Friday Reads: The Prince Who Fell From the Sky

This brand-new book promised all sorts of wonder, and though it was very different from what I had envisioned, it still delivered.  It makes me wonder if I should look up the author's other works.  Hmmm....

The Prince Who Fell From the Sky

by John Claude Bemis

For: 8-12 yos

Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy, Postapocalyptic Fiction

Published: 2012

Description: In Casseomae's world, the wolves rule the Forest, and the Forest is everywhere. The animals tell stories of the Skinless Ones, whose cities and roads once covered the earth, but the Skinless disappeared long ago.

Casseomae is content to live alone, apart from the other bears in her tribe, until one of the ancients' sky vehicles crashes to the ground, and from it emerges a Skinless One, a child. Rather than turn him over to the wolves, Casseomae chooses to protect this human cub, to find someplace safe for him to live. But where among the animals will a human child be safe? And is Casseomae threatening the safety of the Forest and all its tribes by protecting him?

Middle-grade fans of postapocalyptic fiction are in for a treat with this fanciful and engaging animal story by the author of the Clockwork Dark trilogy.

Why I Liked It: I thought this was a fresh take on postapocalyptic fiction, since we see this entire story from the point of view of animals instead of humans.  It was interesting to watch how they related to the human boy, and to see how the author weaved in "human" understanding but still kept the animals animals.  Plus there were a few surprises for the animals that I found entertaining (since, as a human reader, I knew something the animal characters didn't).

Do you know of any other middle-grade fiction like this?  If so, please let me know in the comments below.

And happy weekend reading!