Yolen is a master of creating vivid, magical settings for her stories. From mysterious woodlands in which an even more mysterious unicorn lives to a bustling city soon to be destroyed in which the youngster Merlin learns about human nature, Yolen creates places that linger in the mind long after the story has been read. The village, islands, river, and marsh of "Dragonfield" combine to form a place that seems real, that is memorable for what it is as well as for the fantastic adventure that takes place there.

Yolen has set herself the task of describing a place in such a way that implies a story will be told that explains something about the name. She does this partly by naming the spit of land Dragonfield. "Once dragons dwelt on the isles in great herds" adds to the interest of the story by implying that Dragonfield was...