The Wind Child
The Wind Child is a richly textured story of loss and grief set against a tapestry of Slavic folklore interwoven throughout both the text and its gorgeous decorative illustrations.
When Mara's father dies, leaving her alone with the human half of her family, she sets out with her friend Torniv, who, like Mara, has been rejected for his otherness. Her ultimate goal is to bring her father back from the dead.
Mara relies on her wits and her kinship with her grandfather Stribog – a god of winter wind – and his various offspring to reach Navia, the land of the dead, before her father's soul gains its final destination and is lost to her forever.
The central narrative themes of grief and rejection may be difficult, but they are important and handled delicately here, allowing the reader a chance to explore them through the distanced lens of a fairy tale setting. The overall message is one of acceptance, hope, and the understanding that we need not be defined by our families.
