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A magical dress has long been a central motif in folk and fairy tales. Catskin’s three gowns, of gold like the sun, of silver like the moon, or dazzling as the stars, Tattercoat’s ragged clothes which fall away at midnight to become a dress of softest gold, and Cinderella’s cloth of gold, all beset with jewels, each holds secrets of conflict, between appearance and reality; the power of their fabric draws us into a world of make-believe and magic.
And here, in The Weather Dress, the accomplished writer Catherine Fisher weaves yet another spell, another magical encounter into the ever-changing fabric of a shabby dress, bought for a pound from the mysterious stallholder, at Chepstow market. And this dress alters at the whim of its wearer, one day a beach dress of sandy yellow, the next a garden dress of poppy red. As the week progresses and the dress changes to winter hues, a sense of eerie uncertainty develops, as a strange woman, not exactly a witch, but certainly menacing, becomes entangled in both the text and the wistful yet evocative pastel illustrations (drawn incidentally by the writer’s sister Maggie Davies). As the seventh day dawns, the day on which Molly had been warned that she should not wear the dress, we suddenly realise that here is another fairy-tale battle, between day and night, good and evil. Only then as the weather dress turns black and a storm brews, do we realise the significance of the adult characters’ unusual names – Luna, queen of darkness, representing the moon, and Sol, prince of the sun.
A powerful story, told with feeling and that great attention to detail which is so much a part of all Catherine Fisher’s writing for young people. And wonderful to find it this time in a quality picture book – making her language and love of folklore accessible to an even wider age-range of readers.
Chris S. Stephens
It is possible to use this review for promotional purposes, but the following acknowledgment should be included: A review from www.gwales.com, with the permission of the Welsh Books Council.
Gellir defnyddio'r adolygiad hwn at bwrpas hybu, ond gofynnir i chi gynnwys y gydnabyddiaeth ganlynol: Adolygiad oddi ar www.gwales.com, trwy ganiatâd Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru.
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