This is a charming and bizarre book. The historical detail is meticulous and the story is seriously told, but full of dippers: "furry, ungainly dog-like creatures with leathery wings, creatures unnerving but not dangerous, yet another fact of life to get used to." The story is told as a pseudo-memoir in a series of vignettes; not an easy narrative for younger children to follow. Despite the picture book format, it is a story for older children and adults, with insights to give into the unnerving but not necessarily dangerous nature of life. ( )