By Zetta Elliott, Rosetta Press, 2024
Zetta Elliott is a Black feminist writer of poetry, plays, essays, novels, and stories for children. She was born and raised in Canada, but have lived in the United States for almost 30 years. She earned her PhD in American Studies from NYU in 2003. She has taught at several colleges and universities. Her poetry and essays have been included in anthologies and journals, respectively.
In an interview on The Children’s Book Podcast, Elliott explains why she wrote The Oracle’s Door, the prequel to Dragons in a Bag. When she was booktalking her Dragons in a Bag series, one child asked her why Ma was so angry. So Elliott thought about the question and wrote the following explanation in the beginning of the book.
“I am an old woman. . . Now that I am finally retired, I have time to look back on
all those years. I will give you this book. Perhaps then you will understand why I
did what I did in the final battle.” (Pages 1-2)
In The Oracle’s Door, Ma tells her story. She is Lavinia Robinson, or “Vinny” as she is called. She is a curious, determined girl who lives on the South side of Chicago. When “Vinny” sees a rainbow, a bird, and hears a voice calling her, Vinny pursues her curiousity and steps into the magical realm. In that magical realm, Vinny, along with her best friend L. Roy tries to save a newborn dragon. Vinny and L. Roy travel back and forth between the magical realm and her own world. Vinny likes the adventures of the magical realm, in which she is learning and developing her magic skills. However, the real world is threatening to hurt the people she loves. She has to do something to save them.
What works: Elliott does an excellent job integrating magic, history, and realism. The reader will enjoy traveling between the magical realms and the real world. The reader will learn about Vinny’s childhood in Chicago and the Red Summer of 1919. Vinny’s character is so well developed that the reader will love her. L. Roy is Vinny’s perfect best friend. His love for science and all the animals really helps Vinny in the magical realm and in the real world too. Elliott was also thoughtful and methodical with Vinny learning how to develop and use her magic skills appropriately.
What doesn’t work: Everything works.
Grab it: Middle grade students will love the adventures, the friendship, and the interesting relationships between parents, grandparents, and children. Science teachers might want to use portions of this story to research animals and their natural environments, and how to care for them. If the reader has not read the Dragon in a Bag series, he/she should grab that series of books too.
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