The first thing that stands out to me when I take a look at the career of author Eloise Jarvis McGraw is her outstanding record of successful longevity. She won a Newbery Honor in 1952 for the book Moccasin Trail and then another in 1997 for this book, The Moorchild, with a third honoree (The Golden Goblet) thrown in there for good measure in 1962. Being hailed as an excellent writer over that long a stretch of time is a remarkable accomplishment really matched among contemporary authors of youth literature only by E.L. Konigsburg, with perhaps a couple of others included in the conversation, as well.The Moorchild is a book that sits on the crossroads between fantasy and reality, never shifting too far one way or the other. Most stories with such heavy fairy influence tend to be liberally coated with fantasy elements, but this book maintains its grip on realism even as it explores the lives of the fairy folk who live just outside the awareness of most human beings. The effect of this is that we never know for sure what could happen next in the story, as things change on a dime from mythical to realistic and the characters all sort of inhabit both worlds, cognizant of the truth to the legends about fairy folk while themselves still living normal lives like any other humans. In The Moorchild, it seems that the fairy folk aren't particularly malevolent in the games they play; they're driven more by a sense of rogue playfulness and deep-seated mischief, which unfortunately has a way of drastically messing up the lives of humans who would rather have no part in the "fun". The most devastating trick is the swapping out of a human baby for a changeling, a fairy pushed against its will to take part in the cruel prank for whatever reason the leaders of the folk have in mind. It's not entirely made clear in this book why the babies are stolen, but our story begins when a young fairy named Moql is chosen to be a changeling because of her inability to learn the tricks of the trade as quickly as her peers. Moql was born half-human, and her less-than-purebred descent has marked her as the best candidate to be left behind. Moql (who has now taken on the name Saaski, which the baby she is changed for was named by her parents), forgets completely over time her history with the fairy people. The villagers know that there's something not quite right with the new baby, though, and "Saaski" is never accepted by any of them other than her "parents" as anything but an outsider. The villagers' simmering anger lies fairly dormant for years, until a luckless incident gives them the chance they'd wanted to condemn Saaski and seek retribution. The changeling girl now must escape from her village just to save her own life, all the while trying to remember who she is and who she used to be, and and figure out a way to set things right before it's too late. The fantasy elements to The Moorchild are often original and impressively rendered, showing Eloise Jarvis McGraw to be a very creative writer even as she neared the end of her life. There are some well-built and memorable characters in the book, as well, particularly the goatherd boy, Tam, who becomes something of a safe harbor for Saaski from all of the craziness that rages around her. Saaski is a fairy, it's true, but what the villagers can't seem to grasp is that she didn't want to be exiled to live with them any more than they wanted one of their babies to be swapped out for a changeling. Saaski is at least as much a victim of the circumstances as the people of her village. When that brutal mob mentality forms, though, and people give up control of their individual brains, innocent victims always seem to get hurt. Perhaps the most significant part to this book is its veiled warning of that truth. The Moorchild is the first of Eloise Jarvis McGraw's stories that I've yet read, but I'd be interested in trying others to see what they're like. Ultimately, I would not have awarded this book a Newbery Honor for 1997 ahead of such worthy non-recipients as The Music of Dolphins by Karen Hesse, Crash by Jerry Spinelli and After the War by Carol Matas, but it's an interesting read that enhanced my perspective on Irish folklore and the old Celtic fairy stories that have been a part of common legend for almost as long as mankind can remember. I would probably give one and a half stars to The Moorchild.
If there’s one thing I learned from The Moorchild, it’s that you can’t trust girls with blonde hair and nice tans, because inevitably they turn out to be fairy-spawn changelings, which means I’m totally going to have to rewatch cycle 10 of ANTM because Whitney Thompson I am so on to you now.Dear God! Someone fetch the salt and cold iron!It was in some ways almost disappointing to me that Saaski actually was a changeling—the plot was so slow-paced and the Magical Happenings were so few and far between that I think I’d have preferred the townspeople to hate her just because she looked different, or whatever, not because she actually could run up walls. Which didn’t happen enough, imho. Mostly she just played the bagpipes and milked cows. “Saaski,” I kept begging, “don’t you want to do something Changelingish? And by Changelingish I mean Interesting?” But no. No she didn’t. Cue more bagpipes.Plus, her being a changeling kind of legitimized the way everyone was treating her. Not… not that I’m condoning Lighting People On Fire Just Because They Have Multi-Colored Eyeballs, but the setting was pretty vivid and you got a nice understanding of the lives of the townspeople. And yes, they are sort of of very much:But fairies do cause them problems. If your livelihood depends on your single cow, you don’t want the goddamn fae showing up every morning to milk it dry before you get there, right? So I sort of saw where they were coming from, in an ignorant BURN HER sort of way, which… I don’t know if the author intended.That’s probably me reading too much into it anyway—the characters were for the most part so placid that I’m making this story sound more exciting than it actually was. Even Saaski and her parents—easily among the better-developed characters—were so Meh about their own relationships with one another that Saaski was able to bring her mom’s stolen baby back and everyone just kind of shrugged and forgot all about That Girl They Raised For A Decade And A Half, while Saaski kind of shrugged and rode away with a cute guy she conveniently met out on the moor, and it was all very anti-climactic and without a single fairy kingdom battle sequence. Which is just tragic.I did like the dreamy feel—again, the setting was described perfectly—but basically nothing else really grabbed my attention. And maybe if I’d read this as Younger Awkward Me, I’d have appreciated a story dedicated to any kid who ever felt “different”—but you have to hope that the dreams of those “different” kids don’t include things like “eventual acceptance by peers,” because that definitely didn’t happen here. The best we can hope for, apparently, is that we get out of town safely with a hot guy before we’re staked by our neighbors and set alight.Which... okay, there are worse things.
What do You think about The Moorchild (1998)?
An enthralling fairytale peppered with dynamic characters and engaging scenes of whimsy and reality braided to together to create a classic and enduring story for children of all ages. The author's attention to detail and apparent research/knowledge regarding her subject matter, it's location, and life on a moor leaves readers feeling as if they have walked side-by-side with the changeling Saaski as she gathers firewood, attends to farm animals and fends off the persecution of other children as she comes to terms with being "different". McGraw's subtle lessons on love and hate are told is just the right tone with just the right amount of pondering.
—Sunshine
"The Moorchild" is a captivating novel! I put it down only when I had to attend to other things; however, I think I read the second half of the novel in one sitting eager to know what was going to happen next. Eloise Jarvis McGraw cleverly weaves the fantastic world of moorpeople with the regular world of humans.Besides being an enthralling story, McGraw invites introspection through the main character, Saaski. Phrases like, "Aye, you’re neither one thing nor yet quite t’other." and "she buried deep within herself the knowledge that she had once been Moql." cause the reader to consider whether or not they have ever felt the same way. In this manner Saaski endears herself to the reader.Other themes that McGraw beautifully incorporates into the story are:-Fierce love and loyalty-Expression of gratitude-Sacrifice-Self-discovery and self-acceptanceEven though this book is targeted towards young adults, I would recommend it to those that are older as well - any female that is looking for a delightful and uplifting story to read.
—April Poulter
$0.99 wasn’t too much to spend to see what is winning awards in children’s literature, though.I enjoyed learning about The Folk (fairies, pixies, however you would like to categorize them). I wouldn’t know if the information is historically accurate or just made up by this author. It was interesting to learn about bee hives and about the medicinal use of herbs. I also gained a better understanding of how a set of bagpipes works.Moral tone? The author doesn’t punish the main character for her faults. It isn’t completely clear that the girl- changeling is wrong in her disobedience. The explanation of the changeling’s parentage was written in such a way that I don’t think a child would pick up on the immorality of the union between her human father and Folk Fairie mother.Quick read. Enjoyable, but not destined to become a classic.
—Katrina Zartman
