The Silver Arrow
The Silver Arrow
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Little, Brown & Co.
Just the Series: The Silver Arrow Vol. 1   

Series and Publisher: The Silver Arrow   

Annotation: Kates humdrum life is transformed when her eccentric Uncle Herbert brings her a colossal locomotive train, the Silver Arrow, as her eleventh birthday gift, leading her and her younger brother on a mysterious quest.
 
Reviews: 4
Catalog Number: #6707442
Format: Paperback
Common Core/STEAM: STEAM STEAM
Copyright Date: 2021
Edition Date: 2021 Release Date: 08/31/21
Illustrator: Bishop, Tracy Nishimura,
Pages: 259 pages
ISBN: 0-316-53954-6
ISBN 13: 978-0-316-53954-8
Dewey: Fic
LCCN: 2020018373
Dimensions: 20 cm.
Language: English
Reviews:
Starred Review ALA Booklist (Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2020)

Starred Review Eleven-year-old Kate longs for something more than her humdrum, normal-kid existence, and it arrives in the form of her eccentric Uncle Herbert, who has a birthday present in tow: a life-sized steam engine, the splendid Silver Arrow. When Kate and her brother notice a glow coming from the engine, they climb aboard, and the train lurches to life. Thus the bewildered siblings are sent on the mission of a lifetime, collecting ticketed animals at each stop and transporting them safely to their destinations. It's an initially cheerful premise e children learn how to operate the magical locomotive, which communicates via cheeky printouts, and the various animals are chatty and charming. As the train puffs on, however, it becomes clear these are desperate trips for the passengers, who are relocating from endangered habitats to keep their species alive. Grossman's gorgeous middle-grade debut is vivid and amusing, and despite delightful shades of Dahl's whimsy and Pinkwater's wry directness, it's a world all its own. This gentle introduction to the complexities of life on this planet is a critical reminder not to despair over the enormity of human responsibility but to face it with joy and marvel at the magic that the world holds. It's a kind and clear message that all children d their grownups ould take to heart.

Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews

The best birthday present is a magical train full of talking animals-and a new job.On Kate's 11th birthday, she's surprised by the arrival of rich Uncle Herbert. Uncle Herbert bears a gift: a train. Not a toy train, a 102.36-ton steam engine, with cars that come later. When Kate and her brother, Tom, both white, play in the cab of the Silver Arrow, the train starts up, zooming to a platform packed with animals holding tickets. Thus begins Kate and Tom's hard work: They learn to conduct the train and feed the fire box, instructed by the Silver Arrow, which speaks via printed paper tape. The Silver Arrow is a glorious playground: The library car is chockablock with books while the candy car is brimful of gobstoppers and gummy bears. But amid the excitement of whistle-blowing and train conducting, Kate and Tom learn quiet messages from their animal friends. Some species, like gray squirrels and starlings, are "invaders." The too-thin polar bear's train platform has melted, leaving it almost drowned. Their new calling is more than just feeding the coal box-they need to find a new balance in a damaged world. "Feeling guilty doesn't help anything," the mamba tells them. Humans have survived so effectively they've taken over the world; now, he says, "you just have to take care of it." (Illustrations not seen.)Both cozy and inspiring, this eco-fable conveys both grim truths and a defiant call to action. (Fantasy. 8-10)

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

The best birthday present is a magical train full of talking animals-and a new job.On Kate's 11th birthday, she's surprised by the arrival of rich Uncle Herbert. Uncle Herbert bears a gift: a train. Not a toy train, a 102.36-ton steam engine, with cars that come later. When Kate and her brother, Tom, both white, play in the cab of the Silver Arrow, the train starts up, zooming to a platform packed with animals holding tickets. Thus begins Kate and Tom's hard work: They learn to conduct the train and feed the fire box, instructed by the Silver Arrow, which speaks via printed paper tape. The Silver Arrow is a glorious playground: The library car is chockablock with books while the candy car is brimful of gobstoppers and gummy bears. But amid the excitement of whistle-blowing and train conducting, Kate and Tom learn quiet messages from their animal friends. Some species, like gray squirrels and starlings, are "invaders." The too-thin polar bear's train platform has melted, leaving it almost drowned. Their new calling is more than just feeding the coal box-they need to find a new balance in a damaged world. "Feeling guilty doesn't help anything," the mamba tells them. Humans have survived so effectively they've taken over the world; now, he says, "you just have to take care of it." (Illustrations not seen.)Both cozy and inspiring, this eco-fable conveys both grim truths and a defiant call to action. (Fantasy. 8-10)

School Library Journal

Gr 3-7 Kate's 11th birthday is approaching, and she's bored. She longs to live the kind of adventures she reads about. Figuring she has nothing to lose, she emails a wealthy, mysterious uncle she's never met, Herbert, and asks him for a birthday present. He delivers in grand style, showing up in person and presenting Kate with a train, an actual full-size steam locomotivethe titular Silver Arrow that takes her and her brother, Tom, on a magical journey. Traveling on enchanted rail lines, Kate and Tom transport a bevy of talking animals around the globe and must use their imaginations and problem-solving skills to get themselves home again eventually. Environmental messages are woven throughout in entertaining and age-appropriate ways (invasive species attempt a minor coup, a baby pangolin requires such stringent protection from traffickers that it has to be removed from the space-time continuum altogether). VERDICT Readers of all ages who share the protagonist's fondness for "books about ordinary people who find out that magic is real" will devour this charming adventure story.Stephanie Klose, Library Journal

Reviewing Agencies: - Find Other Reviewed Titles
Starred Review ALA Booklist (Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2020)
Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews
Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)
School Library Journal
Word Count: 36,298
Reading Level: 4.9
Interest Level: 4-7
Accelerated Reader: reading level: 4.9 / points: 5.0 / quiz: 509903 / grade: Middle Grades
Lexile: 740L
Guided Reading Level: S
Fountas & Pinnell: S

"I loved every page. This is middle grade fiction at its best."-- Ann Patchett
 
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Magicians comes a must-read, wholly original middle-grade debut perfect for fans of The Chronicles of Narnia and Roald Dahl.

Dear Uncle Herbert,
You've never met me, but I'm your niece Kate, and since it is my birthday tomorrow and you are super-rich could you please send me a present?

Kate and her younger brother Tom lead dull, uninteresting lives. And if their dull, uninteresting parents are anything to go by, they don't have much to look forward to. Why can't Kate have thrilling adventures and save the world the way people do in books? Even her 11th birthday is shaping up to be mundane -- that is, until her mysterious and highly irresponsible Uncle Herbert, whom she's never even met before, surprises her with the most unexpected, exhilarating, inappropriate birthday present of all time: a colossal steam locomotive called the Silver Arrow.

Kate and Tom's parents want to send it right back where it came from. But Kate and Tom have other ideas -- and so does the Silver Arrow -- and soon they're off to distant lands along magical rail lines in the company of an assortment of exotic animals who, it turns out, can talk. With only curiosity, excitement, their own resourcefulness and the thrill of the unknown to guide them, Kate and Tom are on the adventure of a lifetime . . . and who knows? They just might end up saving the world after all.

This thrilling fantasy adventure will not only entertain young readers but inspire them to see the beautiful, exciting, and precious world around them with new eyes.


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