“What fills a hand fuller than a skein of gold?” A riddle from the king and just 7 days to solve it! Tousle’s first visit to the king’s town has turned into a journey to save his life and the lives of a whole downtrodden village! The king allows blind boy, Innes, to accompany Tousle on his quest, as the Great Lords roar their laughter in the winter night.
Oh, how Tousle wished that his adoptive father were there, with his enchanted kettle and magical skills! But Da was swept away in the crowd when Tousle stood up in the castle yard, the only one to say no to executing the villagers.
Off into the cold, Tousle and Innes head for the monastery where the exiled queen has lived since her baby boy disappeared a dozen years ago… followed by Lord Beryn, who wants to stop them at any cost, and the swordsman, King’s Grip, who wants Tousle’s secret at any price. For isn’t his Da the one that the King’s Grip saw in the castle when the baby prince disappeared, and isn’t his Da the one who can spin straw into gold??
A magical tale of love and trust, greed and loss, families and enemies from a two-time Newbery Honor Book author, Straw Into Gold is the fairy tale you remember… except when it isn’t!!
Recommended by: Katy Manck, Librarian-at-Large (retired academic/corporate/school librarian), Gilmer, Texas, USA
