Booktalk
#1
Imagine stepping onto a stage
and performing illusions you have so cleverly mastered; then stepping down
to collect the coins that had been dropped into your hat. After one
last trick you would leave and head for the next tavern or inn. These
are things only you and I can imagine, but for Lidi, this was real.
Lidi was a great magician. She had mastered every trick and illusion
in the world, except the greatest, the rope trick. The only person
ever known to perform this amazing trick was the legendary Ferramondo.
This is why Lidi is looking for the man known as the “Fantastic Ferramondo”,
so he can teach the mesmerizing trick to her. With the help of Jericho,
the canvas master, Lidi sets out on a chase for the man, but more importantly,
her dreams. Along the way, they meet the orphaned Daniella, who has
the ability to tell the future; Julian, a wanted outlaw in many provinces;
and Pompadora, a circus owner, with his troupe of dancing pigs. Then
a greedy man, who wants to use her abilities to make his fortune, kidnaps
Daniella. Lidi and her friends abandon their search for Ferramondo
and begin their search for the child. When their searching leads
them to the province in which Julian was born, they find that all their
lives are in danger.
Prepared by: Hannah Jarrett
and Amanda LeBlanc for South
Carolina Junior Book Award 2005
Booktalk #2
“Lidi was not easy to ignore, especially when flame shot out of her fingertips.
Also, she had an attractive smile.”
Those are the first lines of The Rope Trick, and these words describe Lidi,
also known as Princess Lidi, a young girl who makes her living by traveling
and performing magical mystifications. Lidi’s father had died six
months earlier, but Lidi isn't alone. Her father's trusted canvasmaster,
Jericho, will never leave Lidi’s side. While performing in one town,
Lidi and Jericho find two more traveling companions. Daniella, a
young orphan girl who can foresee the future becomes the Added Attraction
with the traveling troupe as she begins telling fortunes to people who
come to watch the magic act. The second companion is Julian, who
agrees to be the show's roustabout. Julian is at first very secretive
about why he is on the run, but he eventually tells the others why and
how he has become an outlaw.
Although Lidi is very good at magic and can astound her viewers, she is
on a journey to find the famous magician Ferramondo who can supposedly
teach her the legendary Rope Trick. Along the way, Lidi will have
to deal with doubts about her own ability to succeed, an evil man who wants
to kidnap Daniella, and the love she feels for Julian. Read The Rope
Trick by Lloyd Alexander to discover whether Lidi learns the Rope Trick
and finds everything she wants.
(Karen Williamson, williakw@pickens.k12.sc.us,
Pickens High School, Pickens, SC)
Booktalk #3
Princess Lidi is not a “real” princess, at least not a tiara wearing princess,
like Cinderella or Mia Thermopolis. Lidi is a princess in her own
right, a stage princess...or a magical princess.
No, she doesn't wear glass slippers or answer to her Grandmere, in fact,
she answers to no one. Her father died a bitter death and left Lidi
to carry on the family business. The only person she trusts is Jericho,
her substitute father and guardian. You see, Princess Lidi is a magician.
Jericho and Lidi travel through the cities of Campania, or Italy in present-day,
and perform magic tricks and ruses to make money. Along their journeys,
they pick up an orphan who has been beaten, Daniella, and they discover
her knack for predicting the future. Daniella becomes a member of
their “family” and will be a key character in what happens down the road,
literally.
Lidi is on a quest for the great magician, Ferramondo, who will teach her
the ultimate ruse, the rope trick, where a magician throws a rope to the
ceiling and it hangs stiff enough for the person to climb and seemingly
disappear. Lidi remembers her father died without accomplishing the
rope trick and she feels she has to learn it in order to be an accomplished
magician. As this small troupe travels, they meet a fugitive, Julian,
who becomes important in their lives in many different ways, a carnival
master, Pompodorro, who herds a group of tiny pigs as his act, a greedy,
ferret-like criminal, Scabbia, and several characters who help her on her
adventure of finding the great magician. Read on to discover why
the rope trick is so important to Lidi, and how all characters come together
to weave this magical tale. (Michal Hope Brandon, hopeymb@yahoo.com,
Intern, Blythewood Middle School, Blythewood, SC) |
