Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths Books

The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread (Tale of Despereaux)

Kate Dicamillo

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Subjects -> Children's Books -> Animals -> Mice, Hamsters, Guinea Pigs & Squirrels -> Fiction
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Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths -> Stories

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 362 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Kate DiCamillo, author of the Newbery Honor book Because of Winn-Dixie, spins a tidy tale of mice and men where she explores the "powerful, wonderful, and ridiculous" nature of love, hope, and forgiveness. Her old-fashioned, somewhat dark story, narrated "Dear Reader"-style, begins "within the walls of a castle, with the birth of a mouse." Despereaux Tilling, the new baby mouse, is different from all other mice. Sadly, the romantic, unmouselike spirit that leads the unusually tiny, large-eared mouse to the foot of the human king and the beautiful Princess Pea ultimately causes him to be banished by his own father to the foul, rat-filled dungeon.

The first book of four tells Despereaux's sad story, where he falls deeply in love with Princess Pea and meets his cruel fate. The second book introduces another creature who differs from his peers--Chiaroscuro, a rat who instead of loving the darkness of his home in the dungeon, loves the light so much he ends up in the castle& in the queen's soup. The third book describes young Miggery Sow, a girl who has been "clouted" so many times that she has cauliflower ears. Still, all the slow-witted, hard-of-hearing Mig dreams of is wearing the crown of Princess Pea. The fourth book returns to the dungeon-bound Despereaux and connects the lives of mouse, rat, girl, and princess in a dramatic denouement.

Children whose hopes and dreams burn secretly within their hearts will relate to this cast of outsiders who desire what is said to be out of their reach and dare to break "never-to-be-broken rules of conduct." Timothy Basil Ering's pencil illustrations are stunning, reflecting DiCamillo's extensive light and darkness imagery as well as the sweet, fragile nature of the tiny mouse hero who lives happily ever after. (Ages 9 and older) --Karin Snelson

The Alchemyst (Secrets Imrtl Nicholas Flamel)

Michael Scott

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Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror -> Mysteries, Espionage, & Detectives

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Total reviews: 64 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

He holds the secret that can end the world.

The truth: Nicholas Flamel was born in Paris on September 28, 1330. Nearly 700 years later, he is acknowledged as the greatest Alchemyst of his day. It is said that he discovered the secret of eternal life.

The records show that he died in 1418.

But his tomb is empty.

The legend: Nicholas Flamel lives. But only because he has been making the elixir of life for centuries. The secret of eternal life is hidden within the book he protects—the Book of Abraham the Mage. It's the most powerful book that has ever existed. In the wrong hands, it will destroy the world. That's exactly what Dr. John Dee plans to do when he steals it. Humankind won't know what's happening until it's too late. And if the prophecy is right, Sophie and Josh Newman are the only ones with the power to save the world as we know it.

Sometimes legends are true.

And Sophie and Josh Newman are about to find themselves in the middle of the greatest legend of all time.


From the Hardcover edition.

The Little Prince

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Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 273 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry first published The Little Prince in 1943, only a year before his Lockheed P-38 vanished over the Mediterranean during a reconnaissance mission. More than a half century later, this fable of love and loneliness has lost none of its power. The narrator is a downed pilot in the Sahara Desert, frantically trying to repair his wrecked plane. His efforts are interrupted one day by the apparition of a little, well, prince, who asks him to draw a sheep. "In the face of an overpowering mystery, you don't dare disobey," the narrator recalls. "Absurd as it seemed, a thousand miles from all inhabited regions and in danger of death, I took a scrap of paper and a pen out of my pocket." And so begins their dialogue, which stretches the narrator's imagination in all sorts of surprising, childlike directions.

The Little Prince describes his journey from planet to planet, each tiny world populated by a single adult. It's a wonderfully inventive sequence, which evokes not only the great fairy tales but also such monuments of postmodern whimsy as Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities. And despite his tone of gentle bemusement, Saint-Exupéry pulls off some fine satiric touches, too. There's the king, for example, who commands the Little Prince to function as a one-man (or one-boy) judiciary:

I have good reason to believe that there is an old rat living somewhere on my planet. I hear him at night. You could judge that old rat. From time to time you will condemn him to death. That way his life will depend on your justice. But you'll pardon him each time for economy's sake. There's only one rat.

The author pokes similar fun at a businessman, a geographer, and a lamplighter, all of whom signify some futile aspect of adult existence. Yet his tale is ultimately a tender one--a heartfelt exposition of sadness and solitude, which never turns into Peter Pan-style treacle. Such delicacy of tone can present real headaches for a translator, and in her 1943 translation, Katherine Woods sometimes wandered off the mark, giving the text a slightly wooden or didactic accent. Happily, Richard Howard (who did a fine nip-and-tuck job on Stendhal's The Charterhouse of Parma in 1999) has streamlined and simplified to wonderful effect. The result is a new and improved version of an indestructible classic, which also restores the original artwork to full color. "Trying to be witty," we're told at one point, "leads to lying, more or less." But Saint-Exupéry's drawings offer a handy rebuttal: they're fresh, funny, and like the book itself, rigorously truthful. --James Marcus

The Spiderwick Chronicles (Boxed Set): The Field Guide; The Seeing Stone; Lucinda's Secret; The Ironwood Tree; The Wrath of Mulgrath

Holly Black, Tony DiTerlizzi

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 135 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

fantastical 5 out of 5 stars.
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this is one of the best products I have purchased. It is amazing and exciting and a keep you on the edge of your seat with a little comedy
thrown in for good measure. I would recommend it for everyone

One of the best!!! 5 out of 5 stars.
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Awesome world and a great adventure... I strongly recommend this series!!! If you love the fantasy books this is the one for you...

Five Adventures in a Box! 3 out of 5 stars.
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First off what grabbed me about this series was the amazing illustrations. I could not wait to dive into these books after looking at the official Spiderwick website (I *highly* recommend you do too)!

The first book takes us to the Grace's new home at the Spiderwick Mansion. It may be run down and miserable, but there are secrets within!

First off, the siblings are: Mallory (the eldest), Jared, and Simon (twins!). These characters are very relatable and I find myself enchanted with Jared the most.

Each book takes us on a new adventure one right after the next. It's almost like the game clue for children - figuring out riddles and rhymes, so they can figure out what to do next. They meet friends and foe's throughout the books. Some helpful and some not-so-much. Some though are in between.

The siblings learn to take care of each other through thick and thin. Not to mention each learns what strengths they each have.

You will be taken into the world of Spiderwick! With creatures galore! If your a fan of the classic Grimm's Fairy Tales then your in for a treat!

The language in the book is somewhat graphic, but not to worry *very* age appropriate and it will get a giggle out of the reader. I did feel it was very rushed at the end of each book, but maybe that's because I only wanted more stories!

I would mostly recommend this book for ages 9-12. It may not appeal to all, but as an adult I did find this series *very* loveable in it's own right and enjoyable!

I can not wait to read more works by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. I do know there are more adventures of The Spiderwick Series I can't wait to check out!

Editorial Review:

It all started with a mysterious letter left at a tiny bookstore for authors Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. Its closing lines: "We just want people to know about this. The stuff that has happened to us could happen to anyone." Little could they imagine the remarkable adventure that awaited them as they followed Jared, Simon, and Mallory Grace and a strange old book into a world filled with elves, goblins, dwarves, trolls, and a fantastical menagerie of other creatures. The oddest part is in entering that world, they didn't leave this one!

Five captivating books!

One thrilling adventure!

The Spiderwick Chronicles