Caesar's Antlers

by Brooks Hansen

As he travels on his own mission in Norway, a reindeer named Caesar is joined by a mother sparrow searching with her two chicks for her lost mate. The object of their search was rescued from an accident by a well-meaning schoolgirl, but has been taken miles away and is desperately seeking them as well. This unique adventure shows devotion, perseverance, and self-sacrifice are richly rewarded.

Genres: Fiction, Animals, Childrens, Adventure

Library Binding

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Brooks Hansen is an American novelist, screenwriter, and illustrator best known for his 1995 book The Chess Garden. He has also written one young adult's novel. He lives with his family in Carpinteria, California. He attended Harvard University and was the recipient of the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in 2005.

Reviews

[Sarah B · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a pleasure to read! And I am surprised that so few people have read this one as it is an excellent animal based adventure story - although it is very unusual. I will admit that. The entire situation in here is kind of far fetched but than I suppose so are wizards or dragons or the other things you find in children's books. At the heart of this tale you have kindness, generosity during bad times and a willingness to help strangers. And all of those are very important things.

The story starts out with a herd of reindeer and we meet Caesar. He already has a name and the reindeer work with humans. And Caesar is given a mission. A slay is attached to him and he is to pull a special cargo somewhere...

Then we meet two young sparrows: Bette and Piorello. In my opinion the birds actually have a much bigger role in the story than Caesar has and they are the ones driving the entire plot. Anyway something happens and the two birds are separated. Bette meets Caesar and he decides to help her and her two children look for her lost mate. And that is how he ends up carrying the bird nest on his head!

The story moves at a good pace and there are many unexpected plot developments too. In fact the one incident truly shocked me! In fact in a strange way I still don't understand it?

Now when I read books like this if the story really captures my imagination like this one did, I will try to figure out other things. Things like where the story itself takes place. The location. And that is where I ran into a problem. Mind you this is not a plot problem - it's just me trying to better understand the setting to satisfy my own curiosity. Sometimes my autism kind of drives me to do that. Anyway the back of the book says "in the uplands of Norway" but the human girl in the story later states she goes back to "Newcastle". And as far as I can tell, Newcastle is in Ireland. But there are no reindeer in Ireland and there is no Newcastle in Norway! So where does that leave the setting? Needless to say I am confused. I do believe her school she attended was in the UK. And the straight that is crossed could fit either! So... ? I suppose I will never know. Maybe there is a small town in Norway called Newcastle? Places do seem to enjoy reusing names.

I also don't understand the bit about the human attaching the sled to Caesar and then he has to go that distance on his own? It seems very irresponsible. There are too many things that could go wrong. But I suppose the plot wouldn't work if a human was along with Caesar.

Definitely enjoyed this!

[Grace Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

i read this in german, but it was one of my favorite reads when i was younger, so i'll just drop off five stars <3

[Kayla Zabcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

86%

a sweet and dreamy animal tale. it's a tad unusual, but it felt much-needed in the genre

[Mariangel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of two sparrows, each separated from its mate, as they both journey in search of each other with the help of other animals. It's a quiet, magical winter tale.

[Holley Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful book, Albeit, really a young adult novel in adult parlance, giving but a smaller audience perhaps ?

[Carfig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Parallel stories involving two birds who are separated right after their eggs hatch. I thought the reindeer would be the main character, but he is mostly there to provide a nesting site for the mother bird and two hatchlings.

[Joy Boyz · Rating 3 out of 5]

We should've waited a year for this one, I did lots of editing on the fly.