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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This seems to be the work of origin for many of my favorite books growing up.
For its age and originality, it gets an extra star. I can see how this spurred all sorts of fantasy writing. It was an entertaining little book. It is dated, though it didn't bother me too much.
A rollicking children's fantasy novel written in 1872, The Princess & The Goblin by George MacDonald is fantastic! I do remember that my parents read me this book when I was a child, but since I could not remember anything else about the story – and was recently amazed by Phantastes – I decided to make this my favorite author read for August. Since it is also extremely short, I finished listening to it over the course of one long walk. The version I listened to I downloaded off of Overdrive, and was excellent, but both free versions on librivox sound very well done as well.
If you couldn't tell already, I really loved this book. Which was an interesting contrast to my recent experience listening to Around The World in 80 days, that while three-star, left a lot to be desired from an adult reader's perspective. Beyond pure personal preference, I think this difference in satisfaction comes down to two key differences. The first one is simple, the glorification of colonialism, which is hard for most adults these days to swallow. The second, somewhat more complicated reason, is that one is a book from the perspective of an adult made appropriate for all ages, and the other is a story for children from the perspective of a child. So while the goblin king and queen's plans weren't quite as complicated as Game of Thrones, who doesn't like to be reminded of how much more exciting and creative the life of a child is?
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the feel of Spiderwick, Coraline, The Graveyard Book, or The House of Arden.
If you couldn't tell already, I really loved this book. Which was an interesting contrast to my recent experience listening to Around The World in 80 days, that while three-star, left a lot to be desired from an adult reader's perspective. Beyond pure personal preference, I think this difference in satisfaction comes down to two key differences. The first one is simple, the glorification of colonialism, which is hard for most adults these days to swallow. The second, somewhat more complicated reason, is that one is a book from the perspective of an adult made appropriate for all ages, and the other is a story for children from the perspective of a child. So while the goblin king and queen's plans weren't quite as complicated as Game of Thrones, who doesn't like to be reminded of how much more exciting and creative the life of a child is?
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the feel of Spiderwick, Coraline, The Graveyard Book, or The House of Arden.
Read this when I was a kid and thought I’d read it again to refresh my memory... it was just as good as I remembered. Takes me back
Victorian and fin de siecle children’s literature is really interesting.
Do we moralize less in contemporary children’s literature or just less explicitly?
Also, I see what people mean about finding Bilbo’s goblins in this story.
Do we moralize less in contemporary children’s literature or just less explicitly?
Also, I see what people mean about finding Bilbo’s goblins in this story.
I have seen The Princess and the Goblin on countless lists of classic children's literature. I picked up a copy cheap on Book Outlet and started reading it aloud to my kindergartner. He lost interest about halfway through, but I kept going. It's definitely an old-school story - high level of vocabulary, plenty of fantastical elements, and strong morals to every story. I love that it showcases two brave young children who choose to do right even in the face of danger. Kids need literary role models like that. The storytelling itself is not my favorite style of writing, and partly that is because I don't think these tend to age well. I think a lot of modern adults wouldn't even be engaged with this. But I can see why it's a classic, and why so many people do love it- spunky heroes, adventure, fantasy, and a happy ending.
A wonderful fairy tale that reads as if your grandfather was telling a story round a campfire. It reminded me very much of C.S. Lewis' Narnia series, or Tolkien's Hobbit. A perfect bedtime read for ANY age. I can't wait to read the sequel and find out what more happens to Irene and Curdie!