OTTO OF THE SILVER HAND

In the nineteenth century, authors didn't write the high-action children's books of today. Howard Pyle, who is best known for writing and illustrating THE MERRY ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, wrote OTTO in 1888. Today's kids must bear with a very slow start in order to enjoy this unusual saga of a young boy in medieval Germany, who's imprisoned in the dungeon of the Castle Trutz-Drachen. But Otto himself is often out of the picture, and the intriguing-sounding "silver hand" is little more than a postscript. Narrator Geoffrey Howard gives the story authority with his schoolmaster's voice. Pyle's "Otto" is a piece of literary history, making it a good match with Howard's deep, dispassionate voice. But both narrator and writer seem better suited to adult audiences or kids in love with all things literary. M.C. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 02]