Annal:1996 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature

The Crown of Dalemark: Book 4 of The Dalemark Quartet

Diana Wynne Jones

• 1996 Mythopoeic-Children winner
• Score: 10.46

The Crown of Dalemark continues the adventures of Mitt after his flight from Holand as a fugitive accused of attempted murder. Since his arrival in the North of Dalemark, Mitt has become disillusioned. The North seems no more free than the South from which he came. And now he has been given an order to kill someone he doesn’t even know, or else risk the lives of his friends. Forced once more to flee, Mitt is joined by Moril, the quietly powerful musician, and Maewen, out of her time but mysteriously fated to play a part in their quest. For the evil powers of the mage Kankredin are re-assembling, and only the Adon’s gifts-the ring, sword, and cup-can reunite Dalemark.

With consummate artistry Diana Wynne Jones puts all the pieces in place in this suspenseful, fascinating conclusion to the story of Dalemark. A comprehensive guide to Dalemark’s people, places, customs, and major events is included.

The Boggart

Susan Cooper

• 1996 Mythopoeic-Children finalist
• Score: 6.46

In a tumbledown castle in the Western Highlands of Scotland lives the Boggart. He is invisible—an ancient mischievous spirit, solitary and sly, born of a magic as old as the rocks and the waves. He has lived in Castle Keep for centuries, playing tricks on the owners. But the last Scottish owner has died and left the castle to his great-nephew Robert Volnik of Toronto, Canada. The Volnik family—including Emily and her nine-year-old computer genius brother Jessup—visit Castle Keep, and when they return to Toronto, they unwittingly take the Boggart with them.

The astonishments, delight, and horrors that invade their lives with the arrival of the Boggart fill this swiftly moving story. The collision of modern techology and the Old Magic brings perils nobody could have imagined—and, in the end, an amazing and touching solution to the problem of the Boggart who has found himself on the wrong side of the ocean.

Sometimes extremely funny, sometimes wildly scary,and always totally absorbing, this remarkable story—brilliantly imagined and beautifully written—marks the return of the…

Falcon's Egg

Luli Gray

• 1996 Mythopoeic-Children finalist
• Score: 6.46

Ever since her parents divorced, Falcon has been in charge-of herself, her younger brother, and even her loving but self-absorbed mother. One day in Central Park she finds a large, glowing, hot egg that no one can identify. With her wise but eccentric great-aunt, a nurturing neighbor, and a wacky ornithologist from the Museum of Natural History, she establishes a secret society: the Friends of Egg. As Falcon watches and cares for the egg, she is able to forget some of her problems and even to share her secret with her family. And when a baby dragon hatches, everyone is amazed except Great-Aunt Emily, who knows that dragons appear only for a reason.

A beautifully crafted, memorable first novel, Falcon’s Egg combines fantasy with a poignant story of love in a troubled single-parent family.

Wren's War

Sherwood Smith

• 1996 Mythopoeic-Children finalist
• Score: 6.46

When the evil Andreus’s hunger for power leads to war, Wren and her friends are thrust into the middle of the struggle. Teressa is heir to the throne, Tyron her chief magicmaker, and Prince Connor a reluctant warrior. As allies die and others disappear, they must put aside their feelings for one another if they are to defeat the sorcerous Andreus. They know they need magic to save them. Can they turn the bloody tide?

The Mennyms: Mennyms - Book 1

Sylvia Waugh

• 1994 Guardian Award winner
• 1996 Mythopoeic-Children finalist
• Score: 16.44

The Mennyms—mother, father, grandparents, and five children—live at Number 5 Brocklehurst Grove. There’s a secret at Number 5, and it isn’t Miss Quigley lurking in the cupboard or the mystery of Pilbeam in the attic. There is a startling deception that if exposed would threaten the family’s very existence.