{"id":214236,"date":"2025-04-30T06:16:02","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T06:16:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/entertainment\/books\/baby-steps-kirkus-reviews\/"},"modified":"2025-04-30T06:16:02","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T06:16:02","slug":"baby-steps-kirkus-reviews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=214236","title":{"rendered":"BABY STEPS | Kirkus Reviews"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n by
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\n Millie Florence
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\n illustrated by
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\n Astrid Sheckels
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

\u2027<\/span>
\n RELEASE DATE: Jan. 7, 2025<\/span>\n <\/p>\n

\n An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.\n <\/p>\n

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Our Verdict<\/p>\n

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  • \n \"Our\n <\/li>\n
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    GET IT<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

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    In Florence\u2019s middle-grade fantasy novel, a young girl\u2019s heart is tested in the face of an evil, spreading Darkness.<\/p>\n

    Eleven-year-old Lydia, \u201cfreckle-cheeked and round-eyed, with hair the color of pine bark and fair skin,\u201d is struggling with the knowledge that she has reached the age to apprentice as an herbalist. Lydia is reluctant to leave her beloved, magical Mulberry Glen and her cozy Housetree in the woods\u2014she\u2019ll miss Garder, the Glen\u2019s respected philosopher; her fairy guardian Pit; her human friend Livy; and even the mischievous part-elf, part-imp, part-human twins Zale and Zamilla. But the twins go missing after hearing of a soul-sapping Darkness that has swallowed a forest and is creeping into minds and engulfing entire towns. They have secretly left to find a rare fruit that, it is said, will stop the Darkness if thrown into the heart of the mountain that rises out of the lethal forest. Lydia follows, determined to find the twins before they, too, fall victim to the Darkness. During her journey, accompanied by new friends, she gradually realizes that she herself has a dangerous role to play in the quest to stop the Darkness. In this well-crafted fantasy, Florence skillfully equates the physical manifestation of Darkness with the feelings of insecurity and powerlessness that Lydia first struggles with when thinking of leaving the Glen. Such negative thoughts grow more intrusive the closer she and her friends come to the Darkness\u2014and to Lydia\u2019s ultimate, powerfully rendered test of character, which leads to a satisfyingly realistic, not quite happily-ever-after ending. Highlights include a delightfully haunting, reality-shifting library and a deft sprinkling of Latin throughout the text; Pit\u2019s pet name for Lydia is mea flosculus <\/i>(\u201cmy little flower\u201d). Fine-lined ink drawings introducing each chapter add a pleasing visual element to this well-grounded fairy tale.<\/p>\n

    An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.<\/p><\/div>\n

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    Pub Date:<\/b> Jan. 7, 2025<\/p>\n

    ISBN:<\/b> 9781956393095<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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    Page Count:<\/b> 288<\/p>\n

    Publisher:<\/b> Waxwing Books<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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    Review Posted Online:<\/b> Oct. 14, 2024<\/p>\n

    Kirkus Reviews Issue:<\/b> Jan. 1, 2025<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

    Share your opinion of this book<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n