Lyra’s Oxford
Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2007
Fantasy Fiction
ISBN-10: 0375843698
64 pages
Synopsis
A few years beyond where the His Dark Materials trilogy leaves off, this companion book starts. Lyra, now in her early teens, lives and studies at the college and still has the indomitable spirit prone to mischief and trouble. In this short story, Lyra discovers a witch’s bird daemon who’s being chased and attacked by flocks of birds. Rescuing the daemon, she’s informed that the witch is dying and needs the help of a man who lives in her city. Soon Lyra discovers that not everything is as it seems, and she’s found herself in grave danger at the hands of a powerful adversary. However, it’s the birds of the city that instinctually come to her aid, and she and her daemon Pan feel a strong and mystic connection with the city in which they live.
Critique
Although the story is a bit short and on the boring side, especially in comparison to the magnanimity of the previous trilogy, it’s a good read for those who are interested in more stories about Lyra and the world that Pullman created. The book itself, however, is a wonderful collector’s item, cloth bound with a pullout map of Oxford and a few other elements from the world and characters in it. This is more like a ‘historical companion’ to a much larger story, and the insight it gives into Oxford can certainly expand the imagination and understanding one has when approaching the trilogy.
The other books in this series are The Golden Compass (book 1), The Subtle Knife (book 2), The Amber Spyglass (book 3), and Once Upon a Time in the North as a companion novel.
Rating Rubric
Enjoyable Read: Original Fantasy: Original Plot: Language: Asthetics: Depth In Characters: Depth In Story: Social Commentary: Layers/Complexity: Classroom Text: Overall Rating:
For the Classroom
Since this book operates in a completely different world, there aren’t any aspects that would make it a good classroom companion.
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