I have read the 100 Cupboards books many times over the last half dozen years. And, every time, I love them anew. Of late, Diane and I have been reading a lot of Gary D. Schmidt. He is a true genius and some of his books, Okay For Now in particular, are truly exceptional. While they mostly write in very different genres and styles, Gary D. Schmidt’s books do remind me a little bit of N. D. Wilson’s books. And so, the more Schmidt I read, the more I longed to return to Henry, Kansas, and remember that middle-grade boy who is making his own “big jump” out of childhood and into rightly ordered adolescence.

A few years ago, Audible asked me to be part of a test program for a children’s project they are working on. I was asked to preview and evaluate a new series of children’s stories that were episodic and designed in the style of radio-theatre. As I listened, I was absolutely disgusted. Drawing on the premise of a fairy tale, their program included a short story that sounded an awful lot like Jack and the Beanstalk, except that the main characters were three sisters. In this “new fairy tale,” the sisters escape a giant, save a king, and do all of the things that modernity has taught us girls should do. This program was trying to convince their young listeners that young girls are smarter than kings, craftier than giants, and rescuers of fellow women who are stuck in abusive relationships with ogres. There wasn’t a worthy boy or man in the story. Oh, and, the kids are always smarter and better than all of the adults, of course.

In Dandelion Fire, we have the antidote to this poison. In the first book of the Cupboards trilogy, Henry doesn’t know who he belongs to or where he fits. In this middle book, we spend far more time inside the worlds within the cupboards. We meet Henry’s family, we discover new evil, and we spend a lot of time laughing at bureaucratic faeries. 

In Dandelion Fire, Henry is welcomed home into a large and loving family. Henry’s mother, Hyacinth, has a quiet strength and grace that helps Henry to feel assured of who he is and where he belongs. His father, Mordecai, is kingly and dangerous to witches and evil wizards. Henry has brothers and sisters who are as varied as they are similar. And Henry still has his cousins who are more like sisters to him than his actual sisters. Penelope is sweet and considerate. Anatasia is spirited and sassy. And, Heneritta is the perfect complement to Henry in every way. Additionally, we are delighted that Henry has his uncle Caleb who has been a rock of virtue and leadership for his family during Moredcai’s imprisonment. Not to mention that Henry also has his Uncle Frank whose plain speaking and manly love of family is some of the best reassurance that Henry can get. And, his Aunt Dottie is like a warm hug in every way that matters. And, finally, Zeke. The friend who accepted Henry from the start and who stood strong with Henry when evil was loosed. This large and powerful family draws its strength from its virtue and its love for each other. 

In Wilson’s other series, Glory and Antigone are fierce and powerful girls who are absolutely essential heroines. In the Sam Miracle stories, I think it is Glory and Millie who do the most exciting and necessary things. In the Ashtown series, Antigone, Arachane, and Diana are exciting characters who could never be replaced by boys. Their essential femininity is part of their magic. And, Henry’s mother, Hyacinth may be quiet and thoughtful in the Cupboards books, but in The Door Before, her portrait is the most prominent on the cover. As a young girl, she was the heroine who made all of these books possible. Wilson values girls. And their unique gifts and “magic.” But in every one of his stories, the source of strength for all of his heroes and heroines comes from the fount of rightly ordered relationships, most specifically family relationships. 

This book is incredibly exciting (except for the faerie’s never-ending politics and rule-citing). And it shows good triumphing over evil. When it ends, you absolutely want to reach for the next one, but you also want to linger because you know that you have just read a great story. I continue to assert that these Cupboards books seem to have been partly inspired by The Wizard of Oz and The Magician’s Nephew. 

If you would like to read our review of the first book, click here. If you would like to see our Author Page for N. D. Wilson, click here.