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Journey to Mythaca
By Eve Neuhaus
Two children, an impulsive flying horse, a wise winged cat and a slightly hard-of-hearing dragon go on a quest for the long-lost city of Mythaca
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Description
Ivan, nearly eleven, and Marianna, twelve, find themselves in a miniature world when they shelter under a bush on a rainstorm. When Ivan brags about his city home, Magellan, a winged equus (please don't call him a horse), and Paracelsus, an ancient dragon, are convinced that the boy is describing the fabled city of Mythaca. As soon as Paracelsus gets the spell right and the children are small enough to ride on the backs of the mythical creatures, the four are off on a quest through worlds within worlds within worlds.
Full of gentle humor and wisdom, Journey to Mythaca is a story about stories, set at the border between belief and reality. When Ivan loses patience with Paracelsus's tales of Maya, he cries out, "Why should I believe you? Have you ever seen her? Everything you know is just stories!" to which Paracelsus replies mildly, "Stories? It's all stories, Ivan. Our lives are stories. We live stories." In the end, beyond the uncertainty of not-knowing that that understanding brings, the children discover that some things, such as music, love, and friendship, have magical power in all the worlds they visit.
Journey to Mythaca
"It's all stories," the ancient dragon tells Ivan. (Life, love, and the universe, essentially!) I sort of knew that, but like Ivan, it never helps to be reminded. The characters are wonderful and interact beautifully. The villain, Maya, is a snake who can talk to her tail, which seems to have a life and form of its own. Paracelsus is the dragon who doesn't seem to hear well, but has the wisdom of ages. All together, an entrancing story.