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    The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making
    The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making
    The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making
    Ebook354 pages6 hours

    The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making

    By Catherynne M. Valente and Ana Juan

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    "One of the most extraordinary works of fantasy, for adults or children, published so far this century."—Time magazine, on the Fairyland series

    Twelve-year-old September lives in Omaha, and used to have an ordinary life, until her father went to war and her mother went to work. One day, September is met at her kitchen window by a Green Wind (taking the form of a gentleman in a green jacket), who invites her on an adventure, implying that her help is needed in Fairyland. The new Marquess is unpredictable and fickle, and also not much older than September. Only September can retrieve a talisman the Marquess wants from the enchanted woods, and if she doesn't . . . then the Marquess will make life impossible for the inhabitants of Fairyland. September is already making new friends, including a book-loving Wyvern and a mysterious boy named Saturday.

    With exquisite illustrations by acclaimed artist Ana Juan, Fairyland lives up to the sensation it created when author Catherynne M. Valente first posted it online. For readers of all ages who love the charm of Alice in Wonderland and the soul of The Golden Compass, here is a reading experience unto itself: unforgettable, and so very beautiful.

    The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making is a Publishers Weekly Best Children's Fiction title for 2011.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateMay 10, 2011
    ISBN9781429923132
    Author

    Catherynne M. Valente

    Catherynne M. Valente began September’s adventures in installments on the Web; the project won legions of fans and also the CultureGeek Best Web Fiction of the Decade award. She lives with her husband on an island off the coast of Maine. She has written many novels for adults, but this is her children’s book debut.

    Read more from Catherynne M. Valente

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    Reviews for The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making

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    • 5/5
      A delightful and whimsical tale!
    • 4/5
      When I first read the blurbs for this, I didn't know if I'd like it. I have tried to read some other things by this author and they were just a little too weird for me.

      I was trying to use up some Audible credits, and decided to give this a try, and I'm so glad I did. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this. I think it's good I listened, because I think I might have read it to fast to truly enjoy the whimsical language and descriptions.

      Whimsical is a very good word for it, but that doesn't mean it's not serious. I'm glad I decided to try it, there are many things in it that will stick with me.
    • 4/5
      After a slightly slow start, I found that like September I was less heartless than I thought. Absolutely charming, light-hearted and dark-shadowed all at once.
    • 4/5
      This book is just wonderful. It's a fairytale. Appropriate for children (nothing horrible happens), but clearly written for adults (or at least older children with an awesomely developed vocabulary).

      A little girl goes to Fairyland as one of the "Ravished." Shenanigans ensue. Fairyland is saved (as, of course, it would be - this is a fairytale after all).

      Valente's prose, especially in this book, is so very delightful and satisfying. I want to kidnap children just to read this to (my dog, oddly, does not seem to appreciate the word-choices in the passages I read out loud to her).
    • 5/5
      This book was magical in the best sense of the world. It is technically a children's book, but it reads so well on so many different levels. There was a sense of menace in the author's fairyland, sort of like you find in Roald Dahl's books or in Lewis Carroll's original Alice in Wonderland. I loved the little girl who is the main character. She's not always the most pleasant of children, but sometimes that serves her well.
    • 5/5
      Loved this so much!!
    • 4/5
      Valente is extraordinarily good at tales. She can play with them like a cats-cradle, so that a girl may be Peter Pan and an engineer and a tree all at once, and her adversary may be a princess and a wicked witch and several ages all at the same time. This is mostly the story of September, a little girl who travels to Fairyland and has extraordinary adventures there. Valente's language is beautifully baroque, with lots of word play, yet never loses its clarity. I loved this story, and can't wait to return to it.
    • 5/5
      Summary: One day, a bored girl named September is whisked off to Fairyland by the Green Wind and finds herself confronting the Marquess, an irritable, jaded young woman who is in need of something only September can retrieve. As September journeys through Fairyland, she finds that things are not all sunshine and lollipops, and she ends up making sacrifices, stumbling into life-threatening situations, and meeting many odd creatures. My thoughts: Wow. If there’s ever a word to describe Cathrynne Valente’s writing, it’s luscious. It flows so gracefully, and has little nuances that make the reader smile, or giggle to herself, and it’s probably of the best quality I’ve ever read in a young adult or middle grade novel. It’s simply gorgeous. (I was so enthralled with the writing that I actually wanted to seek out someone to whom I could read—the book just begs to be read aloud.)Fairyland reads just like a fairytale of old—it’s understandable and enjoyable for children, but adolescents and adults will most appreciate its subtle complexity. Almost every chapter brings a new adventure or acquaintance for September, but the story still manages to remain continuous. September’s travels are never boring, and neither are the odd characters she meets (my favorite of which is A-Through-L, the Wyvern-Library crossbreed). September is a spunky, lovable protagonist who portrays characteristics that any young girl could look up to—she’s brave but not egocentric, intelligent but not without naiveté, and very logical. September grows significantly throughout the novel, and it’s a joy reading about her adventures. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making will enchant all readers, be they young or old. It has a timeless quality to it, and could easily be read over and over again.
    • 3/5
      The voice started off a bit twee for me but I found it better as it went on - whether it actually improved or I just got used to it I don't know. Valente's Fairyland felt more composed of lots of neat ideas than something of an organic whole but there definitely were lots of neat ideas in there, and the climax and conclusion were worth it.
    • 4/5
      I actually had kind of a hard time reading this book. Not because it wasn't totally wonderful -- it was -- but my expectations were ridiculously sky high. First of all, Valente's The Orphan's Tales in the Night Garden is one of my favorite books. Secondly, I'd heard many lovely things about this novel. Finally, I was excited about the idea of Valente writing fairy tales for children/teens. All of which is wonderful, but then when I finally started reading, I couldn't manage to stay in the stream of the story, I kept surfacing to take measurements -- "Is this as awesome as I was expecting it to be?" "Could Jefferson appreciate and ove this when he read it?"

      That was problematic. Because otherwise this book was charming. There were a number of absolutely lovely turns of phrase -- quotes I had to write down immediately, conversations I had to read aloud to my husband, and amazingly delightful inventions -- like the wyverary, which is what is born when a wyvern and a library love each other very much...

      Had I read this book without such expectations, I feel sure I would have been blown away. Valente is bold and fierce, but can also be almost unbearably tender. The number of times she managed to upend my expectations was impressive, but what was more so was that all these surprise turns worked -- they were cohesive and felt true.

      When Jefferson comes home from Grandma's, we will have to have a conversation about this book. Also, there's a sequel. That's going to have to be mine.
    • 5/5
      When the Green Wind comes to her kitchen window riding the Leopard of Little Breezes, September doesn't hesitate or look back when he asks her to come with him to Fairyland. Upon her arrival, September discovers that Fairyland is both delightful and terrible, makes friends with a Wyverary, a Marid named Saturday, and sets out on a path that will change both Fairyland and herself.I fell in love with this book from the opening page. A brilliant and complex fairytale, Valente weaves a narrative reminiscent of some of my favourite classic children's books, Peter Pan and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The language is rich and beautiful, effortlessly creating fantastic images, delightful dialogue, and establishing a narrative voice that's thoroughly charming. And speaking of charming, September is a delightful heroine to follow as she encounters an amazing cast of characters that it is impossible not to love. The illustrations heading up each chapter are also a delight and bring Fairyland to life with grace and detail. A great fairytale for those full of heart or, like our heroine, September, the somewhat heartless.
    • 4/5
      What a lovely work. The most improbable adventure a 12 year old girl ever had, with the very best companions. But the way is rocky, in every sense, and the perils deep and wide. Valente takes her cue from storytelling fashionable in the century before last, but imposes her own lyrical take on the colorful and sometimes breathless narrative. I adored this - and am only jealous that I didn't get to read this as a child.
    • 5/5
      September is Ravished away from her boring life in Omaha to have an adventure in Fairyland. She makes friends along the way and must use all of her wits and good luck to protect them (and all of Fairyland) from the wicked Marquess.If The Phantom Tollbooth and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz had a baby, it would be this book. It unfortunately took me quite awhile to lose myself in it, but the ending is splendid. I hope it doesn't take me as long to get into the sequel.
    • 4/5
      Showed a great deal of promise but I didn't feel like it delivered. Similar in tone to the Flora Segunda books but less adventurous.
    • 3/5
      September is swept away by the Green Wind from Omaha, Nebraska to Fairyland where she undertakes a quest to return a witch's spoon. Along the way she befriends a wyvern (dragon cousin), rescues a marid (a genie who lives in the ocean) named Saturday, and makes an enemy out of the Marquess, strict ruler of Fairyland.
    • 5/5
      Valente's lyrical prose enlivens a charming tale about a young girl who is taken by the west wind from her mundane home and whisked away to Fairyland. There September, the heroine, must save the magical realm with the help of her new and fantastical friends.Sound like a usual sort of plot formula? It is, but The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making goes beyond the cliched to offer genuine delights. A brief quote should give an idea."A place where it is always autumn, where there is always cider and pumpkin pie, where leaves are always orange and fresh-cut wood is always burning, and it is always, just always Halloween."Valente's words and descriptions bring such magical places to life, and the book is truly a delight.
    • 5/5
      September is ravished away to Fairyland by the West Wing, and has a marvelous adventure, of course. Hints of Baum, Lewis, Barrie, and Juster. Valente knows her fairyland tropes and uses them charmingly. Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      This is an enchanting little book. It combines The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (minus the heroine's helplessness) with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (minus the religious undertones) with Alice in Wonderland (minus the, um, psychedelia). Given the many allusions to these works in this book, I'm sure it was intentional.September is partly heartless little girl tired of her own world who gets swept into Fairyland. Like any little girl in Fairyland, she needs a grand mission, and she finds one. September encounters wonderful characters on the way, my favorite being the Wyvearary (why, the offspring of a wyvern and a library, of course).My favorite thing about this book is that it's smart. It doesn't simplify its language or sentence structure for children--it sets the bar high than challenges its readers to meet it. It uses "irascible," "diplomatic immunity," "widdershins," and "sacrosanct" all within the first three pages. This is not written at your typical fifth grade level. The style of writing was much more reminiscent of C.S. Lewis than of typical young adult books these days.September is strong-willed and sweet and smart but not without her very human flaws. A perfect heroine.(And I think there's an allusion to Plato's The Symposium. Bonus points.)
    • 4/5
      September is a 12 year old girl who is bored at home and who doesn't fit in at school. So when the Green Wind and his leopard (the Leopard of Little Breezes) arrives at her window and invites her on a trip to Fairyland, she isn't likely to refuse. But Fairyland isn't quite as she imagined: for a start there seems to be a surprising lack of fairies. The rule of the benevolent Queen Mallow has been replaced by that of the Marquess, seemingly a young girl but one who holds all Fairyland in her sway. Determining that any visitor to Fairyland needs a serious quest, September undertakes to retrieve the magic spoon of the witch Goodbye which has been stolen by the Marquess. She's befriended in her quest by a wyvern, A-through-L, a dragon-like creature who is unable to fly as all winged creatures have their wings bound with iron chains by order of the Marquess. But the control of the Marquess over Fairyland is greater than September had ever imagined, and her quest becomes seemingly more and more hopeless.I enjoyed this book, but I was expecting to love it, and in the end I wasn't quite as enthralled by it as other people seem to have been. To me it seems to have slightly fallen between two stools in deciding whether it is an adult's or a children's book. There is beautiful writing here and hugely imaginative ideas, but it just left me a little colder than I was expecting. For me, everything just needed to have a little more depth.
    • 5/5
      Catherynne M. Valente's novel is absolutely wonderful. It has the same wild creativity as a Neil Gaiman novels mixed with the knowing wisdom of Terry Pratchett's work. Valente does not shy away from uncomfortable truths like C. S. Lewis did in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, but rather faces them full on, making her story completely different than all its predecessors. I fell in love with this book from the first page and surprised myself by loving it all the way through. So often children's novels of this sort lag at the halfway point (The Graveyard Book for instance) but Valente's story kept its pace from beginning to end. I completely lost in Fairyland along with September, and I was a bit disappointed to find my way again with the closing of the last page. Chapter XVI (Until We Stop) is by far my favorite part of the entire book. The fishing scene is gruesome, heart wrenching, and overall just plain truthful in its depiction of September's reaction to killing the fish. If I had to do what September did, I would be bawling my eyes out too. I love that Valente shows real emotion and loss. I've always held C. S. Lewis at fault for not depicting the repercussions of the Pevensie children's adventures. After all those children went through, they should have PTSD. Valente, however, does not shy away from exposing her characters to lasting pain. Blood is drawn. Bones are broken. Loss is real. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making is not treading new ground, but it really isn't trying to. Valente gives nods to Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, and Chronicles of Narnia throughout her story, and really this book has everything you loved about those old classics and so much more. Its a fairy tale for adults as well as children. And aren't those really the best kind?
    • 4/5
      Charming, and delightful!
    • 5/5
      Everything a good book should be, and more: Exquisite prose, truly imaginative story, wonderful characters. It ís irresistably told, with a subdued sense humor and impeccable timing. There's a sort of meta-narrative going on about the telling tales, and such things often leave me tired, but this time it is perfectly balanced and I find myself loving the book even more for it.Valente also plays wonderfully with the assumtions and tropes of the classic adolescent fairy-tale adventure (put down by authors like Lewis Carroll, C. S. Lewis and Frank Baum) and takes them apart, but in a gentle, loving way that very few authors could pull off.So, yeah, I really liked it.
    • 4/5
      I'm torn about this one. On the one hand, I think it's destined to be a classic- I think this is a book we will be reading for years and years, not unlike the Oz books or the Alice books. It's smart and multi-layered and funny and endearing. But I had a hard time reading it because of my own circumstances right now- I had to read it over a period of many days, five or ten minutes at a time. This did not work very well with this particular book- I kept going back a chapter and starting again. Thus, I don't feel that I can fairly review this one, other than to say that I want to come back to it when I have time to sit with it and give it my full attention. And to say that I am fairly certain I'm going to love it forever. 4 stars from a half-assed reading, reserving the right to re-read and bump up in the future.
    • 5/5
      4.5 Stars

      Though Catherynne M. Valente's novels have been on my radar for a while now, I've honestly been a bit terrified to read them. They're so lauded by readers I respect highly and I really feared that I would be the black sheep of dissidence. I'd heard they were strange and that doesn't always jive so well with my tastes, but, oh, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland is just the right kind of strange.

      The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland recalls many classic tales: Alice in Wonderland, the myth of Persephone, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to name a few. I make these comparisons not to suggest that Valente's tale lacks in originality in any way, but that she cleverly weaves a story full of allusions to those classic tales. Though I don't usually do this, I'm going to structure much of my review around these comparisons, since The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland has been reviewed by many people already, and I feel free to do my own weird thing with it.

      The tone and the sheer madcap adventure-filled feel of The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland is one hundred percent Alice in Wonderland. Though there was little that specifically seemed directly out of Carroll's classic absurdist tale, his influence is visible on every page. The girl stumbles into a magical land and bounces from quest to quest, with the ultimate goal of unseating an evil female ruler, who destroyed the benevolent queen. Valente fully embraces the absurd, but, where Carroll's story lacks for me—characterization, Valente shines, but I'll talk about that more later.

      The Persephone myth works as a frame story to September's adventures. There are clever references throughout, but the main purpose is to explain why September will eventually return. I love the way that Valente set up the very end. It's simply perfection, bringing the rest of the plotting full circle. Sometimes it feels like the weird novels are so spontaneous and surprising because the author didn't know what was going on either, but it's very apparent that Valente knew exactly what she was doing.

      I have two points to make with reference to the The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The most overt similarity is that one of the characters traveled to Fairyland by means of wardrobe, an obvious omage to Lewis' tale. However, there's another comparison to be made, a bit subtler. Like Lewis' classic, September travels to a magical world during wartime. Her father is off fighting in WWII and her mother works as an engineer. She feels lonely and doesn't understand what's going on very well. Valente turns September's adventures in Fairyland into a neat platform by which to make observations on the nature of war.

      As I said, there's so much more to Valente's tale than those structural similarities, all of which I love a lot. Her characters are a delight, though I must admit this is one of those times where the supporting cast is much more dear to me than the MC. September is a delightful girl, it's true. She has a lot more strength and graciousness than the average heroine, and is much more empowered in her story than any of the ones in the three classic tales I mentioned previously, which is utterly fantastic. She just can't compete with her sidekicks, though.

      Those who know me well will probably not be surprised to learn that my favorite character is A-Through-L, affectionately known as Ell, the wyverary. He's a wyvern, sort of like a dragon, but also the son of a library. He knows absolutely everything about anything found between the letters A through L, which is immensely helpful on a journey, and he's the most delightful companion a girl could want through Fairyland. I also love Gleam, a lantern over a century old and desperate for adventure, and Saturday, a creature similar to a genie who I'm really looking forward to getting to know better in the next installment.

      Even the evil Marquess is a marvelously well-drawn character. Often villains take a back seat to the good guys, lacking complexities in books with otherwise sophisticated characterization. Valente, however, made her villain one of the most complex characters in the piece. She gives the Marquess a reason for the way she is, and makes her at least a little bit sympathetic.

      On top of all of that, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland is one of the most beautifully written books I've ever read. Her writing is a veritable feast of deliciously underused words. Though I do think this might be a tough read for children, it would be a perfect choice for parents to read aloud to their kids, though they may end up explaining quite a few terms. This is a story that will delight children, I think, but adults even more so, in a rather different way perhaps.

      Valente's The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making is absolutely marvelous, and I can't recommend it highly enough to anyone who delights in verbiage, characterization, fairy tales, or any of those stories I mentioned above. With this one book, Valente goes on my auto-read list.
    • 5/5
      Amazing in every way.
    • 5/5
      My sister recommended this book to me and it was truly fantastic. The story was strong, the characters were strong -- especially the main character and the whole book was just an extremely rewarding read. I love every moment of the book up to and including the resolution at the end. In some ways, it was just a simple, lovely fairy tale but at the same time there was a twist of reality -- it's the sort of fairy tale that all tweens dream about (boys and girls). It was fun, but it was more than that. It was thoughtful and clever, it was funny and sweet and it was also a tiny bit heartbreaking -- which is just how I like my books, to be honest. It was, of course, a J Fiction book, but it's a wonderful book for everyone, really.
    • 5/5
      Valente's 1st YA is stunning, a feast of modern day storytelling, beautifully written and intelligent, fun and heartfelt. Once upon a time, a girl named September grew very tired indeed of her parents' house, where she washed the same pink-and-yellow teacups and matching gravy boats every day, slept on the same embroidered pillow, and played with the same small and amiable dog. September is carried away by the green wind one day, an opportunity to have adventures in fairy land is not to be missed and yes once there she makes friends, undertakes a Quest and tries to thwart the evil ruler. This however being Valente an old old tale is turned upon its head. The characters are delightful and nuanced, the plot, with short chapters speeds along at a fair old pace, mini adventures segue with the big one and at the end it’s hard to put down. Each chapter has a gorgeous illustration too and I defy you not to want your very own library wyvern. As all mothers know, children travel faster than kisses. The speed of kisses is, in fact, what Doctor Fallow would call a cosmic constant. The speed of children has no limits. Enjoyed by everyone familiar with fairytales. Adults will enjoy it, for its sheer delight but also the knowing narrator and its adults wisdom, a nostalgia for childhood things and a mothers heartache. Children will enjoy it for its playfulness and mad inventive fun and for the newness of discovery, (new words, techniques and ideas). It’s not for the easily frightened for there are dangers and not for those only ready for a single truth and a neat happy ending for its bittersweet and satisfyingly untidy. "All stories must end so, with the next tale winking out of the corners of the last pages, promising more, promising moonlight and dancing and revels, if only you will come back when spring comes again Highly recommended, I may gush because I am a fan of Valentes brand of tale but this is her most accessible book yet.. just dive right in.
    • 5/5
      I am a huge Valente fan and so far have loved everything I have read by her. So it is probably no surprise that I absolutely adored this book as well. This book was much funnier and less vague than other Valente books I have read; but just as wondrous and creative. September is sick of washing teacups and sick of the company of her little amiable dog. So when the Green Wind shows up and offers her a ride to Fairyland on the Leopard of Light Breezes she jumps at the chance. September quickly discovers that not everything in Fairyland is going well. The Marquess has been instating horrible rules (although she has a marvelous hat). September decides to go to the capital Pandemonium and find the Spoon that the Marquess has stolen from the Witch Good-Bye. She is accompanied by The Green Wind's thoughtful coat, and a red Wyvern who cannot fly. Along the way her quest is diverted again and again and September learns many fabulous things.This book was beautiful inside and out. Valente's writing is a spectacular weaving of beautiful and lush images that absolutely come alive. The book itself is wonderful with delightful pictures at the beginning of each chapter. The book reminded me of Alice in Wonderland a bit, you just never know what new and fantastical thing September will find around the next curve.Valente creates a classic tale that is very creative, beautiful, witty, and intelligent. The whole book is just a delight to read. The characters are easy to love; September is stubborn and determined but adores her friends and is quick to defend them. Even the bad characters are understandable in their evilness. The book ends well but has a couple story threads left hanging. For example we never find out what happened to September's shadow and then there is the mysterious girl that asks September to play hide and seek.Overall an absolutely spectacular book; I was sad when it ended. A must read for fantasy fans, especially fantasy fans that adore fairy tales. This is a beautiful, humorous, heartwarming, creative, and absolutely engaging read that no one should miss out on. Fans of Neil Gaiman's books should also check this one out; there are times when the storytelling reminds some of his stories as well.
    • 5/5
      A delight in the way the Wizard of Oz books are a delight, but with more substance. Imagine a book as playful as the Oz books, but smart as Alice in Wonderland, and you will be close to understanding this one's greatness.
    • 4/5
      Not every reader will be enamored of this fanasty. It is a combination of the Land of Oz books and the Phantom Tollbooth. The language is sophisticated and the story complex but for these bookworms wanting a long involved satisfying story this is perfect. The audio version is read by the author who narrates it very well.

    Book preview

    The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making - Catherynne M. Valente

    CHAPTER I

    EXEUNT ON A LEOPARD

    In Which a Girl Named September Is Spirited Off by Means of a Leopard, Learns the Rules of Fairyland, and Solves a Puzzle

    Once upon a time, a girl named September grew very tired indeed of her parents’ house, where she washed the same pink-and-yellow teacups and matching gravy boats every day, slept on the same embroidered pillow, and played with the same small and amiable dog. Because she had been born in May, and because she had a mole on her left cheek, and because her feet were very large and ungainly, the Green Wind took pity on her and flew to her window one evening just after her twelfth birthday. He was dressed in a green smoking jacket, and a green carriage-driver’s cloak, and green jodhpurs, and green snowshoes. It is very cold above the clouds in the shantytowns where the Six Winds live.

    You seem an ill-tempered and irascible enough child, said the Green Wind. How would you like to come away with me and ride upon the Leopard of Little Breezes and be delivered to the great sea, which borders Fairyland? I am afraid I cannot go in, as Harsh Airs are not allowed, but I should be happy to deposit you upon the Perverse and Perilous Sea.

    Oh, yes! breathed September, who disapproved deeply of pink-and-yellow teacups and also of small and amiable dogs.

    Well, then, come and sit by me, and do not pull too harshly on my Leopard’s fur, as she bites.

    September climbed out of her kitchen window, leaving a sink full of soapy pink-and-yellow teacups with leaves still clinging to their bottoms in portentous shapes. One of them looked a bit like her father in his long coffee-colored trench coat, gone away over the sea with a rifle and gleaming things on his hat. One of them looked a bit like her mother, bending over a stubborn airplane engine in her work overalls, her arm muscles bulging. One of them looked a bit like a squashed cabbage. The Green Wind held out his hand, snug in a green glove, and September took both his hands and a very deep breath. One of her shoes came loose as she hoisted herself over the sill, and this will be important later, so let us take a moment to bid farewell to her prim little mary jane with its brass buckle as it clatters onto the parquet floor. Good-bye, shoe! September will miss you soon.

    *   *   *

    Now, said the Green Wind, when September was firmly seated in the curling emerald saddle, her hands knotted in the Leopard’s spotted pelt, there are important rules in Fairyland, rules from which I shall one day be exempt, when my papers have been processed at last and I am possessed of the golden ring of diplomatic immunity. I am afraid that if you trample upon the rules, I cannot help you. You may be ticketed or executed, depending on the mood of the Marquess.

    Is she very terrible?

    The Green Wind frowned into his brambly beard. All little girls are terrible, he admitted finally, but the Marquess, at least, has a very fine hat.

    Tell me the rules, said September firmly. Her mother had taught her chess when she was quite small, and she felt that if she could remember which way knights ought to go, she could certainly remember Fairy rules.

    First, no iron of any kind is allowed. Customs is quite strict on this point. Any bullets, knives, maces, or jacks you might have on your person will be confiscated and smelted. Second, the practice of alchemy is forbidden to all except young ladies born on Tuesdays—

    I was born on a Tuesday!

    It is certainly possible that I knew that, the Green Wind said with a wink. Third, aviary locomotion is permitted only by means of Leopard or licensed Ragwort Stalk. If you find yourself not in possession of one of these, kindly confine yourself to the ground. Fourth, all traffic travels widdershins. Fifth, rubbish takeaway occurs on second Fridays. Sixth, all changelings are required to wear identifying footwear. Seventh, and most important, you may in no fashion cross the borders of the Worsted Wood, or you will either perish most painfully or be forced to sit through a very tedious tea service with several spinster hamadryads. These laws are sacrosanct, except for visiting dignitaries and spriggans. Do you understand?

    September, I promise you, tried very hard to listen, but the rushing winds kept blowing her dark hair into her face. I … I think so…, she stammered, pulling her curls away from her mouth.

    Obviously, the eating or drinking of Fairy foodstuffs constitutes a binding contract to return at least once a year in accordance with seasonal myth cycles.

    September started. What? What does that mean?

    The Green Wind stroked his neatly pointed beard. It means: Eat anything you like, precious cherry child! He laughed like the whistling air through high branches. Sweet as cherries, bright as berries, the light of my moony sky!

    The Leopard of Little Breezes yawned up and farther off from the rooftops of Omaha, Nebraska, to which September did not even wave good-bye. One ought not to judge her: All children are heartless. They have not grown a heart yet, which is why they can climb tall trees and say shocking things and leap so very high that grown-up hearts flutter in terror. Hearts weigh quite a lot. That is why it takes so long to grow one. But, as in their reading and arithmetic and drawing, different children proceed at different speeds. (It is well known that reading quickens the growth of a heart like nothing else.) Some small ones are terrible and fey, Utterly Heartless. Some are dear and sweet and Hardly Heartless at all. September stood very generally in the middle on the day the Green Wind took her, Somewhat Heartless, and Somewhat Grown.

    And so September did not wave good-bye to her house or her mother’s factory, puffing white smoke far below her. She did not even wave good-bye to her father when they passed over Europe. You and I might be shocked by this, but September had read a great number of books and knew that parents are only angry until they have discovered that their little adventurer has been to Fairyland and not the corner pub, and then everything is all right. Instead, she looked straight into the clouds until the wind made her eyes water. She leaned into the Leopard of Little Breezes, whose pelt was rough and bright, and listened to the beating of her huge and thundering heart.

    *   *   *

    If you don’t mind my asking, Sir Wind, said September after a respectable time had passed, how does one get to Fairyland? After a while, we shall certainly pass India and Japan and California and simply come round to my house again.

    The Green Wind chuckled. I suppose that would be true if the earth were round.

    I’m reasonably sure it is…

    You’re going to have to stop that sort of backward, old-fashioned thinking, you know. Conservatism is not an attractive trait. Fairyland is a very Scientifick place. We subscribe to all the best journals.

    The Leopard of Little Breezes gave a light roar. Several small clouds skipped huffily out of their path.

    "The earth, my dear, is roughly trapezoidal, vaguely rhomboid, a bit of a tesseract, and altogether grumpy when its fur is stroked the wrong way! In short, it is a puzzle, my autumnal acquisition, like the interlocking silver rings your aunt Margaret brought back from Turkey when you were nine."

    How did you know about my aunt Margaret? exclaimed September, holding her hair back with one hand.

    I happened to be performing my usual noontime dustup just then. She wore a black skirt; you wore your yellow dress with the monkeys on it. Harsh Airs have excellent memories for things they have ruffled.

    September smoothed the lap of her now-wrinkled and rumpled orange dress. She liked anything orange: leaves; some moons; marigolds; chrysanthemums; cheese; pumpkin, both in pie and out; orange juice; marmalade. Orange is bright and demanding. You can’t ignore orange things. She once saw an orange parrot in the pet store and had never wanted anything so much in her life. She would have named it Halloween and fed it butterscotch. Her mother said butterscotch would make a bird sick and, besides, the dog would certainly eat it up. September never spoke to the dog again—on principle.

    The puzzle is not unlike those rings, said the Green Wind, tipping his gaze over his green spectacles. We are going to unlock the earth and lock it up again, and when we have done it, we shall be in another ring, which is to say, Fairyland. It won’t be long now.

    And indeed, in the icy-blue clouds above the world, a great number of rooftops began to peek out. They were all very tall and very rickety: cathedral towers made of nailed boards, cupolas of rusted metal, obelisks of tattered leaves and little more, huge domes like the ones September had seen in books about Italy, but with many of their bricks punched out, broken, turned to dust. Just the sorts of buildings where wind howls hardest, whistles loudest, screams highest. The tips and tops of everything were frozen—including the folk that flew and flittered through the town, bundled up tight much like the Green Wind himself, their jodhpurs and jackets black or rosy or yellow, their cheeks puffed out and round, like the cherubs blowing at the corners of old maps.

    Welcome, September, to the city of Westerly, my home, where live all the Six Winds in nothing at all like harmony.

    It’s … very nice. And very cold. And I seem to have lost one of my shoes.

    The Green Wind looked down at September’s toes, which were beginning to turn slightly purple. Being at least a bit of a gentleman, he shuffled off his smoking jacket and guided her arms into it. The sleeves were far too big, but the jacket had learned a drop or two of manners in its many travels and adjusted itself around September’s little body, puffing up and drawing in until it was quite like her own skin.

    I think I look a little like a pumpkin, whispered September, secretly delighted. I’m all green and orange.

    She looked down. On her wide, emerald velvet lapel, the jacket had grown a little orange brooch for her, a jeweled key. It sparkled as though made out of the sun itself. The jacket warmed slightly with bashfulness and with hoping she’d be pleased.

    The shoe is a very great loss, I won’t lie, clucked the Green Wind. But one must make sacrifices if one is to enter Fairyland. His voice dropped confidentially. Westerly is a border town, and the Red Wind is awfully covetous. Terribly likely your shoe would have been stolen eventually, anyway.

    The Green Wind and September entered Westerly smoothly, the Leopard of Little Breezes being extra careful not to jostle the landing. They strode down Squamish Thoroughfare, where big-cheeked Blue and Golden Winds went about their grocery shopping, piling their arms with tumbleweeds for rich, thorny salads. Clouds spun and blew down the street the way old paper blows in the cities you and I have seen. They were heading for two spindly pillars at the end of the Thoroughfare, pillars so enormous that September could not see right away that they were actually people, incredibly tall and thin, their faces huge and long. She could not tell if they were men or women, but they were hardly thicker than a pencil and taller than any of the bell towers and high platforms of Westerly. Their feet went straight down through the clouds, disappearing in a puff of cumulus. They both wore thin circular glasses, darkened to keep out the bright Westerly sun.

    Who are they? whispered September.

    That’s Latitude, with the yellow belt, and Longitude, with the paisley cravat. We can’t get very far without them, so be polite.

    I thought latitude and longitude were just lines on maps.

    They don’t like to have their pictures taken. That’s how it is with famous folk. Everyone wants to click, click, click away at you. It’s very annoying. They made a bargain with the Cartographers’ Guild several hundred years ago—symbolic representations only, out of respect, you understand.

    September felt very quiet in front of Latitude and Longitude. Being young, she was used to most people being taller than she was. But this was of another order entirely, and she hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast, and travel by Leopard is very tiring. She didn’t think she ought to curtsy, as that was old-fashioned, so she bowed from the waist. The Green Wind looked amused and copied her bow.

    Latitude yawned. The inside of his mouth was bright blue, the color of the ocean on school maps. Longitude sighed in a bored sort of way.

    Well, you wouldn’t expect them to speak, would you? The Green Wind looked slightly embarrassed. They’re celebrities! They’re very private.

    I thought you said there would be a puzzle, said September, catching Latitude’s yawn. The Green Wind picked at his sleeve, as though miffed that she was not more impressed.

    When you solve a jigsaw puzzle, he said, how do you do it, pumpkin-dear?

    September shuffled her cold foot on the smooth blue stone of the Thoroughfare. Well … you start with the corners, and then you fill in the edges to make a frame, and then work inward until all the pieces fit.

    And, historically, how many winds are there?

    September thought back to her book of myths, which had been bright orange and therefore one of her favorite possessions.

    Four, I think.

    The Green Wind grinned, his green lips curling under a green mustache. Quite so: Green, Red, Black, and Gold. Of course, those are roughly family designations, like Smith or Gupta. And actually there is also Silver and Blue, but they’ve made trouble off the coast of Tunisia and have had to go to bed without supper. So the fact remains: Today, we are the corners. He gestured at the placid Latitude and Longitude. They are the edges. And you, September—he gently pulled a strand of September’s hair free of her brooch—are the middle pieces, all funny shaped and stubborn.

    I don’t understand, Sir.

    "Well, it’s all in the verbiage. One of the pieces is a girl hopping widdershins on one foot, nine revolutions. One is wear motley colors. One is clap hand over one eye. One is give something up. One is have a feline in attendance."

    But that’s easy!

    "Mostly easy. But Fairyland is an old place, and old things have strange hungers. One of the last pieces is: There must be blood. The other is: Tell a lie."

    September bit her lip. She had never been fond of jigsaw puzzles, even though her grandmother loved them and had glued one thousand pieces all over her house as a kind of wallpaper. Slowly, trying to remember it all, she clapped one hand over her eye. She raised one foot and hopped in what she hoped was widdershins around the Leopard of Little Breezes. Her orange dress flapped against the green jacket shining in the sun. When she stopped, September unfastened the jeweled orange key from her lapel and pricked her finger sharply with its pin. Blood welled up and dripped onto the blue stones. She laid the key gently at the feet of the impassive Latitude and Longitude and drew a deep breath.

    I want to go home, she lied softly.

    Latitude and Longitude turned smoothly toward each other, as though they were on pedestals. They began to bend and fold like staircases, reaching out for each other and interlocking, hand into hand, foot onto knee, arms akimbo. They moved mechanically in their strange circus dance, jerkily, joints swinging like dolls’. The street shook a little and then was still. Ever so briefly, Latitude and Longitude kissed, and when they parted, there was a space between their mouths just large enough for a Leopard carrying a Harsh Air and a little girl. All September could see on the other side were clouds.

    Solemnly, the Green Wind held out his gloved hand to the girl in orange.

    Well done, September, he said, and lifted her onto the Leopard’s emerald saddle.

    *   *   *

    One can never see what happens after an exeunt on a Leopard. It is against the rules of theatre. But cheating has always been the purview of fairies, and as we are about to enter their domain, we ought to act in accordance with local customs.

    For, you see, when September and the Green Wind had gone through the puzzle of the world on their great cat, the jeweled key rose up and swooped in behind them, as quiet as you like.

    CHAPTER II

    THE CLOSET BETWEEN WORLDS

    In Which September Passes Between Worlds, Asks Four Questions and Receives Twelve Answers, and Is Inspected by a Customs Officer

    By the time a lady reaches the grand, golden evening of her life, she has accumulated a great number of things. You know this—when you visited your grandmother on the lake that summer you were surprised to see how many portraits of people you didn’t recognize hung on the walls and how many porcelain ducks and copper pans and books and collectible spoons and old mirrors and scrap wood and half-finished knitting and board games and fireplace pokers she had stuffed away in the corners of her house. You couldn’t think what use a person would have for all that junk, why they would keep it around for all this time, slowly fading in the sun and turning the same shade of parchmenty brown. You thought your grandmother was a bit crazy, to have such a collection of glass owls and china sugar bowls.

    That is what the space between Fairyland and our world looks like. It is Grandmother’s big, dark closet, her shed out back, her basement, cluttered with the stuff and nonsense of millennia. The world didn’t really know where else to put it, you see. The earth is frugal; she doesn’t toss out perfectly good bronze helmets or spinning wheels or water clocks. She might need them one day. As for all the portraiture: When you’ve lived as long as she has, you’ll need help remembering your grandchildren, too.

    September marveled at the heaps of oddities in the closet between worlds. The ceiling was very low, with roots coming through, and everything had a genteel fade to it, the old lace and code-breaking machines, the anchors and heavy picture frames, the dinosaur bones and orreries. As the Leopard proceeded through the dimly lit passageway, September looked into the painted eyes of pharaohs and blind poets, chemists and serene philosophers. September could tell they were philosophers because they had on drapey clothes, like curtains. But most of the portraits were just people, wearing whatever they had liked to wear when they were living, raking hay or writing diaries or baking bread.

    Sir Wind, September said, when she had recovered herself and her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, I want to ask you a question, and I want you to answer me seriously and not call me any pretty names or tease me.

    Of course, my … September. And you can call me Green. I feel we’re becoming very well acquainted.

    Why did you take me out of Omaha? Do you take very many girls? Are they all from Nebraska? Why are you being so nice to me?

    September could not be sure, but she thought the Leopard of Little Breezes laughed. It might have been a snort.

    That’s rather more than one question. Therefore, I think it’s only fair I give you rather more than one set of answers. He cleared his throat dramatically. One: Omaha is no place for anybody. Two: No, my schedule keeps me quite busy enough. Three: See above. Four: So that you will like me and not be afraid.

    Up ahead, there was a line of folk in long, colorful coats, moving slowly, checking watches, smoothing hair under hats. The Leopard slowed.

    I said no teasing, said September.

    One: I was lonely. Two: I have been known to spirit a child or two away, I shan’t lie. It is the nature of winds to Snatch and Grasp at things, and Blow Them Away. Three: Nebraska does not grow many of the kinds of girls who ought to go to Fairyland. Four: If I were not nice, and did not know the way to Fairyland, and did not have a rather spectacular cat, you would not smile at me or say amusing things. You would tell me politely that you like teacups and small dogs and to please be on my way.

    They came up short and took their place in line. Everyone towered above September—the line might have been long or short; she could not tell. September leapt off of the Leopard and onto the dry, compact dirt of the closet between worlds. The Green Wind hopped lightly down beside her.

    You said I was ill-tempered! Was that really why?

    One: There is a department in Fairyland entirely devoted to spiriting off young boys and girls (mostly orphans, but we have become more liberal in this late age), so that we may have a ready supply of a certain kind of story to tell when winter comes and there is nothing to do but drink fennel beer and peer at the hearth. Two: See above. Three: Dry, brown places are prime real estate for children who want to escape them. It’s much harder to find wastrels in New York City to fly about on a Leopard. After all, they have the Metropolitan Museum to occupy them. Four: I am not being very nice at all. See how I lie to you and make you do things my way? That is so you will be ready to live in Fairyland, where this sort of thing is considered the height of manners.

    September curled her fists. She tried very hard not to cry.

    Green! Stop it! I just want to know—

    One! Because you were born in—

    If I am special, finished September, halfway between a whisper and a squeak. "In stories, when someone appears in a poof of green clouds and asks a girl to go away on an adventure, it’s because she’s special, because she’s smart and strong and can solve riddles and fight with swords and give really good speeches, and … I don’t know that I’m any of those things. I don’t even know that I’m as ill-tempered as all that. I’m not dull or anything, I know about geography and chess, and I can fix the boiler when my mother has to work. But what I mean to say is: Maybe you meant to go to another girl’s house and let her ride on the Leopard. Maybe you didn’t mean to choose me at all, because I’m not like storybook girls. I’m short and my father ran away with the army and I wouldn’t even be able to keep a dog from eating a

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