The New Advocate, Fall 1996
What better way to start a new school year than to introduce students to an outspoken, inquiring mind? Kathryn Lasky in The Gates of the Wind introduces us to Gamma Lee, a spunky elderly heroine for children and adults alike. Gamma Lee longs to see more of the world than the town she has never left. The villagers wonder why she would ever want to leave their perfect town. "cool in the summer. snug in the winter, and always peaceful." But Gamma Lee believes there is more to life. And so it is that she sets off for the fabled Gates of the Wind.
With elaborate images and atmospheric prose, Lasky spins a tale that is rich with meaning and ripe for interpretation. Gamma Lee chooses to be a renegade, to believe that life outside the village exists, even though she has never ventured beyond its safety. In the mountains, both at odds and at peace with the wind's moody ways, Gamma Lee finds contentment. Lasky's eloquent and lush sense of language and text woven together with Janet Stevens' glowing illustrations, achieve an effect that is not unlike the wind it self-flowing and encompassing while beckoning readers to wove with the story's pace. The illustrations or Gamma Lee, hair twining wildly around her, are breathtaking. Her strength and vitality, her solid presence, and airy oneness with the wind are among the many highlights of this fine union between a noted author and an extraordinary illustrator.