Ivy and the meanstalk

Format:

Book

Title:

Ivy and the meanstalk

Author:

Lairamore, Dawn.

ISBN:

9780823423927

Edition:

1st ed.

Publication Information:

Physical Description:

227 pages ; 22 cm

Series title(s):

Princess Ivy ;

Number in series:

Summary:

Fourteen-year-old Princess Ivy wants nothing more than to have a little fun in the company of her dragon friend, Elridge, but unless she can recover the magical harp snatched by a thieving youth named Jack long ago, her entire kingdom will suffer an unspeakable fate.

Reading Level:

Middle School.

Program Information:

Accelerated Reader AR MG 6.1 9.0 146469.

Reading Counts RC 3-5 5.7 13 Quiz: 55260.

Subject(s):

Fairy tales.

Princesses -- Juvenile fiction.

Dragons -- Juvenile fiction.

Giants (Folklore) -- Juvenile fiction.

Fairy godmothers -- Juvenile fiction.

Teenage girls -- Juvenile fiction.

Magic -- Juvenile fiction.

Thieves -- Juvenile fiction.

Fate and fatalism -- Juvenile fiction.

Animals, Mythical -- Juvenile fiction.

Princesses -- Fiction.

Dragons -- Fiction.

Giants -- Fiction.

Fairy godmothers -- Fiction.

Genre:

Fairy tales -- Juvenile fiction.

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Monmouth Public Library	J Fic Lairamore, D. 2011	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Having saved her kingdom from the dastardly designs of a scheming prince in Ivy's Ever After , fourteen-year-old Princess Ivy and her dragon friend, Elridge, have little time to rest on their laurels, for Ardendale is once again being threatened. It seems that many years ago a magical harp and a hen that laid golden eggs were stolen by a youth named Jack. The rightful owner, a surly giantess who hasn't slept a wink since the thefts, needs her harp back to cure her insomnia. Otherwise Ardendale will suffer an unspeakable fate. So Ivy and Elridge set off on another fairy-tale-inspired adventure--a quest for the magical harp that takes them across the sea, into the fiery depths of a magnificent golden kingdom, and high into the clouds to the top of a vicious man-eating meanstalk.

Author Notes

Dawn Lairamore lives in northern California, where she works as a paralegal. In a starred review of her first book, Ivy's Ever After, School Library Journal wrote, "A fun and entertaining fairy-tale-based fantasy with a nice balance of character development and action," and Kirkus Reviews predicted, "This fractured fairy tale will delight tween readers."

Reviews (2)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 4-6-In this delightful and humorous sequel to Ivy's Ever After (Holiday House, 2010), 14-year-old Princess Ivy of Ardendale has another adventure that challenges fairy-tale conventions. This lighthearted fantasy revolves around a fractured version of "Jack and the Beanstalk," recasting the giant and his wife as victims and Jack as a villain who used his stolen riches to found the kingdom of Jackopia centuries before the book's start. When the giantess threatens war upon Ardendale if her singing harp isn't returned, Ivy must save the day. While searching for the harp in Jackopia, she meets an overprotected young prince whom she encourages to stand up to his strict parents. This subplot provides an interesting counterpoint to the cliched image of the princess in need of rescue. Lairamore's well-developed characters are excellent riffs on fairy-tale traditions: Ivy, the disheveled and impetuous princess; Eldridge, the mild-mannered dragon; and Drusilla, Ivy's fairy godmother, who creates problems instead of solving them. Various settings are depicted in rich detail while never detracting from the narrative. The plot is filled with action-packed scenes, including several in which Ivy and Eldridge tangle with the "meanstalk," a frightening version of Jack's beanstalk that attacks climbers. Although accessible to those unfamiliar with Ivy's Ever After, this sequel does contain spoilers for the first book. Perfect for fans of Vivian Vande Velde's Tales from the Brothers Grimm and the Sisters Weird (Harcourt, 2005) and Wendy Mass's "Twice Upon a Time" books (Scholastic).-Tara Kehoe, Plainsboro Public Library, NJ (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

Princess Ivy and Elridge the dragon are back for another mixed-up adventure. Ivy's fairy godmother mucked up things years ago all she was trying to do was help a boy named Jack by giving him some magic beans and now the giant's widow is threatening to destroy Ivy's entire kingdom if her magic harp is not returned. Mixing fairy-tale elements with the unpredictable, Lairamore does a delightful job of flipping the story of Jack and his beanstalk around, exploring what leadership, loyalty, courage, and friendship are made of. This sequel to Ivy's Ever After (2010) is for fans of Donna Jo Napoli's fractured fairy tales.--Moore, Melissa Copyright 2010 Booklist