"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
"A thousand miles ago, in a country east of the jungle and south of the mountains, there lived a firework-maker called Lalchand and his daughter, Lila."
Lila, the heroine of Philip Pullman's charming fable, was, as a baby, "a cross little thing, always crying and refusing her food, but Lalchand built a cradle for her in the corner of the workshop, where she could see the sparks play and listen to the fizz and crackle of the gunpowder." Once out of her cradle, she showed a marked talent for pyrotechnics, even inventing her own fireworks with names like Tumbling Demons and Shimmering Coins. Nevertheless, when Lila tells her father she'd like to become a master firework-maker, he's shocked. Firework-making is no job for a girl, he tells her; besides, with her burned fingers and singed eyebrows, he's afraid he'll never be able to find a husband for her.
If Lalchand is horrified by Lila's ambitions, his daughter is equally appalled by the prospect of a husband. Instead, she decides to run away to Mount Merapi, where every firework-maker must go to claim some of the royal sulphur from Razvani the Fire-Fiend. Lila's adventures on the road to Merapi alternate with those of her best friend, Chulak, and his talking white elephant, Hamlet, who set out after her when they learn something that could mean life or death for Lila. Along the way, they meet pirates, wild animals, and supernatural beings of every stripe until, at last, Lila must face the scariest obstacle of all: her own fear. Pullman invests The Firework-Maker's Daughter with wit, wonder, and more than a few goose bumps. The charm of the prose is reflected in the black and white illustrations by S. Saelig Gallagher that punctuate this slim novel. Though not as sophisticated as Pullman's remarkable fantasy novels The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife, this engaging story does share a courageous heroine, an exciting adventure, and a singular philosophy that ties everything together in a deeply satisfying denouement. (Ages 9 to 12) --Alix Wilber
It is only after Lila has gone that Chulak discovers the other half of the secret -- that Lila needs a flask of magic water from the Goddess of Emerald Lake or she will perish in the flames. So Chulak and Hamlet, the talking white elephant, set off to find Lila -- before it's too late....
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Good. Nick Harris (illustrator). 1st Edition. Ex-library copy with stamp and stickers to the front end papers. First edition, first impression hardback with glazed picture boards. Spine lean present, spine is faded, front board is bent at the bottom, foxing to the text block (see photos, more available on request). What Lila wants to be more than anything else is a firework-maker. But every firework-maker must make a perilous journey to face the terrifying Fire-Fiend. Not knowing that she needs special protection to survive the Fire-Fiend's flames, she sets off alone. Can her friends reach her in time?. Seller Inventory # ABE-1705427500381
Book Description Hard cover. Harris, Nick (illustrator). First edition. 112 p. Includes Illustrations. Audience: Children/juvenile. First edition. Pictorial cover. Illustrations on most of the pages by Nick Harris. Ex-library copy, but there are no external markings. There is a stamp and a scantron sticker on the first endpage, a stamp on the copyright page, and another stamp on the back pastedown. Text block is clean and unmarked. There is a small chip out of the front cover. Very good in very good dust jacket. Seller Inventory # Alibris0007238
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Good. Nick Harris (illustrator). 1st Edition. First edition, first impression hardback with glazed picture boards. Ex-library copy with stamp on copyright page and reinforced binding. Reading lean to spine, spined ends pushed. Language: eng Language: eng. Seller Inventory # ABE-17217324469
Book Description Softcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. Harris, Nick (illustrator). First edition. 1st 1995. Very good condition. Lila wants to be a Firework-Maker - she must make the journey to face the terrifying Fire-Fiend! B/w illustrations. Blue glazed pictorial boards. Minimal bumping and rubbing to spine and corners. Pale page edge browning else contents clean. Packaged with care and promptly dispatched!. Seller Inventory # 1325794
Book Description Hard Cover. Condition: Fine. No jacket. Nick Harris (illustrator). 1st Edition. Pictoral boards. Clean pages. Firm square binding. Signed and inscribed by the author to the half title page. Professional seller. All pictures are of the actual book that is for sale. Books are dispatched in cardboard packaging. Signed By Author. Seller Inventory # s16047
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: As New. No Jacket. Nick Harris (illustrator). 1st Edition. Published by Doubleday in 2005 this fine First Edition / First Printing is in wonderful condition. Voted for in a 2004 BBC poll, Philip Pullman was named the eleventh most influential person in British Culture. Here is another of the best selling English author s wonderful children s adventure books signed ( without dedication ) by the recently Knighted man himself. The book is in extremely good condition and very rare as almost all the original books went to libraries. Purchased by me in 2011 from a renowned UK bookseller, the book has been lovingly stored out of the light in order to preserve its condition. Signed by Author(s). Seller Inventory # ABE-1634219507334