Caleng and the Moonstone Pearl
By Maria Romero 

     The story begins as two young siblings attend a camp-out with their beloved grandfather. It is soon bedtime, and the evening winds down with a story around the campfire. The grandfather begins a fantastical tale of a wonderful world in a place not so far away known as Goliad.

     In a small hamlet in this land was a castle known as Brzden where a young faerie prince is growing up lonely and into very much mischief. This imp's name is Caleng, son of Perret. Caleng's mother died very soon after his birth, and his father had descended into a deep grief.

     In this wonderful tale Caleng, is approaching an age when he feels he must prove his mettle. The opportunity to do so is presented in a most sinister way when an evil wizard DnBrht seeks to destroy all that Caleng holds dear. And so his journey begins.

     Along the journey, the reader is introduced to many strange and wonderful creatures. There is Quiggles, Caleng's ten-and-a-half-foot-tall guardian; Jwbrylla, a cranky old witch that may just have a heart of gold; and Nicole, a flat-eared human.

      Many more wonderful creatures also reside within these pages: dwarves, trolls, witches, faeries, sprites, dragons and other wondrous creatures.

     This is a wonderful book to give a young person who has discovered the Harry Potter books and is in search of more fantasy-type reading. Anything that encourages a young reader is fair game to me.