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Review: Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , ,
Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George

Dragon Slippers (Dragon Slippers #1)
Jessica Day George
Bloomsbury USA Children’s
Published February 1, 2011 (Orig. 2007)

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About Dragon Slippers

Creel, the heroine of Dragon Slippers is hardly a damsel-in-distress. After her aunt totes her out to the local dragon in desperation (with the hope that the local prince will rescue her from certain death and marry her), Creel refuses the haughty prince and finds friendship with the dragons, who set her on a journey to the center of the kingdom with a pretty pair of what only seem to be ordinary slippers.

Along the way we discover Creel’s enormous talent at embroidery, and you can’t help but linger over the rich descriptions of her lovely tapestry-like gowns, which quickly make her the most sought-after dressmaker in the kingdom. But soon enough those mysterious slippers begin to wreak havoc, and it’s up to Creel to save the kingdom from disaster and defend the dragons from certain doom.

Creel’s feisty spirit breathes fiery new life into this epic world at every turn, making this one of the most memorable and fun fantasy debuts to hit shelves since Cornelia Funke’s Inkheart.

My Review

I know I read this book before, but I have absolutely no memory of my previous reading. I remember that I liked it so much that I gave it to two people, but reading Dragon Slippers again was like reading it for the first time. This time, I still loved it. I have some thoughts about a couple of elements that I think we took for granted or weren’t having conversations about in the mid-2000s when the book was published.

Disability and Discrimination

One of the minor characters, Larkin, walks with a limp. We never learn what causes it, but she faces discrimination for her disability. Her employer restricts her to the back room of the dress shop, refusing to allow customers to see her, as though her limp is shameful. This character makes some choices later in the book that are viewed as bad, and they do promote harm to the main characters in the story.

What I couldn’t help thinking about, and what never comes up in the course of the story is how the discrimination Larkin faced set her up to make those choices. For the first time, someone treated her as valuable and worthy. Sure, it was part of a manipulative scheme. But the narrative treats her like she’s a morally bankrupt character because she made the choice to follow someone in power who treated her well rather than addressing the societal problems that might have led her to feel those choices were her only opportunity for a better life.

Again, this was published almost twenty years ago, so we weren’t having some of the conversations about discrimination in children’s literature or having them so broadly then as we are now. I want to acknowledge that content in light of the conversations we are having and point out that even though we were perhaps less aware culturally, the discrimination was no less harmful and wrong.

A Girl and Her Dragon

One of the things I still love about the book is the relationship between Creel and the dragons, especially Shardas. I love that the dragons each collect different things. One collects shoes. Another continually adopts dogs. Shardas, Creel’s closest dragon friend, collects stained glass windows.

The connection between Shardas’s windows and Creel’s success in embroidery was also really cool. She models her first sample pieces after some of the windows in Shardas’s hoard, and those become a sensation in the town where she settles.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
One minor character speaks through sign language. Another has a disability that makes it hard for her to walk.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used once. The book uses some language that’s outdated and now considered derogatory to describe characters with disabilities.

Romance/Sexual Content
Reference to a kiss between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Creel’s people worship a trio of deities called the Triunity. It’s made up of two brother gods and a sister goddess. Creel prays to them in times of need. Other characters make reference to the Triunuty or individual gods/goddess.

Some characters are dragons, who have a kind of magic. They speak to one another through pools in their caves. They share a mysterious, powerful connection to a pair of slippers.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Creel witnesses a battle between two armed forces. She finds a dragon injured by spears and other weapons. Two dragons dive into a poisonous sea, one carrying a person.

Drug Content
References to people drinking ale to escape troubles and to celebrate an engagement.

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Review: Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry

Book Review and Content, Dystopian or Post-Apocalyptic, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , ,

Gathering Blue (The Giver Quartet #2)
Lois Lowry
HMH Books for Young Readers
Published September 25, 2000

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Gathering Blue

Lois Lowry’s Gathering Blue continues the quartet beginning with the quintessential dystopian novel, The Giver, followed by Messenger and Son.

Kira, an orphan with a twisted leg, lives in a world where the weak are cast aside. She fears for her future until she is spared by the all-powerful Council of Guardians. Kira is a gifted weaver and is given a task that no other community member can do. While her talent keeps her alive and brings certain privileges, Kira soon realizes she is surrounded by many mysteries and secrets. No one must know of her plans to uncover the truth about her world and see what places exist beyond.

My Review

I thought that I’d read this book before, but either I did and have zero memory of it, or I’m mixing this one up with a different book. At any rate, I decided after listening to THE GIVER on audiobook that I would try to read the whole series this year. GATHERING BLUE is the second book in that series, though it doesn’t appear to connect to THE GIVER in any obvious way.

The first few chapters have some intensity to them. Kira has just come from a grief ritual honoring her mother, who has died. Upon her return to her village, she learns a powerful woman named Vandara intends to have Kira put to death so she and the other village women can have the land where Kira and her mother lived. Kira expertly navigates a conflict with Vandara, turning what could have become a violent confrontation into a visit to the elders for counsel.

I liked Kira’s character. In addition to being smart, she’s artistic and kind. Her mind whirs with patterns and ideas for embroidery. She takes care of a young boy named Matt and his little dog. I enjoyed the scenes getting to know her.

The Series So Far

The only issue I have with the book is kind of the same issue I had with THE GIVER. There’s a point in the story in which a minor character reveals something super important to Kira. She’s a passive observer. I wish that she uncovered that knowledge herself somehow, instead of waiting quietly and wondering.

The book kind of ends in a weird place, too. It’s unclear what Kira will do with her new knowledge. The third book in the series, THE MESSENGER, tells the story of the boy Kira cared for, though he is older at the start of that story. I’m hoping that book will address some of my unanswered questions.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Kira was born with a twisted leg and walks with a limp. She has chronic pain from her leg. Disability in Kidlit posted a review about how the story handles her disability..

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Kira carries a small scrap of fabric that she has embroidered in her pocket. The scrap seems to have a kind of magic to it– warning her before something bad happens or reassuring her when things will work out okay.

Violent Content
A group of women surround Kira, several holding stones, in a tense confrontation that teeters on the edge of violence. Kira worries about the woods and field where beasts prowl. Her mother and a village elder told Kira her father was killed by beasts on a hunt with the other men.

Drug Content
Kira wonders if someone was poisoned.

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