Book Summary

Part adventure story and part fable; exciting, beautifully told, rich in humor and wisdom, The Old Country is the work of an artist and storyteller at the height of his powers.

From the winner of the 2004 Caldecott Medal comes a memorable new work, a novel of singular insight and imagination that transports readers to the Old Country, where "all the fairy tales come from, where there was magic -- and there was war." There, Gisella stares a moment too long into the eyes of a fox, and she and the fox exchange shapes. Gisella's quest to get her girl-body back takes her on a journey across a war-ravaged country that has lost its shape. She encounters magic, bloodshed, and questions of power and justice -- until finally, looking into the eyes of the fox once more, she faces a strange and startling choice about her own nature. Part adventure story and part fable; exciting, beautifully told, rich in humor and wisdom, The Old Country is the work of an artist and storyteller at the height of his powers.

Author's Note
I think all stories are about the mystery of being human. My childhood curiosity about my grandparents' mysterious 'Old Country,' and a chance encounter with a fox in the woods, came together and were first explored in a short story I called Fox Eyes. But the ideas continued to grow and ripen and join with images from a Wallace Stevens poem read long before, until suddenly, after several years, I found myself writing The Old Country, which almost seemed to write itself. How can I be sure these ideas are finished with me? There may be more to come."