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kanonaru's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
anvi21's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
villianess's review against another edition
4.0
For a quickread this book was entertaining. Take the man in the moon, a wizard, a thief and a town on protected people, throw in a villain everyone can relate to and you have a story of dreams, change and betrayal.
Pitch has escaped and is set on bringing nightmares to all the children. Nicholas is a self-made thief and is drawn towards Big Root because of a dream sent by the man in the moon. When Nicholas arrives in Big Root he finds Katherine, a child full of belief in the lessons that have been taught to her by the wizard. When Nicholas becomes the wizard apprentice and decides to mix old magic with new technology all does not go to plan. Finding a way to catch and defeat Pitch proves harder than originally thought.
Joyce has taken holiday characters, mixed them with legends and created a wonderful story that younger readers (or those that need a quick read) will enjoy.
Pitch has escaped and is set on bringing nightmares to all the children. Nicholas is a self-made thief and is drawn towards Big Root because of a dream sent by the man in the moon. When Nicholas arrives in Big Root he finds Katherine, a child full of belief in the lessons that have been taught to her by the wizard. When Nicholas becomes the wizard apprentice and decides to mix old magic with new technology all does not go to plan. Finding a way to catch and defeat Pitch proves harder than originally thought.
Joyce has taken holiday characters, mixed them with legends and created a wonderful story that younger readers (or those that need a quick read) will enjoy.
jholloed's review
5.0
Chapter book detailed follow up to the Man in the Moon Kids book.
Positively delightful youth chapterbook filled with wonder, danger and imagination. Before Santa was Santa, he was a Russian theif, good with sword, who learned to love magic and children.
Beautiful illustations really add to the delight in the book.
Positively delightful youth chapterbook filled with wonder, danger and imagination. Before Santa was Santa, he was a Russian theif, good with sword, who learned to love magic and children.
Beautiful illustations really add to the delight in the book.
readingiscol's review
5.0
I thought it was really well done. I like the story of Nicholas St North and I want to read the rest of the books. Children will love it. Do not go into reading this expecting the movie its totally different but worth it
cimorene1558's review
2.0
Too many meaningless exclamation points, and not a very interesting story. Some cool ideas, but not well-executed.
saroz162's review
4.0
The first installment of William Joyce's Guardians of Childhood series is absolutely delightful. Joyce, long a master of the picture book form, has finally turned his talent to early reader novels, with excellent result. The basic idea - a series of stories revolving around the mythological figures of childhood, and their battle against nightmares, is simple, clever and will resonate with many, many children.
In reading this first book (I bought the first four), I was struck how much it reminded me of L. Frank Baum's Oz stories, which were great favorites of my own childhood. The language of Nicholas St. North is a little simpler - befitting the modern age - and the story is a little shorter, but there are some commonalities: a brave female child protagonist; benevolent magic-casters; strange fantasy creatures; and a quest that emphasizes friendship over the occasional bursts of terror and even violence. Crucially, Joyce and his co-author (on this volume only) have chosen to avoid either a full-on fairy tale motif or a sub-Tolkien high fantasy homage, both of which are overly popular today. I would not be at all surprised if the Oz books, which were always lighter and more distinctly American than many trendy series since, were in the back of Joyce's mind.
My only criticisms relate, perhaps over-sensitively, to marketing issues. I'm not an enormous fan of the serialized format that seems to have taken over children's fiction, which instead of gently implying future adventures, screams, "Buy the next one!" I respect that Joyce wants to tell a longer story, but I do like a more distinct ending to each installment. I'm also a little disappointed just by the economic situation in which these books are published. They are lovely little volumes - the covers are beautiful, and Joyce's gentle interior pencil drawings balance the text nicely - but I can't help thinking that, had these been released in the glory publishing days of the '80s or '90s, they would have color plates (or a color frontispiece, at least). The covers are so vivid it just seems a shame there is none of Joyce's trademark color work elsewhere in the books. That's a secondary issue, though - what's here is very nice indeed.
I am looking forward to the next book in the series, which has a delightfully B-movie title. I believe William Joyce has projected six novels in the series, so there's only two to be released yet. I'll certainly be keeping an eye out.
In reading this first book (I bought the first four), I was struck how much it reminded me of L. Frank Baum's Oz stories, which were great favorites of my own childhood. The language of Nicholas St. North is a little simpler - befitting the modern age - and the story is a little shorter, but there are some commonalities: a brave female child protagonist; benevolent magic-casters; strange fantasy creatures; and a quest that emphasizes friendship over the occasional bursts of terror and even violence. Crucially, Joyce and his co-author (on this volume only) have chosen to avoid either a full-on fairy tale motif or a sub-Tolkien high fantasy homage, both of which are overly popular today. I would not be at all surprised if the Oz books, which were always lighter and more distinctly American than many trendy series since, were in the back of Joyce's mind.
My only criticisms relate, perhaps over-sensitively, to marketing issues. I'm not an enormous fan of the serialized format that seems to have taken over children's fiction, which instead of gently implying future adventures, screams, "Buy the next one!" I respect that Joyce wants to tell a longer story, but I do like a more distinct ending to each installment. I'm also a little disappointed just by the economic situation in which these books are published. They are lovely little volumes - the covers are beautiful, and Joyce's gentle interior pencil drawings balance the text nicely - but I can't help thinking that, had these been released in the glory publishing days of the '80s or '90s, they would have color plates (or a color frontispiece, at least). The covers are so vivid it just seems a shame there is none of Joyce's trademark color work elsewhere in the books. That's a secondary issue, though - what's here is very nice indeed.
I am looking forward to the next book in the series, which has a delightfully B-movie title. I believe William Joyce has projected six novels in the series, so there's only two to be released yet. I'll certainly be keeping an eye out.
nattyg's review
3.0
Read it because of the movie, Rise of the Guardians, and enjoyed this a lot. Not sure how it fits with the movie plot themes as North is not "santa" yet.
catethegreat03's review
4.0
An absolutely delightful book, it would be great to read to younger children.
deranged_pegasus's review
5.0
Beautiful tale. And the illustrations give such a wonderful depth to the tale with small details that cannot be described.