(2) YA Illustrated by John Lawrence. Before the events of His Dark Materials, twenty-four-year-old Lee Scoresby crash-lands on the island of Novy Odense. There, he's sucked into a political struggle and meets the fearsome, inscrutable Iorek Byrnison. This adventure exudes the breezy charm of an old-fashioned Western thanks to its fast-talking, straight-shooting hero. Engraved spot illustrations add to the tapestry of Pullman's fully realized alternate world.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2008

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by John Lawrence. Two years after the conclusion of The Amber Spyglass, Lyra and her daemon are home in Oxford, where one afternoon they see a flock of starlings attack another bird. Lyra realizes the bird is a witch's daemon and goes to the rescue. The story, a pendant to the His Dark Materials epic trilogy, is admirably self-contained. Readers get their own puzzles to ponder in the included fold-out map, postcard, travel guide page, and cruise brochure.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2004