The Horn Book Guide

INTERMEDIATE FICTION

Pullman, Philip

Lyra's Oxford

56 pp. | Knopf/Fickling | October, 2003 | Trade ISBN 0-375-82819-2 $$10.95

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by John Lawrence. Two years after the conclusion of The Amber Spyglass, Lyra and her daemon are home in Oxford, where one afternoon they see a flock of starlings attack another bird. Lyra realizes the bird is a witch's daemon and goes to the rescue. The story, a pendant to the His Dark Materials epic trilogy, is admirably self-contained. Readers get their own puzzles to ponder in the included fold-out map, postcard, travel guide page, and cruise brochure.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2004