Lois Lowry
HarperCollins/Clarion, 2023
186 pages
Grades 5-8
Historical Fiction
Newbery award winning author, Lowry, adds personal narration to a real life archeological find: The Windeby Child. Discovered in 1952 in a German bog, these remains are that of a 2,000 year old teenager, first thought to be a girl and later discovered to be a boy. Lowry suggests two connected tales that may explain how the young person died, only to be preserved by the bog and discovered centuries later. The first tale features Estrild, a young teen on the brink of maturing. She resents the choiceless and drudgery-filled life of women in her village and disguises herself as a boy, trying be inducted into the team of warriors. The second stories stars Varick, an orphan with a physical disability. His life choices are also severely limited and he works for the blacksmith for his meager existence. Always interested in nature and science, when his boss is injured, he knows what to do to fix the problem from observing animal anatomy. The blacksmith survives, but life deals Varick a different hand. The stories are linked on either end by the author's narration and commentary, providing a journey to the iron age that is fictional, yet seeped in fact.
Beginning with a full-color photo of the discovery of the Windeby skeleton on the endpapers, I was instantly intrigued. Lowry sets up the premise and puzzle (How did the Windeby child die?) and then offers two possible explanations. Both characters are featured in each other's stories and the bones of the ancient German village remain the same. Beyond the commentary, the stories are held together by compelling illustrations of an owl, contributed by Jonathan Stroh, who is also present in the tales. Lowry clearly did her research before hopping onto the iron age and extensive backmatter gives further information, photos of relics, and a bibliography. Book discussion questions are also included, which I always appreciate. I am interested in archeology and found this book compelling and a quick read. That said, I'm not sure that the target audience will feel the same way. Kids struggle with a long-winded introduction and will not appreciate the author's commentary. I enjoyed the non-traditional approach to storytelling, but am not sure if kids will care. They prefer an exciting story with maybe some true information at the end. Another potential problem is that the "puzzle", as advertised in the title, never gets solved. I thought the book would be a mystery. It was of sorts: a real-life historical mystery. The problem is that there is no clear-cut solution, which will frustrate middle-grade readers. A fun book for the archaeologically or historically minded, but maybe not for the average tween.
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