Author of the Month
July is the month we celebrate Eric Müller, author of two adventure-fantasy novels for youngsters: The Invisible Boat and The Invisible Boat and the Molten Dragon.
These two novels are remarkable tributes to the elemental beings of the Earth — the Undines of the water and the Salamanders of fire. Müller wrote both novels long before the chronic and enormous forest fires became regular occurrences in the news. These stories are suitable for young people reading on their own from about the age of ten, and as read-aloud books for those who are learning to read from ages nine and up.
Kirkus Reviews likened Müller’s imaginative tales to C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, stating that the magic in The Invisible Boat attains a sense of reality often not achieved in stories for young adults. We think that this is a tribute to the author’s connection to the natural world. He has spent years teaching, parenting, and thinking about the hearts and minds of the very young.
Two children and then three move from their beloved country home to the big city. The sorrow they feel about leaving their grandfather’s farm takes them through a “Goodbye” ceremony to all their favorite spots on the farm. During their last tour, they discover a tiny boat that, over time, grows into a large enough vessel for these children to ride into the lands of the elementals—and into tremendous adventures! There is a great deal of risk-taking and danger to be overcome to accomplish what the elemental world asks of these youngsters, and the Invisible Boat is their constant companion. The boat grows large and shrinks as needed and can be seen or made invisible as situations require. It floats on air and water and responds to requests, especially in emergencies. These courageous young people take on the responsibility of cleaning the city’s water supply and freeing the entrapped spirits kept inside by ugly Binagatorials. They quench the fires that ordinary fire brigades cannot tame because the flaming fire dragon is too powerful for them. Using enriched water from deep within the Earth, mere drops quiet the dragon and reduce the conflagrations to containable sizes.
These long chapter books fly by, filled with rich pictures and noble motivations that make all the difference in the success of the young people. Their trust in all the hidden elemental people of the Earth is their lodestar, and their inventiveness is met at every step along the way with creativity from the attentive elementals following their progress.
No summer should be without these marvelous stories of high adventure and intrigue! The writing is as compelling as it is beautiful, carrying readers deep within the forces of the Earth, the water, and the heat. Dazzlingly described in all their glory and power. Talk about stories that engender a love of the beautiful Earth and all the elements in it! These stories will do it. You’ll never think the same again about the living Earth!
