#931 of 1001 · February 17, 2023

Onward and onward, Firebird Week, and now I present Gilly Martin the Fox, a delightful collaboration between Mollie Hunter and Dennis McDermott. A witch has placed a terrible curse upon the Prince of Alban. He must retrieve the Blue Falcon from the Giant with Five Heads. However, he can only get the bird in exchange for the White Glave of Light, which is owned by the Seven Big Women of Jura. The women will only give up their precious sword in trade for the Bay Filly of the King of Erin, and the King of Erin wants the hand of the daughter of the King of Lochlann in marriage. With the help of the clever fox Gilly Martin, the prince retrieves these magic items, defeats the fearsome witch, and breaks the wicked spell. In an unusual format, Hunter chooses to tell the story from the perspective of the wily fox, beginning with the first encounter between the animal and the prince and including the start of the prince’s quest as backstory. McDermott’s illustrations (an oil painting on the cover, watercolor and ink in the interior) convey action, scale, and wonder. A note for folklore enthusiasts: As mentioned in the front matter, this book was adapted from a Scottish story called “Mac Iain Direach” (in English, “Son of John the Upright”), published in 1860 by John Francis Campbell in Popular Tales of the West Highlands. The story was adapted by Andrew Lang and Leonora Blanche Alleyne for the Orange Fairy Book in 1906; this version was called “How Ian Direach got the Blue Falcon”. This tale is a variant of “Tsarevich Ivan, the Firebird, and the Gray Wolf”, with the Blue Falcon taking the place of the Firebird. #fox #prince #witch #falcon #giant #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbook #beautifulbooks #beautifulbookcover #beautifulbookcovers #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookart #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks