Jill and Molly Stewart are cousins camping with their
families in northern California. When a massive earthquake
strikes they are lucky to escape injury, but soon after, a
tsunami rushes in from the ocean and the girls take refuge
in a hollow in a redwood tree. THROUGH THE REDWOOD HOLLOW
they discover Zylandia, and in this new land, much is
strange.
As the hollow has closed up and they can't return home,
Jill the elder leads her young cousin Molly to look for
help. The people here don't know about ranger stations and
phones. They're rather large -- giants, in fact. And not
that friendly. After some desperate scrambles, the girls
finally find someone smaller than they are, who might do
them a favour. They are told that they need to go to the
Grand Elzen, who is probably the only one who can get them
home -- if anyone can.
Comparisons with The Wizard of Oz abound, including the
natural disaster, the quest for an important personage and
the group of small comical friendly folk. Gnomes and
message fairies, who don't get on with giants, agree to aid
the girls. Herzdon, a fairy, has trespassed against others
and needs to redeem himself before he can be freed from his
outcast state, like Dorothy's helpers who were lacking in
various ways. Later, the girls are passing through a
mountain tunnel of gorgeous stalactites when they are
surrounded by evil denizens of the caverns, like Moria in
The Lord of the Rings. I did find many changes of scene,
including a desert, and nerve-wracking battles.
In Zylandia, Jill and Molly happen to fit a prophesy about
two strange girls from another world. But they are both
under twelve. How much good can they do for anyone? Even
travelling is dangerous, and they just want to go home. I
found that they matured a great deal from the early pages,
as they had to depend on each other and take
responsibility, then had to think their way through many
challenges.
Young readers will expand their vocabulary with this
fantasy, as the writing is varied and very descriptive.
Author Kenna Paige lives in the Pacific Northwest which
provides her with inspiration for some of the landscapes in
THROUGH THE REDWOOD HOLLOW.
Can cousins Jill and Molly Stewart find a way home after
falling through a redwood hollow into the magical land of
Zylandia? Or will the evil magic of the nefarious
necromancer keep them from ever making it back to their
family? With the help of a message fairy and a couple
gnomes, the girls set off to seek help from the Grand Elzen,
the most powerful person in the land. Their journey is often
perilous and always full of unexpected situations. After
being abducted by pixies, the girls are told of an old
prophesy that foretold the coming of two girls “from the
Land of the Free” to save the little pixies’ blind queen. Is
it even possible for the ten- and seven-year-old girls and
four small friends to accomplish such a task? And even more
important, will risking their lives to complete the quest
guarantee Molly and Jill safe passage home?
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