Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds The Mirrorstone by Michael Palin illustrated by Alan Lee

 

In 2020 the CBCA slogan Curious Creatures Wild Minds neatly matched with the book Where the Wild things are.  Someone posed the question a few weeks ago asking for a single book which could be used to explore the theme this year (Old Worlds, New World, Other Worlds) and so I have been thinking about this.  Last night I had a light-bulb moment and thought of a couple of perfect books. The Mirrorstone is one of these. This links also with a post I shared yesterday exploring books which involve a time slip or movement through a portal to another world.

The Mirrorstone by Michael Palin is from 1986 and of course it is out of print but it is sure to be in many school libraries - at least I do hope it is.  This is such a wonderful book to read aloud and I would suggest you could use it with any primary class from Grade 3 up to Grade 6. This book contains amazing holograms by Light Fantastic which add an extra, very appealing layer to the beautiful art by Alan Lee. 

Paul is home alone late one afternoon. He looks in to the bathroom mirror and sees something strange.

It is not his own face which is looking back at him. He reaches out and touches the mirror and finds himself transported to different world. 

"The bathroom he knew so well began to disappear, the light became brighter, the wind blew stronger and the next moment Paul found himself, blinking, in the middle of a strange city. It was full of towers topped with flags which swirled in the breeze. He recognised nothing and no one. It was like a picture in a history book."

Paul is a good swimmer but what he doesn't know is that someone needs his skill. This man has seen Paul. His name is Salaman and his purposes are quite sinister. 

"The man's hair was long and matted as though it hadn't been washed for years. His face was lined and wrinkled, as if he'd been through a dozen lifetimes, but the eyes that stared at Paul were bright and piercing."

"I am, in my humble way, a genius. I have spent my lives studying glass, reflections ... mirrors... the movement of light on surfaces, and I have in my researches discovered the formula for the perfect mirror. A mirror that would show people themselves as they really are. Outside and inside."

Salaman shows Paul a globe. Looking into the globe Paul can see an underwater world. There is an amazing stone that looks luminous. Salaman wants this stone. 

Paul is terrified. He runs out the door and away down the street but he doesn't see the gleaming puddle in the alleyway. As he steps into the puddle he finds himself sinking into the underwater world he had seen in the globe. He sees a palace and swims inside and into air. There is a window and he can see Salaman looking at him. Paul is somehow inside the globe he saw in the old man's room.  Paul is ordered to dive back into the water and retrieve the stone but just as he reaches it the whole rock comes to life. It is an enormous sea monster. Paul is held down and your young reading companions will be holding their breath as Paul struggles to reach the air. Paul does retrieve the Mirrorstone but when Salaman looks into it he does not see the face of a genius. In shock Salaman drops the globe and it smashes onto the floor. Paul is set free. 

I have read this book to groups of students for over 30 years. It takes two sessions but I love to leave the group of listeners desperate to hear the ending. Michael Palin (yes the famous one) has written a wonderful story which I think perfectly matches the 2021 CBCA slogan. 

Mr. Palin has done a splendid job, but the real hero of this enterprise is Alan Lee, the illustrator. His carefully researched, intricately detailed watercolors are just right for illustrations that must be naturalistic enough to complement the images in the hologram. New York Times

Here is the blurb from the back cover of the book:

"The first time Paul saw it was at the swimming baths. The face staring at him from the mirror wasn't his own. Then, at home, even stranger things began to happen and so began an enthralling looking-glass adventure of time, space and imagination."

When this book was released it was one of a pair designed by Richard Seymour.  I read have also been reading The Minstrel and the Dragon Pup to groups of students for over thirty years.