Hilda and the Stone Forest by Luke Pearson
Hilda series, bk. 5. Flying Eye Books, 2016. ISBN
9781909263741
(Age: 8+) Highly recommended. Luke Pearson's fantasy adventure
series stars Hilda the lively, blue-haired young girl, her pet
deerfox Twig and Tontu a house spirit who can walk through walls. In
Hilda and the Stone Forest she is swept up into the magical
adventures of her house spirit's world, chasing little nisse-sprites
through the forest of trolls. Hilda's mother becomes worried at her
disappearances and her dishevelled appearances and suspects her
daughter is lying. Sent to her room as a punishment, Hilda sneaks
out of her window to take an enchanting flight on the back of the
magic raven with her friend Frida. Grounded, for three days, Hilda
watches the world from her bedroom window as the troll fires burn on
the mountain.
While trying to stop Hilda from escaping through the wall with
Tontu, mother, daughter and Twig fly through the air and land in the
strange, shadowy forest of the trolls. Their journey takes them deep
into the mountain inhabited by trolls, where they learn to rely on
each other's abilities. Fantastical creatures, trolls with two
heads, a baby troll, worms with giant teeth and threatening
landscapes with rock falls, dead ends and dark caves prove dangerous
for Hilda and her mother. With the help of Twig and surprising
assistance from an unexpected character, they finally return to the
safety of their home in Trolberg.
Pearson's graphic novels are dynamic and fast-paced with his
creative illustrations displaying his understanding of connectivity
to space, time and movement. There is an energy created by images
that wrap around, with the unexpected placement of action panels and
diagonal lines, which burst across the page pushing the action
forward. The characters move across, up, down, defy gravity and
burst out from the scenes with minimal speech bubbles; the reader is
immersed in the drama. Pearson's use of a muted palette is visually
engaging with swathes of colours, greys, reds, earth tones, leaf
greens, colouring the characters and their backgrounds.
Hilda and the Stone Forest ends with the assurance of more
magical stories to come.
Rhyllis Bignell