This series used to be hard to find, but it has just been re-released by Purple House Press!
When I first saw the cover of URCHIN OF THE RIDING STARS – book one in the five-book MISTMANTLE CHRONICLES middle grade series by M.I. McAllister – it shouted to me: “We take talking animals seriously.” I do, too, of course. As a keen lover of talking animal stories, I fell in love with the first two novels…and plan to read the rest! The stunning artwork by Christine Enright is a perfect match for McAllister’s masterfully interwoven tales. They are brimming with intrigue, mystery (very different from intrigue), and complex relationships. McAllister does not talk down to children. Just as CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien didn’t mince words about evil, neither does McAllister. The darkness in her stories mirrors the darkness in our present world. It feels real, as does the world of Mistmantle. After a while, you might think you live there.
The first book begins with a baby Eurasian, honey-colored squirrel, found on a beach by Crispin, a warrior squirrel, and Brother Fir, a kind, elderly squirrel priest. The orphan is named Urchin and given to Apple, a surrogate mother squirrel, who raises him in the forest. Everything on Mistmantle is affected by and revolves around what happens at the castle, and Urchin soon becomes involved in a royal adventure that takes him beyond the shores of the little island he has grown to love.
The second book – URCHIN AND THE HEARTSTONE – begins with one of my favorite hymns…
“Great Heart of my own heart, whatever befall Still be my vision, thou ruler of all.”
– Eighth-century Irish hymn, translated by Mary Byrne, versified by Eleanor Hull
And then you realize why M.I. McAllister, the wife of a vicar, has the animals pray for strength and guidance from the Heart when they face seemingly insurmountable challenges.
I’d love to meet McAllister over scones. She takes talking animals seriously…and everything else that matters in the world.
So I say, hie thee to a library or a bookstore to check out these wonderful tales.
Nota bene: I allowed too much time to pass between books – the series has a big cast to remember!