Alanna: The First Adventure

Alanna: The First Adventure
Original Atheneum U.S. hardcover of the book featuring the title character.
AuthorTamora Pierce
Cover artistDavid Wiesner
LanguageEnglish
SeriesThe Song of the Lioness
GenreFantasy
PublisherAtheneum
Publication date
September 1983
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
Pages231 pp
ISBN0-689-30994-5
OCLC9219289
LC ClassPZ7.P61464 Al 1983
Followed byIn the Hand of the Goddess 

Alanna: The First Adventure is a fantasy novel by Tamora Pierce. Originally published in 1983, it is the first in a series of four books for young adults, The Song of the Lioness. Pierce originally drafted a single novel aimed at adults, but revised it to a series for young adults after being unable to find a publisher. Set in a time and place where girls are forbidden from becoming knights, the novel details the beginning of Alanna of Trebond's training as a knight as she hides her gender from teachers and fellow pages.

In 2013, Pierce received the Margaret A. Edwards Award from the American Library Association in recognition of her two quartets, Song of the Lioness and Protector of the Small. Edwards Committee Chair Jamie Watson commented that the books in both these quartets "have been influencing both readers and writers of fantasy since their inception".[1]

In 2020, it was included on Time’s list of the top 100 best fantasy books of all time.[2][3]

  1. ^ JFINNEKE (2014-01-23). "Edwards Award 2013". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  2. ^ "How We Chose the 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time". TIME. 2020-10-15. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
  3. ^ McCluskey date, Megan (2020-10-15). "'Alanna: The First Adventure' Is on TIME's List of the 100 Best Fantasy Books". Time. Retrieved 2024-03-26.