are lots of chores to do on the claim, and moments when the prairie seems to actively want to kill the inhabitants; the school children are caught in a blizzard, and Evie and Shoshanna barely make it to the dugout. As Christmas approaches, the children at school are excited about decorations and the program, but Libke doesn't think she and Shoshanna should take part in singing songs about Jesus. Shoshanna wants to fit in, and doesn't see a problem with it. Clive continues to bedevil the girls until the family helps him save his horse. As a North Dakotan, I connected to this book on an almost spiritual level. The author did a fantastic job of bringing the beauty and serenity of the prairie to life. The descriptions of the prairie and its day-to-day aspects, the good and the difficult, were amazingly authentic, and I could feel the appreciation she's gained for the prairie from her words. As Shoshana describes how she's come to love North Dakota, she echoed the exact same reasons why I love the prairie:

Chords drifted through the palace—up and down the snow-strewn staircases, into the towers surrounding the palace domes, across the bridge connecting the iceberg to the mainland, and then out over the miles of frozen tundra beyond. The chords were solemn, like the groaning of a faraway glacier, and as they swelled and throbbed, Eska winced. The Ice Queen was getting ready to feed on her stolen voices. I don't think you have to fight with weapons to be a warrior. You could fight with love and tears and inventions instead, that would probably be just as good." The other thing that makes this story very special is the way the adventure is used to convey some extremely powerful messages. The most obvious, and perhaps timely, is the importance of co-operation between the tribes. However, it is the more subtle messages that most drew me in – messages about friendship and hope and the fact that there are different types of bravery. I especially liked the way that author Abi Elphinstone, uses Flint's reactions to demonstrate that it is okay for boys to show emotion and to release this emotion through tears. There is, after all, nothing weak about the resourceful and steadfast Flint. And, at the sound, Eska felt her body stir. First her head lifted, then her hands pushed down and her legs extended until she was standing on the pedestal. She tried to hold the curse at bay, to take control of her body, but she was up on the balls of her feet now and her arms were outstretched. The Ice Queen breathed a crystal mist over the glass dome, making it disappear from sight, and, as the pedestal turned, round and round, Eska danced on trembling feet.

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Eska, on the other hand, I warmed to immediately. She was smart and strong and worked hard to overcome her struggles. She was special without becoming annoying so. This is kind of a cross between the Little House on the Prairie books and the All of A Kind Family books and The Children’s Blizzard too. I looked up North Dakota blizzards in the early 1900s. A Sky Full of Song" will draw comparisons to Laura Ingalls Wilder's books, among others, the descriptive quality of Ms. Meyers' writing, in my opinion, rises above that of Ms. Wilder. The description of the migration of the sandhill cranes alone, "a sky full of song", was an intoxicating read. This is a book that can be enjoyed by any age.