The Silver Gate

October 1, 2016
Wynn is a sweet-natured 11-year-old with physical and mental challenges that have caused her to be labeled a changeling and hidden away with her mother in a lonely hut far from the serfs village.When Wynns mother dies, her father plans to sell the dark-haired white girl to the lord of the manor as a kitchen slave. Her older brother, Elric, loves her, but he is conflicted about his role as her protector, for he cannot always understand or meet her needs. He makes the difficult decision to take Wynn away and find her a safe home. Their journey through the medieval-ish landscape is fraught with danger from the elements and also from superstitious, often vicious inhabitants (most evidently white and with Saxon names). Even in the darkest moments Wynn sees magical omens linked to a mysterious song she learned from her mother, and she truly believes that they will find the titular silver gate, leading to the world of the dark-brownskinned Fairy Queen. When Elric finally allows himself to believe as she does, they find more than safety. As conveyed in a third-person narration that occasionally shifts perspective from Elric to Wynn, the adventure is exciting, and the denouement is touching. Bailey explains Wynns very real genetic syndrome at the beginning rather than at the end of the work, perhaps indicating a lack of trust that readers will love Wynn and understand that she is wise and capable. Tender and magical. (Fantasy. 8-12)

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November 1, 2016

Gr 3-6-Elric, though just a boy, is charged with a secret that could damage his entire family if the lord of the property discovers it-or rather, her. His father claims that Elric's younger sister, Wynn, is a changeling, switched by fairies as a baby, which explains her speech impediment and physical difficulties. Hidden away, Wynn has grown up safe and happy until her mother dies and she is alone, unaware that her father feels as if he has no choice but to offer her as a servant to the castle. Elric knows that his innocent sister will end up abused in such a situation, so he spins a story to draw Wynn into a journey toward a safer village. Along the way, they argue as many siblings do, but ultimately learn that they must forgive and support each other to survive. Bailey deftly explores bullying and the definition of "normal." VERDICT This polished, charming story is a perfect fit for fans of Shannon Hale and Jessica Day George's fairy-tale retellings as well as an excellent choice for elementary school book discussion groups.-Kerry Sutherland, Akron-Summit County Public Library, OH

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2017
In Elric's superstitious feudal village, people think children born with disabilities are changelings; even worse, that they bring down a curse on the community. That's why Elric's mother and younger sister, Wynn, with her strange fingers and slow understanding, live secretly in the woods, far from thick-skulled, bullying villagers. Then the children's mother dies, and in order to save his sister from a terrible fate, Elric takes Wynn north through the forest in search of a place they can live in peace. The world is inhospitable and the journey is hard, but luckily Wynn has the magical song their mother taught her fixed firmly in her head. No matter how much Elric insists that "some things are nothing more than fanciful tales for children," Wynn is sure that if they follow the clues in the song, they'll end up in fairyland, safe with the fairy queen. Bailey nicely balances Elric's stubborn, unimaginative certainty with Wynn's openness to poetry and magic, showing the limitations of the well-meaning but insensitive care Elric gives Wynn. "Sometimes he talked to her like she was Mildred," Wynn thinks with some outrage, "but Mildred was a chicken." As much a thoughtful study of human care and relationships as it is a fairy tale. An author's note identifies Wynn's condition as the very rare Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome. deirdre f. baker

(Copyright 2017 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

December 1, 2016
Grades 5-8 Elric's younger sister, Wynn, is different from other people in his feudal village. She is a family secret, living out in the woods with his mother so people won't call her changeling or harm her, while Elric stays with his father in town. When their mother dies and their father sells Wynn into the lowest rung of service in the castle, Elric knows he has to save her. But Wynn has talents of her own, and perhaps she and her idol, the Fairy Queen, will yet save Elric instead. Bailey has created a charming story of a child with Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome and a loving sibling who nevertheless takes a while to recognize his disabled sister's abilities. Commingled with this is an at-times thrilling plotline about an arduous journey to find a new home, a quirky pet chicken, and how faith and hope can create miraclesin this case, a meeting with the mythical Fairy Queen. An author's note speaks to Bailey's genuine concerns about accurately characterizing someone with the condition.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)