Firebird by Rachel Isadora

Firebird by Rachel Isadora

In Mercedes Lackey's Firebird, Ilya, son of a Russian prince, is largely ignored by his father and tormented by his larger, older brothers. His only friends are three old people: a priest, a magician, and a woman who toils in the palace dairy. From them Ilya learns faith, a smattering of magic, and the power of love--all of which he will need desperately, for his life is about to be turned upside-down.

The prince's magnificent cherry orchard is visited at midnight by the legendary Firebird, whose wings are made of flame. Ilya's brothers' attempts to capture the magical creature fail. When Ilya tries to catch the Firebird, he sees her as a beautiful woman and earns a magical gift: the speech of animals.

Banished, the young man journeys through a fantastical Russia full of magical mazes, enchanted creatures, and untold dangers. As happens in the best fairy tales, Ilya falls in love with an enchanted princess, but to win her freedom will be no easy task.

Rachel Isadora began dancing when she was eight years old. She is a professional dancer who studied at George Balanchine's Academy of American Ballet. Rachel and her family reside in New York City. Opening Night, My Ballet Class, Swan Lake, The Little Match Girl, and Ben's Trumpet, which won the Caldecott Honor Award and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Award, are just a few of Rachel Isadora's novels set in the realm of dance and theater.copyright (c) 2000 by Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers. All intellectual property rights are reserved.