Up and down the Scratchy Mountains by Laurel Snyder, Greg Call (Illustrator)

From the Publisher

THIS IS THE tale of Lucy and her best friend, Wynston. Until recently, they spent their days paddling in the river, picking blackberries, and teasing each other mercilessly. But now, King Desmond has insisted that Wynston devote every spare second to ruby-shining and princess-finding. Lucy feels left out. So she sets off for the Scratchy Mountains to solve the mystery of her missing mother. When Wynston discovers that Lucy is gone, he tears after her, and together they embark on a series of strange and wonderful adventures.

Children's Literature

Although Lucy is a milkmaid and Wynston is a prince, they are best friends. Life for the two children is rewarding as they explore the village of Thistle and the surrounding fields and meadows of Bewilderness. Their companionship is based on mutual appreciation, but not on mutual agreement, since they argue most of the time. Debate is just one feature that sparks the pleasure of communication between them. Although from different social classes, Wynston and Lucy have one loss in common, neither have a mother. While the queen is memorialized with lovely paintings, the inquisitive girl knows nothing of her parent, except that she is "gone." The mystery surrounding her mother's absence leaves Lucy with many questions. Not wanting to sadden her father, the spunky young lady keeps these bewildering wonderings to herself, until one fateful day. Suddenly, the king has decided that the time has come for Wynston to choose a princess, and he begins to groom his son for a proper marriage. Misunderstanding the distance that Wynston has put between them, Lucy embarks on her own pilgrimage to find her mother, with only the family cow as company. Danger, distance, and pride separate the two best friends; readers are led up mountains, across rivers, and even into jails on simultaneous quests for a mother lost and a princess desired. Humor, adventure, and a healthy boy-girl attraction fuel the fire of this introductory novel. Readers trust that a sequel is in the writing. Reviewer: Janice DeLong

School Library Journal

Gr 3-6

An adventurous young milkmaid named Lucy decides to climb the Scratchy Mountains to learn more about her mother, who vanished many years before. At the top of a mountain she discovers a town dominated by unnecessary rules, where the weather runs on schedule, and the townspeople live in alphabetical order. Lucy's friend Wynston, who is the prince of their small town, and who is supposed to be looking for a suitable princess to marry, follows her up the mountain and helps her rescue her pet prairie dog. As they work together, their spirited friendship blossoms. Ultimately, they discover that it's okay to bend rules if not break them. This fairy tale, set in a time "before television and interstate highways" in the land of Bewilderness, has appealing characters who grow and develop; clear, accessible language; lively dialogue; and a light humorous tone. While the pacing is a little slow and the central message somewhat heavy-handed, children may enjoy the whimsical setting and the sweet friendship that blossoms between the protagonists.-Mari Pongkhamsing, St. Perpetua School, Lafayette, CA

Kirkus Reviews

This delightfully droll fairy tale features a feisty milkmaid named Lucy and her best friend, Prince Wynston. Wynston has been forced to swap berry-picking adventures with Lucy for lessons in the rules and rituals of courtship, as his father insists that he must find a proper princess to be his future Queen. Dejected and lonely, Lucy decides to embark on a journey up the Scratchy Mountains in search of her mother, who disappeared when Lucy was a baby. In an uncharacteristic act of rebellion, Wynston abandons his lessons and follows Lucy to the hilltop town of Torrent, a town so obsessed with rules and regularity that even the rain must come and go on schedule. On their grand adventure Lucy and Wynston learn the answers to Lucy's questions about her mother and lots more, including the surprising facts that sometimes a prince in need of a future queen need look no further than his own best friend and that, while rules are very important and utterly necessary, so too are loopholes. (Fiction. 7-11)

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