It’s certainly the only children’s fantasy around where Minnesota Twins All-Star catcher Joe Mauer figures into the plot. But that was before he stopped talking to her and. Once upon a time, Hazel and Jack were best friends. Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu, Erin McGuire (Illustrator) 4.5 (95) Paperback 7.99 Hardcover 16.99 Paperback 7.99 eBook 7.99 Audiobook 0. The creepy fantasyland that Hazel traverses uses bits from other Andersen tales to create a story that, though melancholy, is beautifully written and wholly original. In Breadcrumbs, Anne Ursu tells, in her one-of-a-kind voice, a story that brings together fifty years of childrens literature in a tale as modern as it is timeless. The winner of numerous awards and recipient of four starred reviews, Anne Ursus Breadcrumbs is a stunning and heartbreaking story of growing up, wrapped in a modern-day fairy tale. Ursu offers many winks at avid fans of fairy tales and fantasy (Jack’s mother looks “like someone had severed her daemon”).

A sadness as heavy as a Northwoods snowfall pervades this story, though it has its delights, too. When Jack disappears with an ethereal woman on a sled pulled by wolves, Hazel heads into the wintry and enchanted Minnesota woods to rescue him. Hazel is devastated, but readers learn the cause of Jack’s alienation is a shard of magical mirror lodged in his heart. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Breadcrumbs by Ursu, Anne Mcguire, Erin, Hardcover, Used - Very Good at the best online. Money is tight, her parents have divorced, and her best friend, Jack, suddenly rebuffs her. Richly imaginative fifth-grader Hazel, adopted from India, has recently switched schools and is failing (badly) to fit in. Trilogy with this deeply felt, modern-day fantasy that borrows plot from Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen.

Breadcrumbs by Erin Mcguire