The Beatryce Prophecy by Kate DiCamillo

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Beatryce Prophecy by Kate DiCamillo Elizabeth Bush DiCamillo, Kate The Beatryce Prophecy; illus. by Sophie Blackall. Candlewick, 2021 [256p] Trade ed. ISBN 9781536213614 $19.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9781536220858 $19.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R* Gr. 4-7 Brother Edik spends his days illuminating The Chronicles of Sorrowing, the manuscript his Order is charged with maintaining. He’s not at all prepared to deal with the ragged little girl he finds curled up in the barn with Answelica, the most ornery of goats, who is clearly protective of the child. Initially uncommunicative, Beatryce (the name she will reclaim) is clearly repressing some traumatic memories, so Brother Edik convinces his superior to let the Order shelter the girl, disguising her as a young monk. This is an act of bravery as well as kindness, since the girl can read and write (which is unheard of! dangerously unnatural!), and she seems to Brother Edik to be connected to a prophecy in the Chronicle that foretells a girl who will unseat a king. There is, in fact, a king that needs unseating, having been elevated to the throne through the machinations of an evil counselor; counselor and king inevitably become aware of Beatryce’s survival, and they relentlessly hunt her. DiCamillo pitches her original tale to an audience sufficiently steeped in folklore to be appreciative of her elegant recrafting of time-honored tropes and attuned to her wryly humorous formality of prose; Blackall’s monochrome drawings nudge readers to wistfully recall a time when their favorite fairy tales came with illustrations. The deeply satisfying conclusion finds villains properly vanquished, the prophecy fulfilled with a clever spin, and happily-ever-afters grounded on friendships and strong ethics all round. Copyright © 2021 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois