Whitson Mariner, king of a settlement of displaced rabbits on the shores of Lake Ayman has much to worry about—rebuilding the hopes of his shattered subjects, providing fuel to warm them through winter, and protecting them from the terrors that seem to find out the rabbits of Golden Coast. Whitson commissions Fleck Blackstar, a miner, to explore and locate a fuel source for the struggling colony. The rabbits build a great ship to cross the lake and explore the Bleak Hills on the far side. Will they find what they’re looking for, or will the terrors find them?
The Black Star of Kingston is a nicely illustrated well written middle grade fantasy. Smith personifies animals, in this case rabbits, in an endearing and well developed fashion that celebrates courage and other positive character traits in a fast moving plot that keeps kids reading. With attention to detail that sparks imagination, this is a classic good versus evil fantasy reminiscent of Bryan Jaques’ Redwall Series, both of which are clean reads written from the authors’ Christian worldview.
Age Range: 10 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Story Warren Books, 2015
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