A review by thebeardedpoet
The Great Good Thing by Roderick Townley

5.0

A pure pleasure read. In this book, the characters are actually alive inside a storybook. When the book is closed "back up lights" come on and the characters relax a bit until the next reader comes along. When the reader shows up, they dash to their proper pages and recite their dialogue. The princess Sylvie discovers that she can make a leap from the pages of the book into the dreams of the reader. In this dream-scape she actually meets the reader and becomes her friend. Eventually all the characters from the book must flee from the pages to the reader's mind to escape the fire that has been set to their book. The second half of the book is about what happens in the reader's mind as the characters try to build a new life there. The style of the book is clear, simple, and poetic. I highly recommend this book to either a child or an adult. It's the second time I've read it and loved every minute of it.