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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
I'm surprised this has had such good reviews. It has practically no plot and is an extended sermon "goodness" in a very conservative vein including classist and sexist narratives and something that is not fully developed racism but hints at it. It romanticises the church and clergy passing judgement on others (including curious or wilful "females"). Hating women is seen as a loveable trait of gentlemen.
There's a persistent binarism- sun/moon, male/female, lion/unicorn (yes that's in the book too).
At first I thought Maria (the heroine) was going to be portrayed as not beautiful but the point of that turns out to be her good deeds and unselfishness make her beautiful.
There's a lot of detail of wondrous rooms and interiors, lavish meals and beautiful nature. The colour black is demonised in a paragraph hilariously reminiscent of my grandmother seriously telling me black is the devil's colour. This is probably relevant for the 1940s when the book was written, my question is why someone saw fit to reprint it in 2000 or beyond.
The worst part was Robin angrily demanding that Maria marries him. He's unable to control his temper because he says he has "a roaring lion inside him" (p 147) but as soon as she agrees to his demand he calms down abruptly. That seems (in a kids book) to be normalising domestic violence as "romantic". He never gets angry again in the book but she never does anything to thwart him and takes great care of his feelings and dignity after that.
All in all, the ideology was stronger than either the world-building or certainly the insipid plot. The cover contains warm recommendations from J K Rowling.
There's a persistent binarism- sun/moon, male/female, lion/unicorn (yes that's in the book too).
At first I thought Maria (the heroine) was going to be portrayed as not beautiful but the point of that turns out to be her good deeds and unselfishness make her beautiful.
There's a lot of detail of wondrous rooms and interiors, lavish meals and beautiful nature. The colour black is demonised in a paragraph hilariously reminiscent of my grandmother seriously telling me black is the devil's colour. This is probably relevant for the 1940s when the book was written, my question is why someone saw fit to reprint it in 2000 or beyond.
The worst part was Robin angrily demanding that Maria marries him. He's unable to control his temper because he says he has "a roaring lion inside him" (p 147) but as soon as she agrees to his demand he calms down abruptly. That seems (in a kids book) to be normalising domestic violence as "romantic". He never gets angry again in the book but she never does anything to thwart him and takes great care of his feelings and dignity after that.
All in all, the ideology was stronger than either the world-building or certainly the insipid plot. The cover contains warm recommendations from J K Rowling.
I remember being confused that this book wasn’t JUST about the little white horse which is all I cared about
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
One of my fav books from childhood & one I re-read annually. Not bad for a book which one the Carnegie Medal in 1946. Ever since I have wanted a round tower bedroom.
The Little White Horse is about little Maria Merryweather who goes to live with her cousin at Moonacre Manor after she is left an orphan. Moonacre, her ancestral homeland, is a charming place, but the whole valley is plagued by the shadows of mistakes made in the past. Maria, along with her new friends, has to "break the curse" in order to set everything right.
I never read The Little White Horse as a child. To be honest, I hadn't ever heard of it until I caught 'Moonacre' on Netflix one day. I thought the movie was really cute, and decided to give the book a try, especially since everyone said the book was much better. Even though I'm definitely not part of the demographic for this book, I quite enjoyed it. I probably would have liked it better as a child, though. I do have to warn, though, that I personally loved reading old books as a kid, but lots of other children may be happier reading a newer book. The Little White Horse was written in the 1940s, and it certainly shows. The characters aren't fleshed out in the way a modern reader might expect and the book is certinaly more religious than your average modern kid's book. I'm sure there are many readers out there who can overlook that sort of thing, considering the book's age, but others might want to pass.
Overall, I liked this book and was sad that I didn't have a chance to read it as a kid. A few things bothered me, but overall, it was a fun read.
I never read The Little White Horse as a child. To be honest, I hadn't ever heard of it until I caught 'Moonacre' on Netflix one day. I thought the movie was really cute, and decided to give the book a try, especially since everyone said the book was much better. Even though I'm definitely not part of the demographic for this book, I quite enjoyed it. I probably would have liked it better as a child, though. I do have to warn, though, that I personally loved reading old books as a kid, but lots of other children may be happier reading a newer book. The Little White Horse was written in the 1940s, and it certainly shows. The characters aren't fleshed out in the way a modern reader might expect and the book is certinaly more religious than your average modern kid's book. I'm sure there are many readers out there who can overlook that sort of thing, considering the book's age, but others might want to pass.
Overall, I liked this book and was sad that I didn't have a chance to read it as a kid. A few things bothered me
Spoiler
(like, wtf? a 13-year-old and 15-year-old got MARRIED? Couldn't they have waited at least like, 5 years?????, and not gonna lie, the overt Christianity wasn't quite my cup of tea)
if you are a fan of the secret garden and stories from that genre then you will enjoy the story if Maria and her adventures on moonacre. you can clearly see where jk Rowling got her writing style inspiration from.
adventurous
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Sweet and fun old fashioned fantasy book. I can see how it inspired J. K. Rowling.
A wonderful story that takes you to another place and time. Younger readers would very much enjoy this read. Myself, it was a little predictable and followed a pattern of all fairytales, but it is definitely something worth reading to my children.