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This page contains
reviews from adults- Literary Critics and Book Reviewers
WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT CORA TAYLOR'S WORK
Comments in the Literature:
"Perhaps the most powerful work in this category of the supernatural
is also the most realistic. Cora Taylor's Julie (1985) speaks with
the voice of surface realism, depicting an ordinary world populated
by well-rounded characters living in a lovingly drawn prairie environment....
Taylor's prose, which is
condensed and imagistic, has a richness of implication and mood
that recall the elliptical style of the British author William Mayne."
Judith Saltman, Modern Canadian Children's Books.
"Like W.O. Mitchell's Who Has Seen the Wind, Julie is more
than a Prairie novel. Although, like Mitchell's novel, it captures
a sense of the mystic powers of the Prairie skies and lands, it
uses this sense to reinforce its powerful theme: the great difficulties
faced by the individual who is made different because of special
powers."
Jon C. Stott & Raymond E. Jones, Canadian Books for Children.
"Taylor writes with a subtle perception into human needs and
behaviour and with a nicety of language, that puts The Doll in the
small company of Canadian children's books noted for their literary
style."
Sheila Egoff & Judith Saltman, The New Republic of Childhood.
And the Critics Say:-
"(Julie)..transcends time and place with a
delicate eerie dimenson...(the book) has a magic for readers of
any age."
Christie Harris (Judge's comments at Canada Council Children's
Literature Award presentation. Winnipeg 1986.)
"It's tempting to predict that Julie is destined to become
a Canadian classic. The story is literate, sometmes chilling, strongly
evocative of the Canadian prairies; the kind of book which stretches
the reader's awareness. Cora Taylor is defnitely a writer to be
watched.
Peter Carver, Canadian Children's Book Centre News
"The Doll" is a hauntingly beautiful
time-travel story combining adventure, warm human relations and
rites of passage.... Once I began reading it, I could not put it
down and once I put it down, I could not forget it."
Joan Weller, The Ottawa Citizen
"Through a lively and convincing treatment of time travel that
calls to mind some of C.S. Lewis' Narnia books, The Doll, explores
how a ten-year-old comes to terms with illness, divorce and mortality....
There is nothing cloying about The Doll. Like the Narnia stories,
it establishes that courageous living creates love."
Elizabeth Montgomery. Canadian Children's Literature Journal
The supernatural is given high relief against Taylor's fresh and
convincing descriptions of ordinary life. Like Susan Cooper in The
Dark is Rising, she creates a large and ebullient family in which
one member, the seventh child of a seventh child participates fully
in family events while bearing the heavy responsibility of his or
her particular gift. Julie's Secret is much more plot-driven than
Julie. We are concerned not so much with Julie's internal struggles
as with the unravelling of the stories that lie behind her unease.
And Taylor handles the technical challenges of a suspense story
admirably, flicking from scene to scene, seeding the plot with hints
of revelations to come. She does a lot with a few words: "It
was Death and it was at the north side of the barn."
Sarah Ellis. Canadian Children's Literature Journal
"Sequel tops original.... [In Julie's Secret]
Cora Taylor skillfully leads the reader from a feeling of unease
to one of acute suspense as the mystery of the calf turns into a
murder investigation and then a kidnapping. In a modern confrontation
of good versus evil the author pits Julie's innocence and strength
against the abhorrent practices of the devil worshippers who have
taken Billy."
Helen Norrie. Winnipeg Free Press
In Angelique: The Buffalo Hunt Cora Taylor gives
readers a wonderful sense of the prairies...the noise and dust of
the buffalo herd...the sights and smells of prairie grasses. Historical
details regarding clothing, transportation and food bring the life
and culture of the Metis alive.
Ann Abel, Children's Book News
"The fast pace of Ghost Voyages will make
this particularly appealing to boys, but Cora Taylor's use of thrills,
humour and intriguing plot situations make this a good read for
all."
Children's Book News
Like all Taylor’s books, the story of The Deadly
Dance unfolds before a meticulously researched backdrop
that makes reading it a learning experience. For youngsters between
the ages of ten and fourteen, it’s a superb introduction to
an era about which they likely know very little. It is a time-travel
yarn that finds 15-year-old Penny back in the days of ancient Crete,
where she becomes a member of a troupe of young people who fight
bulls in the arena at Knossos.
Marc Horton, The Edmonton Journal
Much of On Wings of a Dragon’s drama comes
from its series of escapes and rescues, but there is at least as
much interest in the way the characters survive their privations
from day to day. Taylor...has deftly interwoven myths, folk tales,
dream archetypes and modern war history. Her expression is precise
and her eye for detail keen, qualities that combine to produce scenes
so evocative as to bear several readings.
Quill & Quire
Some of Taylor’s previous titles contained elements of fantasy...but
with On Wings of a Dragon, she steps fully and
superbly into the world of high fantasy. Divided into two parts,
the book is captivatingly plotted... Taylor provides lots of action
and suspense while offering one final surprising twist at the book’s
conclusion. Best of all, not all the ‘bad people’ are
destroyed, and so the possibility of a sequel esists. An absolute
“Must Buy”.
Dave Jenkinson, CM Magazine (The Manitoba Library Association)
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