Random House. 1999.
ISBN: 0440416051
$6.99. Paperback. 229 pages.
Readers Annotation
Askew and his friends liked to play the death game, but for Kit something real happened. He can see the children who died in the mines years ago.
Plot
When Kit Watson and his family move to Stoneygate, an English mining town, to take care of his widowed grandfather, Kit befriends several children from his new school. One of those friends is John Askew, a strange young man who identifies Kit as one of those who can “see” beyond the everyday. Drawn to John, Kit enters into the game of “death” with other children in an abandoned mine. Things go awry and John is expelled from school, but Kit begins to truly see the ghosts of the children who died in the mines. They call to him. Kit also discovers his love for storytelling, and begins to write the stories his grandfather tells him. Ultimately the stories Kit is seeing come to life on paper. When John Askew disappears, Kit begins to dream a story about an ancient boy, separated from his family with his baby sister. Kit knows that he must find John so he can save him for he has been told to do so by the ancient mother figure that claims John as her own. At the same time, Kit’s beloved grandfather is falling victim to dementia. Kit learns to trust his instincts and his visions in order to help his friend and his grandfather.
Critical Evaluation
In his books for children and young adults, author David Almond uses magical realism as his method for evoking fantasy. Magical realism takes events that are ordinary, and injects actions (or characters) that are almost too strange to be believed. In his novel Skellig, Almond borrowed liberally from the works of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ short story “The Old Man with Enormous Wings.” For this novel, Almond has taken a normal situation (extended family, and grandfather with dementia), and injected a ghost story that takes on mythical qualities. Ghostly children may be haunting Kit, or he could be having delusions in his grief over losing his beloved grandfather. While grandfather is attached to the past that Kit is seeing, he is not instrumental in its interplay with John Askew. Askew’s character seems to be unformed until he meets Kit. Kit’s participation in the death game sets the entire story into play. By returning Askew to his family Kit is given a reprieve to return to his own world. For both boys crossing the frozen river and fields is like returning from death across the River Styx. Both boys experience a kind of resurrection, enabling them both to move on from grief.
Information about the author
Almond offers some biographical information on his website here.
Genre
Fantasy, Paranormal, Unexplained Phenomenon, Magical Realism
Curriculum ties
None. However this book is a good example of the use of magical realism for a genre study.
Challenge Issues
Death, paranormal issues
Challenge defense ideas
· Become familiar with the book and its contents.
· Refer to the collection development policy of the library.
· Refer to reviews from Booklist, School Library Journal, and Publisher’s Weekly available for viewing on amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Kits-Wilderness-David-Almond/dp/0385326653/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257486691&sr=8-1
· Try to get reviews of the book from teens who have read it.
Booktalking Ideas
1. Talk about Kit's close relationship with his grandfather.
2. Discuss how Kit is both attracted and repelled by John Askew.
3. Talk about how Kit agrees to play the "death" game with the other children and Askew.
4. Discuss how Kit experiences a profound shift in perception while playing the game.
Reading Level/Age
Young Adult. Ages 12 and up.
Why I included this title
This title was included in Teen Genreflecting, 2nd Edition (2003), as an example of a “Paranormal: Unexplained Phenomenon” book.
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