Mmmm I love me some chocolate eggs, and Easter is the perfect time to gorge. Apparently I am not the only one who like them either, all powerful pooka's are also partial to the stuff, who knew? How do I know this fascinating little tidbit you ask? I learned it by reading
E.Aster Bunnymund and the Warrior Egg's at the Earth's Core, the second in the Guardians series. What other amazing things did I learn while reading this enchanting little book? Never fear for I shall tell you.
We start out with a quick recap of the previous book, in which we meet the Atlantian wizard Ombric, his young ward Katherine, and the Cossack bandit Nicholas St. North. These three had just won their battle with Pitch the Nightmare King (who has escaped with the mechanical djinn body and his Fearlings) and were now at the home of the Lunar Lamas trying to figure out where the next piece of the magical ship
Moon Clipper was. North has been given a magical sword by the Man in the Moon (Mim) himself and is working on mastering its many mysteries. Katherine is busy raising her new companion, a giant Snow Goose and Ombric has been allowed the use of a giant clock to travel back in time. He tries to stop Pitch from ever becoming the Nightmare King, but is stopped by a force stronger and older than himself, telling him that he cannot change history. Meanwhile back at Santoff Claussen, the village our heroic trio is from, the children are surprised by a present from Katherine, a book that magically tells the stories she writes in them.
Nightlight, the silent friend of Katherine who had kept Pitch held captive for so long, has gone to check on the village children. He senses something is not right and this is confirmed when Pitch appears and kidnaps all the children. He says he will return the children in exchange for Ombrics magic library which has mysteriously disappeared. The Lunar Lamas give our hero's the use of their tower/rocket to go back to there village after they find out something has gone wrong. When they arrive, they find all of the adults, animals and guards have been turned into ceramic toys. The moonbeam that lives in Nightlights diamond dagger is found by the shattered pieces and tells them what happened. Ombric stays at the village to return everyone back to their living state and sends North and Katherine to find the mysterious last pooka, who is the only one who knows how to get to the Earth's core, which is where Pitch is hiding and gaining strength. Pitch has discovered that the lead from the Earth's core absorbs light, making it the perfect armor for himself and his Fearlings who are defeated by light. Ombric gives Kathrine a locket containing a picture of Pitch's daughter that he discovered while time traveling. Katherine and North find the Pooka on Easter Island (of course) and discover that he appears to be a seven foot tall rabbit by the name of E. Aster Bunnymund. He tells them that his kind have been around long before humans or even Earth (which used to be egg-shaped) were alive. He tells them that he is the last of his kind, his brothers being wiped out in the last Golden Age battle with Pitch. His obsession with eggs extends to everything, including his decor, clothes and even his warriors
who are egg shaped metal contraptions that double as the universes best chocolatiers. Bunnymund and
North tend to squabble, having two different views on how things should be done, North wants to barge in and fight, while Bunnymund wants to take his time. Fed up with both of them Katherine goes to rescue the children and Nightlight on her own. Pitch catches Katherine and North and Bunnymund come to her aid. There is a battle in which Pitch is defeated (but not destroyed) when Katherine shows him the locket with his daughters image in it. North is gravely wounded, but is restored by some magic chocolate (though I would argue all chocolate is magic) and the children are returned to the village, safe and sound. Bunnymund is in possession of the second relic the trio were hunting for and they are now ready for the next step in their journey.
As with
Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King this was a quick, beautiful, fun read. It continues the story of characters we already know, while adding some new friends. I love alternative explanations for where some of these holiday icon's come from, and having them work together is awesome. I love that believing in something is what creates the most potent magic, what a great lesson for our jaded youth. These books have such a whimsical, innocent flair, while still having a pretty scary story line. These are the type of stories I loved growing up, and it is nice to see books that allow children to be innocent and loving, and mischievous, and playful, and imaginative without talking down to them. As always the use of books makes me happy, I LOVE BOOKS and anytime they are integral to a story it makes me spastically exuberant. The illustrations are gorgeous and the descriptions of the different chocolates that Bunnymund makes, has me searching for some exotic ones to try hear on boring old Earth. I suggest this to read to your kids, and have many discussions on all the different aspects of it. I give it 8 out of 10 chocolate eggs.
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