Reviews (1)

Wonderful Book!
This is a wonderful book/tape to use in teaching EFL to youngsters. My colleagues and I have used it in several courses that we have taught and it was always a success.Highly recommend! ... Read more

Book Description

In print for more than three decades and translated into dozens of languages, here is the audio release of the first book in The Earthsea Trilogy. This is a tale of wizards, dragons, and shadows, played in an archipelago of imagined islands. The young boy Sparrowhawk becomes apprentice to a Master Wizard; but impatience to learn faster takes him far from home to Roke Island, where he enters the School for Wizards. As a student of magic, Sparrowhawk exceeds his years in accomplishment, but pride and jealousy drive the boy to try certain dangerous powers too soon. A terrible evil is let loose in the land. ... Read more

Reviews (284)

Inexplicably entrancing
I swore I wouldn't read Ursula Le Guin for the longest time, but curiosity won out over other things. I picked up a copy of "Wizard of Earthsea" at my local library and settled down to read it.

This book follows the wizard Ged, who was born in a Earthsea (a grouping of many, many islands) village in Gont. The boy soon shows signs of great power, the ability to call animals and to laugh even when his tongue has been bound by a spell. But he surpasses the expectations when he saves the village from invaders.

A mage named Ogion apprentices Ged--who is known as Sparrowhawk, as knowledge of his true name would give anyone power over him. But Ogion's discipline and lessons are full of silence and self-examination, something which soon sends Ged to the school for mages in Roke. At the school, he meets two boys that will help shape his destiny: kind, easygoing Vetch, and arrogant Jasper who mocks Ged at every turn.

The boys all study and grow in their power, but Jasper's pride is unchanged. He finally mocks Ged into a magical duel, and Ged attempts a dangerous magic: to waken a long-dead woman. A monstrous creature made of shadow appears with the woman, and attacks Ged, nearly killing him. Ged remains within the school from then on, for the shadow is pursuing him.

But upon the completion of his studies, the now-wiser wizard sets off to an island, where the dread Dragon of Pendor is attacking the natives with its children. The dragon offers him a way to escape the shadow, but Ged refuses for the sake of others. Later, he is tempted again by an entranced queen and a magical Stone -- but again he refuses for the greater good. As the shadow closes in on Ged and his life becomes increasingly imperiled, he must discern what -- and who -- it is, to make himself truly whole.

I do not know WHY I liked this book as much as I did. It has many qualities that often annoy me in fantasy - several years are skipped over in a few pages; we know little of Ged's thoughts and emotions aside from "Ged felt this" and "Ged knew that"; it is also written in a spare mythologic style, which is occasionally broken for interludes of spellbinding nature description. It's a little difficult to visualize some scenes, such as Ged's battle with the dragons, but is relatively easy considering the lack of illustration. (I also liked the maps)

Ged is a classic hero of high SF and fantasy: he is talented and initially hot-headed, but through his misfortunes is tempered into a more selfless, albeit scarred person (both physically and emotionally). A little like Obi-Wan Kenobi of the Jedi Apprentice novels. I really fell in love with Vetch, though, that gave it an entire star. Vetch is such a DARLING, so kind and understanding toward his haunted friend.

I wouldn't qualify this book as being equal to Tolkien (NOTHING can match the Master!) but it definitely has a good place among the high fantasy books. Le Guin's mythologic style and Eastern philosophy tones may not be to everyone's taste, so I advise you to get a peek at a chapter of the Earthsea books before you decide whether or not to buy this.

I'll definitely read "Tombs of Atuan" and "Farthest Shore," but am not sure about "Tehanu" (though as a fifth book is reportedly forthcoming, I may read it anyhow). "Wizard of Earthsea" is not the best, but it is pretty high up there.

Terse, mystical, profound
It is an insult to the genius of this book to try to describe it in layman's terms. Words just don't do justice. Le Guin always proves that she has a unique outlook on the world, and the Earthsea books are no exception.

The Wizard of Earthsea is the first part of a series of (now) four books. This part details the origins and youth of Ged - a boy from a backwater village in the great archipelago world of Earthsea. With a magical feat that saves his entire community from barbaric invaders, he shows himself to be greatly proficient in the Art. He is apprenticed to a sorceror (who nevertheless hides under the guise of a simple healer), and makes his way to the Academy on the Island of Roke. There, out of his great pride, he unleashes a shadow-thing in a contest of forbidden magics. Injured, scarred both physically and mentally, he now must flee the thing he brought into this world - or confront it.

One of the most surprising and masterful twists is the terse, epic writing: Le Guin does not spend time to write whole descriptive paragraphs; she sets the scenes with broad strokes of a few sentences, focusing on the most important events. This book is very quick reading.

Ged is an inspiring character. He can be crudely compared to Ender from Orson Scott Card's writings, or perhaps Taran from Lloyd Alexander's, in that he wields great power, by which he is burdened. The reader quickly becomes attached to his grim, brooding persona, as his quest takes him through the world. Ged is also a powerful role-model: he must acknowledge his undeniable talent and shed his fears of losing control of his powers.

The Wizard of Earthsea is undoubtedly a classic, a powerful work of high fantasy and spiritual development.

There's More to Earthsea than the Trilogy
Reading the Earthsea Trilogy was one of the highlights of my childhood. Discovering that it had become the Earthsea Quartet and now Quintet is one of the highlights of life today. Why it's still being featured as a trilogy when there are two further books to be read, I don't understand!

Le Guin is the daughter of anthropologists and through all her fiction there is a deep, ingrained understanding of societies work and how they are built and evolve (or disintegrate). It's very interesting to see how her own interests have matured and deepened over the decades of writing this series - the latest Earthsea Title - The Other Wind is a fabulous rendition of concerns about gender/sexism/prejudice and the very nature of things. BUT that's for the grown ups, what really matters is that underneath all her incisive intelligence Ursula Le Guin tells a gripping, exciting and devastating series of stories that come at one in a rush of tight telling and delicately realised plots. She is simply one of the greatest writers for older children - or anyone! So start with the Wizard himself, then read on and on....

Where Are The Negative Stars When You Need Them?
I give this book five stars. No, wait, I mean negative five. I cried when I read this book. Seriously, I ran and sobbed in the closet for about half an hour; that's how much I hated it.

There are much, much better fantasy stories out there. I'm very strict with myself about the integrity of my reading- that is, I don't allow myself to skip anything or skim over boring parts. Unfortunately, I realized after I was finished with AWoE, the whole novel was one enormous boring part and I should have flipped through the pages and called it a day.

The author has somehow managed to turn an archetypal journey into an over-reaching, unsubtle literary disaster.

A VERY Inspiring Start into the Fantasy World
I read this book in about 3 days, on and off, and I was so inspired by it. It wasn't my first fantasy book, but it made me want to read more and more of the genre (despite my decision to read all fantasy series years ago). It is so exciting to read this book. I read it at age 13, and am saddened to think I hadn't read it earlier. It has all of the elements of a fantasy book, but is written better than most. It doesn't overkill with words like Terry Brooks (whose writing I do love, especially Shannara) or say too little. You love the technique (Le Guin is the best female fantasy/science fiction writer in the world, in my opinion). I can't describe the feeling you have towards Duny/Sparrowhawk/Ged, and are saddened when it ends after, what, 160 pages? That is the only downside: This book is so short. At least there are 5 others in the series, though. This is a piece of literature that every elementary school student should read. I am happy to say I will introduce this to my nephews/nieces when they grow up. It will be worth it for them.

Darn it, this review made me want to read it again. I knew that would happen.... ... Read more

Book Description

Ten-year-old Danny lives in a gypsy caravan, works on cars all day, and has a best friend who never runs out of surprises and inventions—his father. When Danny's dad shares the secret passion he's been hiding, the two embark on a unique adventure involving a can't-lose plan sure to make Danny the "champion of the world."

... Read more

Reviews (65)

Something for your son and something for your dad.
In "Danny the Champion of the World" Roald Dahl tells a loving story of a father and his son, Danny. Danny grow up without a mother, but Danny's father is just enough for him to live happily. His father loves Danny more than anything else in the world, and Danny loves his father and teasures every momment with him. Danny helps his father in their automobile repair station, and they live in an old gypsy caravan. Just when Danny thinks everything is wonderful in life, one night his father disappears into the forest with a deep secret. Danny soon discovers his father's secret and that's when the adventure begins.

This is a great book for every child with or without a father, and it is a great book for every father to read as a bedtime story for his children. This is probably my best book of all Roald Dahl!

Chamioning Danny
Roald Dahl is the best children's story teller I have ever read. His stories are creative, compassionate, well written, and meaningful, which of course isn't nearly as important to young readers as the fact that they are just plain fun. Danny the Champion of the World is the story of a young boy and his widower father trying to poach pheasants from a local aristocrat's property. Their appoach is creative and their adventure is exciting, but their relationship is also touching and very effective. It is very easy book and enjoyable for children, and for adults who know how nice a realtionship with children like the one Danny and his father share, it is a touching story. This book is meant to be read aloud, but it is a wonderful story for anyone to read to themselves as well.

The only Dahl book I haven't found to be Wonderful
This is the sixth Roald Dahl book that I have read to my girls (who are now ages 7 and 6), and all of the previous books (Charlie and Chocolate Factory, The BFG, James and the Giant Peach, Witches, and Matilda) were all wonderful. That being said, this book however was not at all wonderful, and unfortunately it is the first Dahl book that I wouldn't recommend.

While Roald Dahl generally champions such issues as child neglect, corporal punishment, and preaches against the dangers of too much television, or relying to heavily on calculators (all worthy issues), here instead for some reason or other, he comes out in support of larceny and cheating.

"Danny the Champion of the World" is about a poor boy who lives with his father in an old caravan behind the gas station they own. The father is a widower and the father and son love each other very much. They don't have much money, but they don't have any wants either. They seem to live a very peaceful and happy life. Danny's father seems to be a wonderful guy who teaches Danny the trade of being a mechanic in hopes that one day he might be a great inventor. His father is also a great story teller, and one of the bed time stories he tells Danny is about the BFG (The Big Friendly Giant). (I can only assume Dahl used this initial premise to go on to write the full story in his BFG novel that was very good.)

At this early stage in the story I thought it was a great book, but then things go wrong. You come to find out that Danny's lovable father has been keeping a secret from Danny. After he gets injured he finally has to tell Danny that he used to love to go up to Mr. Hazel's wood who is the richest man in town, and steal his pheasants, and that he has started to do it again. Not only does he tell Danny that he used to do it, but that he tells him that his mother, his grandfather, and some other very good people who Danny has respected all his life in the town used to steal pheasants as well.

Right here is where Dahl loses me. I've come to understand through his other writings that Roald Dahl was a big fan of Charles Dickens and probably liked Dicken's character of the Artful Dodger very much, but his attempt to create a similar character in "Danny the Champion of the World" here fails miserably. The problem was that he goes on to say that it wasn't because they were poor and needed the food that they were going up there and stealing pheasants, (if that was the case I still would consider it wrong, but at least I could understand someone being driven to the point of having to do that, like the Artful Dodger), but rather that they were going up there for the thrill of it, as if they had a gambling problem and needed the high of the game.

Rather than preaching that poaching is dangerous and wrong, and that Danny should stay away from it, he corrupts Danny into doing it as well. Danny could be considered the champion of the world if he can just figure out a way of stealing more pheasants than anyone else has ever done before. (I'm sorry but that isn't exactly the goal I would set for my world champion.)

You are informed that Mr. Hazel is a very bad man, even though he never did anything illegal to obtain his money, he just isn't very nice. Danny's father makes it out like that since Mr. Hazel isn't very nice then it is all right to steal from him. Isn't that a nice message for the kids.

Mr. Hazel isn't a nice man and you do dislike him, but Danny's father even though he is nice, doesn't prove to be any better of a man.

There is one scene late in the book where they have this well dressed women hide the stolen pheasants in a baby carriage under her child to smuggle them to each person's house. The child is terrified and almost gets injured by the pheasants as they try to escape. All I kept thinking was that unfortunately some drug dealers may have learned this method of smuggling from reading this book. (I find it inconceivably wrong to use a child in any illegal activity.).

I'd like to forget that Dahl ever wrote this book and focus more on his other great works that certainly are worth much more attention. I spent most of this book explaining what was wrong with the story to my girls and kept hoping that in the end there would be some redeeming message, but it never comes.

Book Review
Dear Reader(s),
This book is about a boy named Danny, who lives with his dad. His dad has a secret that is out and Danny is on a wild adventure to stop Mr. Hazel from finding out the secret. Mr. Hazel is a rich man with many pheasants, who's face turns red when he finds out Danny's father's secret.

This book is about the bond between father and son. There is only one thing standing in between Danny's bond with his Dad and that's the secret. We recommend this book because we like it ourselves. Be prepared, this book will take you on an adventure of a life time! But we warn you, Mr.Hazel isn't so friendly when he finds out the secret.
Our readers have some opinions about the book.
Stu- it was a good book because it was funny.
Zach- at the begining of the book I liked the plot, but I wished it would of changed at the end, more twisted.
Janel- I liked the book, it was funny, but when you learn about Danny's Dad's secret it gets better.
Savannah- It was boring at the beginning, but it got exciting towards the middle and the end.

Danny Champion of the Wrold
This is a very good book. It's about Danny and his dad. Thery love to go poaching to gether until one day. When Mr. Hazzel set a trap and Danny's dad got cought up in it and broke his foot. ... Read more

Book Description

Read by the author and the Words Take Wing ^TM Repertory Company
Two cassettes / 3 hours 30 mins.

William can't wait to play with the mysterious castle his housekeeper, Mrs. Phillips, has given to him.For years whe has been telling him about the old stone and wood model with its drawbridgee, moat, and finger-high knight to guard the gates.And now it is his.

If only Mrs. Phillips would stay with him, instead of going back to England, everything would be perfect.

But she is firm about leaving.

William is just as determined to make her stay--and he begins to see the way to do it when he picks up the little silver knight, which comes alive in his hand!

But William's big idea turns out to be the worst mistake of his life.To correct it, he must undertake a fantastic quest to another island, where he must battle to conquer both the darkness outside, and the darkness within. ... Read more

Reviews (55)

A great book that is worth reading again and again!
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This book is about a boy named William whose nanny, Mrs. Phillips, is moving away to England and gives Willaim a castle and a lead knight. Later, William goes to look at the castle and knight, but the knight, Sir Simon, comes to life in his hands!
Sir Simon tells William about the troubles in his land, an evil wizard has taken over Sir Simon's kingdom. That evil wizard, Alastor, turned Simon into lead, but Simon had grabbed a token off of Alasor's neck. That Janus token has the ability to make people small.
William gets the token and shrinks Mrs. Phillip to make her stay, but unwittingly starts fufilling the Prophecy above the castle drawbridge.
In their adventure, William and Sir Simon experience magic, dragons, wizardry, and time travel.
This book is a great read no matter how old you get! I recomend this magical tale for people in third grade and above.

THIRD GRADE READING GROUP RECOMMENDS THIS BOOK!
We are in the third grade at an all boys school and we just finished reading The Castle in the Attic. We highly recommend this book because it has magic, wizardry, knights, castles, dragons and time travel. We also enjoyed this book because some of the story is fantasy and some is reality. Each character does one special thing in the story. For example, William's special ability to defeat the dragon. The adventure was very exciting! We think the author's use of adjectives is great. Boys and girls would love this book! If you want to read this book by yourself, we recommend it to any student in the third grade and above. However, anyone over 6 years old might enjoy listening to this tale. This book is magical!

The Best Book Ever
The Castle in the Attic is full of adventure, it is thrilling, and funny. It was funny when Simon came alive. It was full of adventure when William went to defeat Alastar. It was thrilling when Alastar was turned into lead. You should read this book because it's exciting.

A Great Book
A Great Book

The Castle in the Attic is an exciting, thrilling, and action-packed book. Mrs. Phillips gives William a castle. He gets a led knight to go with the castle. The knight comes to life. He and William go to save the people in the castle that were turned to stone. It is a thrilling book because William has to go through the forest with Sir Simon the knight and he gets lost. It is an action-packed book because when William finally finds his way to the castle he has to kill the dragon. Then he has to destroy Alisdor the evil king. I think you should read this book because it will make you want to read more books about long ago.

A Great Book
This is an excellend book for students in third through fifth grade. I read it aloud to my third grade class and they LOVED it. ... Read more

Book Description

He came from the stars -- and sixth grade will never be the same!

The aliens have finally made contact! But when the first ambassador from another planet arrives, he insists that his son, Pleskit Meenom, be treated like any other citizen on Earth.

Which is why Pleskit has become the first purple kid in Ms. Weintraub's sixth grade class.

For Tim Tompkins, who has been waiting his entire life to meet an alien, this is like a dream come true. But when Pleskit invites Tim back to the embassy and they stumble across a plan to sabotage the alien mission, Tim's dream becomes a life-threatening nightmare. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

I Was a Sixth Grade Alien
One thing that I really liked about this book was that it had a language different than the other lanugages that you see in sci-fi. The language in question used bodily functions other than the standard speaking.

It's about a young, purple alien named Pleskit that is taken along by his father to Earth as part of a trade mission. Pleskit is enrolled in a public school, and, thanks to some wrong information about how Earthlings always speak the truth, Pleskit succeeds in making most of the kids at school hate him.

Except for Tim Tompkins, that is, resident alien enthusiast. He's psyched out of his mind to see a real, live alien and wants to make friends with Pleskit, but something always comes up- like, Pleskit seemingly attacking another boy at school, for example.

So Tim forms a plan to meet Pleskit by hiding in his 'personal needs' room (a.k.a. bathroom) and hoping to make a good impression. Surprisingly, he does, and is invited to Pleskit's house.

Tim's excited, of course, and Pleskit is outraged to hear that his database was tampered with (the whole Earthlings lie thing). They decide to scope out their number one suspect's room, but they see him coming and quickly duck into Mikta-Makta-Mookta's room (Pleskit's father's secretary). There, they discover that she has something that shouldn't be in her room...

I really liked this book, and it's great for kids that are in fifth and sixth grades.

Responseto Lit for my Seventh Grade Advanced English Class
The book I was a Sixth Grade Alien, by Bruce Coville, is about Pleskit, an alien that comes to Earth with his father, whom they call the fatherly one, and his great fatherly one, or his grandfather.Pleskit comes here for his father, who is the ambassador.When he comes to Earth, he meets Tim.Tim is an alien loving kid that lives on Earth who tries to become Pleskit's friend, and in the end they do become friends.Tim's class makes fun of him, but he still tries to become Pleskit's friend.
I was confused in the beginning of the book. I didn't understand why every chapter was told by a different person telling their part of the story.Towards the end, I started to understand why Coville did this.He did this so that you, the reader, could understand what each person felt and thought about what was going on.Pleskit, being an alien, had different thoughts and different ways of looking at things than Tim did."From what she tells me, everyone on this planet likes to pretend that he or she is unique and different" (Coville 13). Pleskit went to an Earth training module, but I guess they didn't tell him everything about the people on Earth.
I really liked the parts in the book when Tim followed Pleskit around trying to become his friend, and when they finally did meet, they got along.I was happy to read this because at the beginning of the story Tim doesn't have many friends and then he has a friend and I am happy for him.Everyone needs a friend that they can count on.Tim finally got this."Pleskit.I've got to make friends with him before he thinks we all hate him"(Coville 82).
I was confused at the end about how Mikta-makta-mookta and Harr-gisswere trying to break down Pleskit's training modules to make him mess up and have to go back home.Was this to make his father's job go down the drain or just put it on a rocky start? "'Senator Hargis is an alien'" (Coville 159).
I really enjoyed this book.I am like Tim in some ways.I love aliens and the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind.I have seen it about as many times as he has.I think anyone that likes aliens or has an interest in science fiction and/or myths would like this book.I was a Sixth Grade Alien is for kids in grades five through seven.It was a pretty easy book to read.I enjoyed every part and the end kept me on my toes.I didn't want to put it down at times.

Cheesy but bearable
This would have been decent (for an alien book) if it didn't happen to have such a colloquial voice.The plot was a tad bit cheesy but most of the time it was bearable.Then one of the main characters would say some completely idiotic and almost teenage remark and I would practically throw up. I do not recommend this book to anybody who likes good literature and an interesting story line.However, if you like alien books and you don't mind bad literature, maybe this is a good book for you.I have a wonderful friend who thinks this book is fabulous (I have no idea why). I hope you make a good decision! :)

I think...
...that this book is a okay book. What happens is that these aliens make contact with Earth and this guy called the Fathery One ( who is the ambassador ) wants his kid, called Pleskit, to go to a normal public school. There are some people who don't want the aliens on earth at all.Then Pleskit and Tim ( the guy who wants to be Pleskit's friend ) discoversomebody is going to sabotage the alien misson... ...find out more byreading this book!

Not as good as Rod Allbright, but interesting
The novel "I was a Sixth Grade Alien" by Bruce Coville was an excellent book.It deals witht he character of Pleskit who is new to Earth, who befriends an American boy.Somethings are surprising.Theclass Pleskit goes to doesn't really care that Pleskit is an alien.A fewkids switch out of class.If this really happened, everyone would be moreexcited. Also, when the Earth kid saves the day by barfing from alienfood(yes, it's a long story), he acts like he's not even glad he ate thealien food.If that hadn't happened, his life would have been screwed up,as well as Pleskit's!The story does keep you and catches your eye. Kudos for that. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Babe is Back!
Remember the Disney movie about Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox? I loved it! But this is better. My children can use more of their imagination when listening to this then the would if they were watching it. Odd Bodkins is so much fun to hear telling this story. I really enjoyed it as much as my kids did. And my six year old is thrilled to know the legend of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. I am also thrilled to know that it isn't from Disney.

A great tape!
This is one of our family's favorite tapes. Paul Bunyan tales capture everyone's imagination and Odds Bokin knows how to bring them to life. One of the best things about this tape for parents is that as often as your children want to listen to this tape, you will enjoy this one time and again! A real hit. Some of the stories are familar such as Babe the blue ox but others are new and wonderful - the limbless forest and bedcats. You'll never sleep with your cat again without thinking of this story. ... Read more

Book Description

Birds of the earth embark on a perilous journey to the Great Being beyond the edge of time. In addition to this beautiful retelling of the classic Sufi epic "The Conference of the Birds," Andrew Harvey shares stories from his adventurous childhood in India and Persian tales of the mystic Rumi and trickster Nasruddin. Includes 10 story trading cards and poster ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Captivating and Fascinating
Andrew Harvey has a beautiful voice and the stories that he tells about his childhood in India are fascinating. I was captivated by his stories. They are very spiritual and offer many insights and wonderful lessons for children as well as adults.

The Feather in Your Heart
What a knockout cool audio. Andrew Harvey speaks from the heart. With beautiful music by Steve Gorn and Ty Burhoe. I was transported to another world. Get this right now.

inspiration for children (and others)
This has got to be one of the best items available for children to delight in and think deeply about our world and their lives in it. If children can really accept the idea of a feather in their hearts as their own innate wisdom and learn to be in tune with and trust in that, they are bound to become confident and caring people. Andrew Harvey's voice carries the message with intensity and passion unequaled in today's audio market for children. A wonderful counterbalance to the speed and violence of computer games and TV! ... Read more

Book Description

The classic tale of fantasy, this delightful masterpiece depicts all sorts of characters: greedy, selfish, obnoxious, compassionate, loveable, and generous. Recounting the adventures of four children bent on having their own way, the story's moralistic factor becomes uproariously apparent early on.

... Read more

Reviews (254)

Obedience Counts
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a great book by Roald Dahl. In this story Charlie Bucket is the main character. He is a poor boy that lives in a shabby house. Charlie and four other children (Mike, Veruca, Violet, and Augustus) all win a tour of Mr. Wonka's secret chocolate factory. Each of the children had found a golden ticket in a Wonka bar. Once they were inside the factory each kid, one by one, got into trouble, except Charlie. Some were so bad they were changed for life! But Charlie obeyed Mr. Wonka and got a big surprise.

I like this book because it has lots of excitement, action, and humor on every page. My favorite part is the end when Charlie's grandparents, who have not been out of bed in years, are put into Mr. Wonka's great glass elevator screaming and howling. The funny thing about it was they did not know they were going to live with Mr. Wonka in his chocolate factory!

People can learn to obey from this book. Four children disobeyed Mr. Wonka and got hurt, but Charlie obeyed and got a reward. I recommend this book for kids age six to eleven. It is also fun and exciting so you will definitely want to read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!

A delectably delicious book....
This book is so delicious I just want to eat it! "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" might be in many people's eyes a story about morality but to me, it's a story about children and their love of all things sweet, sticky and delicious. Charlie Bucket is the delightful boy (who is so poor all he gets to eat is cabbage soup) who finds a golden ticket in a chocolate bar he buys with money he finds in the street. This ticket entitles him and a companion to enter the wonderful world of Mr. Willy Wonka, the most famous and mysterious chocolate maker that the universe has ever known. Other competition winners include such heinous but wonderfully over the top characters like Augustus Gloop, the greediest boy in the world, and Veruca Salt, a spoilt brat whose father buys 10,000 chocolate bars so she can win a golden ticket. These greedy children and their frightful companions get their come-uppance in various hilarious ways that will have you spluttering with laughter with every page that you turn. Dahl's most famous creation in this book though are the Oompa-Loompas, a race of small people that Mr. Wonka has saved from extinction in the days when he traveled the world. This is a glorious, glorious book, filled with amazing characters, incredible sweets such as the everlasting gobstopper for the child with limited pocket money, and the chewing gum that that is a whole three course meal in itself. Your mouth will be watering throughout the story, and the river of chocolate will make you drool a waterfall. A scrumptious book for everyone no matter what their age.

Everyone will love it
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is brilliant. Roald Dahl's language is eccentric and refreshing. This book is about a boy named Charlie Bucket who lives with his poor family right near a the greatest chocolate factory in the world. When the owner of the chocolate factory, Willy Wonka, sends out five golden tickets, the whole world erupts in chaos. No one has been allowed in the great factory for years, and everyone knows that Wonka is a magician with magic. The story will make anyone hungry for a good candy bar and is easily amusing. I would recomment that everyone read this book at least once, though it was directed towards kids in grades 2-6.

Author Study
Charlie is in a family that is very poor. He lives in a small cottage with his grandparents and parets. He also lives by a great chocolate factory. Charlie is so poor that he only gets one Willy Wonka bar a year. No one has seen anbody or anthing go in or out of the chocolate factory.
One day in the newspaper it said that the chocolate factory was opening up. There were five golden tickets on Willy Wonka bars to get into the factory in the whole world. The prize is you get to go into the factory and bring any person of their choice. You have to read the book to see if he gets a golden ticket.
It was a good book to us because even if you saw the movie the book changed so you didn't know what was coming.

Snozzberries galore...
There's plenty that adults can learn from children's books. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is such a book. Not only is it a great read, it says something about greed, gluttony, and the dangers of the fantastic.

The story is probably familiar to many (thanks to the 1971 film adaptation), but the basic plot is this: Willy Wonka, a reclusive, famous (almost Howard Huges-like) owner of the largest candy factory in the world wraps five golden tickets in candy bars and distributes them to the world. No one has been in or out of Wonka's factory in years, but these tickets allow the ticket finders access to it for one day, as well as a lifetime supply of world-famous Wonka candy. Four tickets are quickly found by families who have the money and the means to do so (one of the finder's father even stops production in his factory so that his voluminous workers can unwrap the thousands of candy bars he's purchased in hope of finding one of the tickets). This is discouraging to Charlie Bucket, who comes from a destitute family who eat mostly watery cabbage and boiled potatoes. Charlie only gets one chocolate bar a year for his birthday - his father's job screwing on the tops of toothpaste tubes doesn't bring much income. Charlie's luck changes when he finds a dollar bill in the snow (after his father loses his job in the toothpaste factory the family begins to starve, and Charlie conserves energy by walking slowly, which helps him find the dollar). Luck leads to luck, as Charlie buys two candy bars and the second one contains a golden ticket. Charlie's 95 year-old (wow!) grandfather agrees to accompany Charlie. So, Along with four other spoiled brats and their families, Charlie and Grandpa Joe tour the Wonka factory. Inside, the factory is filled with amazing things, and the spoiled brats show their worst side and also expose the dangerous side of the fantastic. A river of chocolate is great until you fall into it. Trained squirrels are great unless they mistake you for a bad nut and through you in the chute. Chewing gum that tastes and nourishes as though it were an entire three course meal is great as long as the forumla is right and doesn't turn you into a giant blueberry. Being allowed into the Wonka factory is an amazing experience unless you're a spoiled brat who needs to grab, chew, eat, or touch everything you see. In this case being a brat brings dire consequences. The reward for not being a brat is something unbelievable, but the "losers" still get a lifetime supply of candy and chocolate.

Fans of the film (which is mistitled "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" because Charlie is really supposed to be the hero here) will notice some great differences in the story. The famous "Oompa Loompa" song is not in the book, but they do sing, but they sing longer and more detailed songs than in the movie. One of the songs goes on about the evils of television:

The most important thing we've learned
So far as children are concerned,
Is never, never, NEVER let
Them near your television set -
Or better still, just don't install
The idiotic thing at all.

They do not sing "Oompa Oompa Ommpity Doo, I've got another problem for you" such as in the movie. They also give credit where credit is due: the brattiness of the kids is also blamed on the parents. So in a way the story also becomes a lesson in parenting. The Oompa Loompas sing:

For though she's spoiled, and dreadfully so,
A girl can't spoil herself, you know.

Alas! you needn't look so far
To find out who these sinners are.
They are (and this is very sad)
Her loving parents, MUM and DAD.

In this way the Oompa Loompas almost serve the purpose of a Greek chorus. Whenever of the brats "gets it" they sing about the tragedy and probable causes of the event. This book is a very enjoyable read for any age. If you're an adult, don't deprive yourself of great children's books such as this one. If you're a kid, don't deprive your parents of your great books such as this one. Make them read it. Force them to read it. You know you want to. ... Read more

Book Description

4 hours, 36 minutes
3 cassettes
Performed by the author

The startling mystery of the magic cupboard is finally revealed!When Omri happens upon an old journal, his mind races--are these family artifacts related to the magic of the cupboard? ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Cupboard Mystery
The Mystery of the Cupboard
By: Lynne Reid Banks
Reviewed by: D. Kim
There were two boys named Omri and Peter, who wanted to find out the secret to the magical cupboard. They have found the information of the cupboard from Omri's great-great-aunt's journal. Omri moved to a different state, and he was going farther away from Peter more than ever. He had lost his cat there, named Kitsa. Their new house was a longhouse, and there was also a barn. Omri found the journal before Peter traveled there by himself, and with hard work and destination, they both found out that Omri's great-great-aunt was turned into plastic after she stole her sister's earrings. Jessica Charlotte, the "aunt" loved her sister's daughter more than her own son, and hated it. When she and her son were alone, she told him to put all his anger into the cupboard, just to imagine it, and she locked it with her key. After this, she turned into plastic by opening it, and now plastic dolls who were put in it where brought to life when it was locked and then opened again. This was the secret of the Cupboard. In the end, Omri started bringing his dad more in on things, so he told him about the cupboard.
I liked this book because it made me realize that I have been doing pretty bad things before that I knew had feelings. If I had a clone, and I took his kidney for my own life, then what would happen to my clone? Thinking about this has made a difference in my life, but it was also pretty funny. One quote that caught my eye was this. "You should be outdoors, not in 'ere. What's the world comin' to, kids in pubs, I dunno. The author was like every person in the book, together, because she gave them their own minds. Each character was different, in a lot of ways, so I think that Lynne Reid Banks put a lot of effort into writing this.
In other parts of the story, things were getting pretty sad. Omri had found out that his great-great-aunt wasn't such a bad woman after all. She just made some mistakes. When Omri asked Mr. Towsler about Jessica Charlotte, he said, "I worried about her. When she were with me. Worried she'd be lonely an' that, for people her own size. But she said not to. She were content with me. She said them others weren't much company. Not her sort, she said." The others were the people she had brought to life. Even though they were her own size and had different stories about their lives, she like to have Mr. Towsler around instead of them.
My favorite part of the book was definitely the ending, because it was most interesting to me. Omri had just made a better relationship with his father, because he let him in on all the secrets. Omri knew that it could be risky, but he wanted him to know Little bear and the others, because they were just like normal people.

A Review on the Mystery of the Cupboard
The title of the book I read was The Mystery of the Cuppboard and the author was Lynne Reid Banks. The main character was Omri. Omri is a boy who owns a magical cupboard that can bring plastic figures to life. He has a mom, dad, and two brothers. He also has a friend named Patrick and a cat named Kista. I liked the book because it was interesting. I also think it would be cool if plastic figures could come to life. The plot was about Omri and the magic of the cupboard. When Omri's family moves he finds a diary and a cash box. In the cashbox there are little figures. When Omri brings them to life he tries to change the past by telling them what to do. Then Omri leans that you shouldn't change other people's past because it could affect you. The setting was in England and in the country. I think the theme was don't interfere with someone's past because it could change your past.

The best mystery ever... By Cierra ,Geneva, NY
Have you ever read the book The Mystery of the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks ?
Omri moves into a new house, that was an old relatives, because he died.He finds his great great great aunt Jessica Charlotties note book.Omri learns about Jessica Charlottie's whole life until she gets sick and dies.Omri thinks that his mothers key will fit in the cashbox he found.I think it's a good story about life.I think this is a good book to learn about elders and history.I think that this book would be a great gift. The book is very interesting. I would recommend this book to everyone.

Very meaningful book
I can remember buying and reading this book when it was first released, and that is was incredible. The story wraps up and utilizes so many aspects of Omri's life - from his relationship with his family to his friendship with Patrick - that it is the perfect ending to the "Indian in the Cupboard" series. A lot of the subject matter is much more serious than the previous books, especially in regards to the parts concerning Jessica Charlotte. It is these parts that make the book so incredible, as most readers will not be familiar with late 18th-century lifestyles. The romantic nature and thrill of Charlotte's story will captivate any young person who reads the book. I definitely reccomend "The Mystery of the Cupboard" and still hope that there will be another installment in the series one day.

Mystery Of the Cupboard-Dislike
This book was ok at first but then it became a really boring book. Nothing really exciting happened. Except when Patrick fell and broke his arm. The author needs to be more excitng about things that have happend.Instead of finding a cashbox Omri should have found another action figure, like Buzz Lightyear and started using the cupboard way sooner. ... Read more

Book Description

Unabridged, multi-voiced recording.When timid Russell Crannaker stumbles into Mr. Elives' strange store, he buys a mysterious ring that lets him turn himself into a monster. But Russell soon learns that when you mess around with magic you must always follow the directions! This is the frightfully funny, deliciously scary story that launched the wildly popular Magic Shop series. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

A Scary Change
When you are alone do you ever think about monsters? Well if not then after you read this book you will. You will because of the monsters ring. The ring works like this: Step 1: You twist it once around and you get fangs as teeth in your mouth. When you twist it twice, which is step 2, you get horned and hairy. Then step 3: You twist the ring three times, but no person has dared.

In this book a kid named Russell is going to a Halloween party and he needed the perfect costume for it. I can make a text to world connection by saying every one had to go to get a costume. So he went all around town looking for the perfect costume but no store had one. So he went to the magic store and the clerk gave him a box with a ring in it and it was the monsters ring.

I personally think that the ring made him a horrible person and as the story went so did his attitude. The Monsters Ring is a flawless and very scary book. And also very interesting.
I would really recommend this book to lots of kids that like scary books and movies and to kids wirth the age of 10-13.

Russell turns into a monster
I think the book was excellent because this kid Russell Crannaker turned into a demon-like creature.He bought a golden ring from a magician shop because he wanted to scare his bully, Eddie.Will Russell stay as a monster forever?Read this book to find out what happens with Russell.

He was Hooked!
This was one of the first books my son in second grade read on his own. He was quickly hooked on reading! A book like this that can challenge a 7 year old boy and draw him into a magical world where he is excited about reading deserves 5 stars. The plot is solid and not so predictable as many early reading series.

Like the others.....
Like the other books in this series, this book focuses on a kid that buys a magic item. This item happens to be a ring, and it turnds the kid into a demon-like creature. This book was interesting and fun to read. I enjoyed it a lot.

Twist it thrice, no one has dared!
I am 17 years old, soon to be 18, and this book still gives me goosebumps.I always have loved the book, and I always wish I could find a place like Elvin's Magic Supplies.Not that I need the ring, but there were so many other things there... Man, I want to go there! ... Read more

Book Description

Would you know a real witch if you saw one?

... Read more

Reviews (175)

Another Wonderful Book by Roald Dahl!
They are completely bald and always wear wigs, constantly sneaking hands underneath to scratch their itchy scalps. They don't have any toes and have really broad feet, but they force their feet into narrow, fashionable shoes to blend in. They have really long, curved fingernails that they usually hide by wearing gloves. They are the witches. And the meanest, nastiest witches live in England, where a boy has just gone to live with his grandmother after his parent's tragic death.

His grandmother always warned the boy about suspecting nice women who offer him candy - check for gloves, wigs and pinched feet. He is able to avoid the witches until his grandmother becomes ill and they go to a seaside resort where the English witches are having a convention just like normal people in the hotel. Stunned, the boy overhears the grand witch's plot to eliminate all of the children in England by feeding them candy that will turn them into mice! When he is discovered, the boy knows that the witches are going to kill him, but they test the potion on him instead. Now in mouse form, the boy and his grandmother must use all of their wits and cleverness to defeat the witches' evil scheme!

The Witches is a highly entertaining book by the always inventive Roald Dahl. You would think that a book about witches would be scary, but Roald Dahl has just the right combination of humor and lightheartedness to balance out the scariness. I loved this book when I was growing up and have enjoyed sharing it with my younger siblings and nephews. It is true that it has a couple of slow parts as the author takes the time to set up the story, but the storyline is just so imaginative that you get caught up in the story and don't really notice until you have read it a couple of times. With all of the many details, Roald Dahl can easily convince you that witches are real and that there really are women out there like that! Humor aside, it does show that you should never take candy from strangers - no matter what they look like! Although this book is great for reading alone, it is best when real aloud and shared with children, who always know the right parts to gasp at!

Satisfying and invigorating
The Witches
This book is great, it brings out the excitement and urge to read. This book is a book that makes children wonder what's next. The characters are gruesome and horrifying. The WITCHES starts with a boy and grandmother that live in england... The Boy is very young and curious and is about nine years old. His grandmother is eighty-nine who smokes a lot and she is still very healthy. One evening the grandmother had planed a wonderful trip to Norway with her grandson. Suddenly the woman got sick from her tobacco in her cigars. The doctor came to nourished her and to give her some time to recuperate. Once she had been cured she hollered down to her grandson. The sound of his trampling feet went as fast as they have ever gone. The grandson pounced into his elders arms and and hugged her tightly in his arms. He asked if they where still going on vacation. The doctor sighed and said with his head tucked into his shirt and said.
"Im afraid to say that you can't go far with your conditions, and that you can go to the hotel on the beach." After the boy received a great gift of a pair of mice (A great gift from the doctor of forgivness).They got there parcels gathered them and they left at once. When they reached there destination they unpacked and went there own way, the grandmother staying in the room knitting, and the grandson going to train his mice. Then something terrible happened, the strictly privet party or that's what they seem to call it, discovers him. which the rest is for you to find out.This book is great, the characters come alive which makes you want to read more.

The Witches Book Review
THE WITCHES is about a boy who doesn't have a name. Throughout the story, the kid is called boy and darling. Boy, as I will call him, is living with his Grandmother. His grandmother tells him all of these crazy stories about witches and how to identify them. Boy at first doesn't really believe his grandmother until he's locked in a room full of witches. Will he get out? Will he die? Read the book to find out.
"I didn't really like the book" Lindsey said, "I thought it was boring, plus the author didn't give enough information, so it left me off with lots of questions that wern't answered." Katie has the same oppion as Lindsey. "I like the plot and the whole book, but my questions wern't answered." Katie said. Erica said," I liked it and I would recommended, but there were some boring parts in it. Hannah said," It was pretty good, I loved it. Yes I would recommend it to kids. Only those who don't believe in witches, though."

A Scary Story for Kids, but didn't cause any nightmares
The Witches is about a little orphaned boy who lives with his grandmother. Before bedtime each night his grandmother would tell him stories, and his favorite story was always about the Witches. His grandmother seemed to know everything about them and told him how to recognize and stay away from them. The boy never knew his grandmother to lie, so he listened and followed her advice on the subject. When the boy finds out that Witches really do exist, his grandmother's advice comes in handy to help the little boy escape them for a long period time, but they eventually catch up to him half way through the book and turn him into a mouse. You would think that this would be a very sad thing, but the boy loves being a mouse. Actually while reading this book to my five and seven year old daughters, the youngest one said that she thought being a mouse would be a very neat thing and asked if it was possible for me to turn her into one. I told her that even if I could I wouldn't since I would miss having my little girl too much. As a mouse the boy realizes he can do a lot of things he couldn't have done otherwise if he was still a little boy, so with the help of his grandmother they comes up with a plan to get rid of all the witches in England. It was a great story. Unlike Roald Dahl's other books which touch upon scary subject's but in a humorous way, this one without a doubt is trying to scare your kids. Rather then giving my girls nightmares however, it was more along the lines of them listening to a good ghost story around the fire while you are away at camp, and they just found it very entertaining. Quintin Blake once again drew some wonderful illustrations to capture the action which added to the story.

The Witches
A young boy's parents who dies in a car crash and he has to go and live with his grandma in Norway. There are alot of vocabulary in this book you should read! I learned that witches wear wigs so if you read this book, you will learn alot about witches.
I recommend this book review by Rould Dahl ... Read more

Book Description

3 hours, 22 minutes
2 cassettes
Performed by the author

In this sequel to The Indian in the Cupboard and The Return of the Indian, a terrible battle leaves many of Little Bear's warriors wounded.Omri must find medical help while protecting the secret of the magic cupboard. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

The Secret of the Indian
The Secret of the Indian
By: Lynne Reid Banks
Reviewed By: P. Shah
Period 1

Omri and Patrick are forced to reveal their secret to Patrick's cousin. At first, they couldn't trust her one bit, but as things got out of control, they realized they needed Emma. It all starts with Omri sending Patrick to the time of the cowboys. But when Omri brought back the indians and cowboys to life, they were all injured from a war. Omri only had one nurse so he didn't know what to do. There were about 30 injured and half dead indians in Omri's room. that's where Emma came into help. She knew of a plastic figure that was a surgeon that her sister had. By bringing him to life, the indians were helped and headed back to their own time. Meanwhile, Patrick was in the cowboy time and he wasn't having a good time. When he came back, he figured out that he had injured his best friend, a plastic figure of a cowboy. At first the nurse and surgeon thought he was dead but with Omri's strong fingers he stared breathing again. At school Omri read an essay that he wrote about his experience about his magical cupboard. No one thought it was true...except for the principal. The principal said to Omri," They were supposed to make an invention exactly like that and I have a reason to believe that you have that invention." At the end everyone thought the principal was crazy. So, the secret is being kept secret by Omri, Patrick and Emma.
I really like this book because there was so much activity going on in the story. And it's so secretive! It just makes you want to read more and more! There is nothing that i disliked about this book. Quotes: Clinging precariously to the bottom rim of the ceiling, Boone shouted a yell of help before he fell. I liked this quote because it showed action and awe. Another quote: " You need to send us back," Boone shouted. " We can't! We lost the key!" Omri replied. This quote is scary because omri can't find the key so the indians are stuck in the future.
My favorite part of the book is when Omri and Patrick try to keep Emma from learning their secret. But nothing works out and she finds out. I like this part because it is so suspicious of Emma and it's fun to see what they do.

The book with full of adventure!!!!!
The book I read is called gThe Secret of the Indian.h It is the 3rd series of the Indian story. The first book is calledh The Indian in the Cupboardh and 2nd one is called gThe Return of the Indian,h and it is written by Lynne Reid Banks. I liked the 1st one and 2nd series also, but I liked the 3rd one best!!! It is full of adventure.

It is an unbelievable story, because it is about the main character named Omri, his friend Patrick, and the galiveh plastic figures. Of course, this is a fiction book. It is the story when Omri accidentally put his birthday present from Patrick, the plastic Indian into the magic cupboard and he turned the keyc the plastic figure turned into grealh Indian. Of coarse he is small, but he is alive, and he has the feeling, and he came form over 100 years ago. They turned more and more plastic figures alive, and it just was great day. Until, they knew that Patrick has to move. But he doesnft want to. So, they decided to send Patrick to the Boonefs (the Texas cowboy which was Patrickfs plastic figure, but turned into the real tiny person) time. They knew that they could send real people to the plastic figures time, which is more than 100 years ago, because they have tried before. If you send the real person to their time, the person is like a coma. When Patrick went to 100 years ago, every body started to search for him. And the people who knows about the magic cupboard is Omri, Patrick, and Patrickfs cousin, Emma. They think that they never should tell any adults, because if they tell any adults, it will be a problem, and I agree with them.

Do you think they can keep the important secret and cause no trouble? I donft think so. But Ifm not going to tell you any more.

The thing I thought through out the book is that is has great narrative hook, and if you start to read, you canft stop it. If you feel like boring, this is the book you should read. It will take you to the miracle world. I think this is the greatest strength of this book. I think this is the one of the wonderful author.

I didnft find any weakness, but I recommend one thing. If you havenft read the first and second series yet, you should read these first, because you will@find couple of things you wonft understand if you wonft read these books first.

I would recommend this book very much, to all the ages, and I especially recommend this to the 4th through 7th or 8th graders, because I know children likes this kind of magical world book than the most of adults.

Anyway, thank you very much for reading this, and again, you should read this book, or you will regret!!!

Patrick's in Boone-land?
Now, this is the third book called "The Secret of the Indian" & it is about Omri's friend Patrick who goes back in time to the Wild West.

Omri & his friend Patrick risk grownups' discovery of their secret when they attempt to help people in the dangerous world of the Old West.

Boone is real & he is a toy cowboy but Boone was mostly small & Patrick was big. On the cover of the book it has Boone laying down & Boone is big & Omri's friend Patrick is small & I think in Chapter 7 called "Patrick in Boone-land" Boone grew big & Patrick got small & it must have been texas.

The chapter titles I like are called 2. Modest Heroes, 5. Patrick goes back, 6. A New Insider, 7. Patrick in Boone-land, 10. A Rough Ride & chapter 13. Mr. Johnson smells a rat. This chapter called "Mr. Johnson smells a rat" makes me silly & he would say if he smelled the rat "Yuck. Ha, Ha, Ha!? & it is so funny.

This book reminds me of a videos called "Spongebob Squarepants: Nautical Nonsence", "Bonanza: The Return" & a Lonestar song called "When Cowboys didn't dance.

I enjoy this book when I would be in the wild west!

I loved it & enjoyed it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the whole family loves this series
We checked out The Secret of the Indian on tape from our library and listened to it on a trip. All of us from the adults to the kids (14,8,6) were interested and excited about what would happen next. We have listened to each of the books and are now looking forward to the 5th story.

School Assignment
I recommend this book to other readers between the ages of 8 to 13 year-old kids because the book talks about fun things like time travel and also is easy to read. Some of the words in the book are big, though. ... Read more

Book Description

The novel that's taking the UK by storm-the #2 bestseller behind the book about a certain wizard boy.

Vicar Obadiah Demurral no longer wants to worship God-he wants to be God!Obadiah Demurral may be a vicar, but knowing what master he truly serves would come as a shock to the villagers of Thorpe. Craving power and filled with insatiable greed, he has welcomed a darkness into his life that enables him to do terrible things, in the hope of harnessing control over the universe. He will stop at nothing, and as a shadowmancer-a sorcerer who speaks to the dead-he even commands restless souls to do his bidding.

Who will stand against him? Young Raphah has come from another continent to reclaim the precious artifact-danger-ously volatile in the wrong hands-that Demurral has stolen. Even younger and less experienced in the ways of battle are Thomas and Kate, accidentally drawn into this war between good and evil, this struggle against Demurral that brings them face-to-face with the powers of darkness in an epic battle.

G. P. Taylor takes readers on a breathtaking voyage, full of suspense and danger, where fallen angels and demonic forces come in the night and where the ultimate sacrifice might even be life itself. ... Read more

Reviews (81)

Breach of Promise
So many possibilities for a great story, but alas, all squandered in the hurry to cram the book with too much undeveloped information.

Within this relatively small book we have fallen priests, smugglers, dragoons, witchcraft, betrayal, greed, murder, exorcisms and even healing of the sick. We also have Boggles, Thulaks, Hobs, Hedge Witches, Dunamez, Glashan, Seloth, Wiccamen, Varrigals, an Azimuth and a War Dyke.

We are treated to names like Obadiah Demurral, Beadle, Dagda Sarapuk, Gebra Nebura, and Azrubel.

Unfortunately, the majority of these intriguing concepts are under-developed, and the story hops around like a drunken March hare.

The basic underlying concept is simple - it's Riathamus (God) versus Pyratheon (the Devil), each with a couple of gophers to assist them with the good old battle between good and evil.

Unfortunately, it's not very well written, and you can't be sure if the author is writing for children or adults. The storyline is definitely childish, but some of the concepts are adult.

Maybe if J. K. Rowling hadn't written and published her little wizard stories, this book may have been a better read, but in the light of Harry Potter, it's a poseur.

This is the little book that tried too hard.

Amanda Richards

Bleh
Quite frankly, a terrible book. If you HAVE to read this book, wait a few months and borrow it from the library. The characters are flat and undeveloped. Their history is written out in their introduction instead of slowly being revealed. Their character development falls flat, even the plot itself falls flat. The book was waaaay too preachy, but I thought until I could deal with that until I came to the ending which was horrible. Quite frankly, the author should have stuck to his job instead of deciding to try something new.

Like many before me, I wish I could give 0 stars but sadly Amazon doesn't allow that.

A Disappointment
The book was truly disappointing. As an avid reader of fantasy I too was deceived with the false advertisements that this was the next Harry Potter. It is neither that nor anything close to Tolkien or even Eragon. The book is poorly written and quite disjointed. I do not recommend this book for either young adults or adults and as a teacher I would highly discourage it from being put in any classroom library.

Appeals equally to advanced young adult and adult audiences
G.P. Taylor's Shadowmancer is taking the U.K. by storm, and Americans will surely find out why when they begin to absorb this fantasy of a victor determined to obtain a weapon so powerful it will control the world. His sorcerer abilities will insure he wins unless young Ralph, Thomas and Kate can face down his powers of darkness. Shadowmancer should appeal equally to advanced young adult and adult audiences.

A huge disappointment
The main problem with this book is simple; the writing is terrible. The constant shifts in point of view make it confusing and jerky. The shallow characters are obviously a foil for the author's soapbox sermons.

Even though the publisher pushes this book as Christian fantasy, it seems to rely on occultic sources of power for the forces of good. That's surprising, especially since the only one who claims to be a Christian in the book is the bad guy.

If you want a better choice for inspirational fantasy, check out "Raising Dragons" by Bryan Davis. Much better writing, great characters, not so preachy, and a lot of fun. ... Read more

Book Description

Ilustrated by Charled Robinson ... Read more

Reviews (3)

There is always some salvation
In these tales, most of them being sad and even very sad, Oscar Wilde looks for a way to save one's soul in front of the misery of the world. Anyone in society who lives in the upper classes does not necessarily see the ugliness and suffering of the world when one looks at the lower classes. But in these tales the Happy Prince, or the Selfish Giant, or any other character will manage to get salvation out of their upper class blindness, by opening their eyes to misery and suffering and by doing what they can to repair these pains and evils because they will realise they have to feel responsible for the world, because they are more powerful and could easily impose their selfish rule. But the giant will discover nature, if not God, punishes him for his selfishness. The nightingale will try to redeem a young student by giving him a red rose in a season when read roses do not bloom. And yet the student will not get the love he wants because he is nothing but a non-entity for the girl he would like to be loved by. There is also a very sad note in A Devoted Friend and how friendship can become a mask for selfishness, a nice appearance for an ugly and egoistic attitude. Those tales are sad and at the same time they convey a moral full of hope. All is not lost if the Happy Prince can give away his happiness for those who suffer, even if later the powerful of his society will reject him when he does not look happy and beautiful any more

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University of Perpignan

Excellent beyond compare!!!!
As a child I didn't have the books of Oscar Wilde but rather the records.My imagination soared with his descriptions of life, and my eyes overflowed with tears at each story.The record of the Happy Prince was read by BingCrosby and Orson Wells and each year at Christmas we still play that oldscratched thing, just to hear it's wonderous love story and that of TheSelfish Giant.Now I have to get the book so my nieces and nephews willshare in my treasures of love!!!! What is this world if it isn't all aboutLove?

wonderfully fanciful
I remember this book from my childhood.I had my parents read each story to me over and over.When I learned how to read I read this book until the pages fell out.In short it is a great book that encourages youthful imaginations.And, it makes for great bedtime stories.A real classic.I bought it for my children. ... Read more

Book Description

Read by a full cast
approx. 5.5 hours
4 cassettes

Daystar has never seen his mother, Cimorene, actually perform magic.Nor has he ever known her to enter the Enchanted Forest in all the years they have lived on its edge.That is not until a wizard shows up at their cottage shortly after Daystar's sixteenth birthday.Much to Daystar's surprise, Cimorene melts the unsavory fellow.And the following day, she comes out of the Enchanted Forest carrying a sword.With that and little else, she sends him off into adventure. ... Read more

Reviews (80)