Keenan Mowat was about to go out to sea one day when an old man told him that if he was going, he should take a hook, an axe, and a silver knife, and that if big waves were about to toss the ship, he should throw those things, one at a time, into the heart of the wave. The boat already had hooks and axes, but there wasn’t anything silver on the boat, so Keenan ran into a nearby inn and stole a silver butter knife.

“Keenan opened his mouth to reply, but found his own voice entirely missing. The strange man growled on, and raised a warning finger before the boy’s eyes.”

Once Keenan and his boat got out to sea, huge waves started to attack the boat. Keenan threw the hook at the first wave, which then collapsed, much to his surprise. He then threw the axe at the second wave, which also collapsed. The third wave reached the sky, but Keenan thought it was beautiful. However, when he threw the knife at this wave, it split in two, and vanished, along with the knife. But this was not the end of his adventures.

This book was kind of confusing, but very enjoyable. It was mysterious and followed the pattern of the great, classic fairy tales, including magic and romance and hidden identities and cryptic messages and enigmatic objects. The book is short, but will immerse you in its story, and the illustrations add to the mystical and otherwordly feel. Mother Cary’s Butter Knife by Nicola Davies and Anja Uhren is a new fairy tale that already feels like a classic.

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