A princess named Sylvie lives in a book that hasn't been read in many years. She has become very bored with her same old boring plot. Suddenly, though, there is a new reader, and Sylvie makes the mistake of looking up at her. Then she makes the mistake of entering her dream, when she falls asleep with the book open. Sylvie finds excitement and a new plotless existence in the reader's dream night after night, but she is risking her book, and all the characters in it, by making the journey. When disaster strikes the book, Sylvie has the idea of taking the whole story into the reader's dreams to live, but what will happen when the reader grows up and begins to forget about the book?

This one was like The Eyre Affair series for children. I thought it could be no fail, but the plot got a little convoluted when it turned into dream territory.

I am going to admit that by the time I got mere pages into this book I had become quite depressed. At the time I read it (a year or two ago) I was well into the later drafts of my OWN book, The Word Changers, and felt more than a little terror at the thought that what I had BELIEVED to be an original idea (characters being alive in their own story) had already been taken! If you're a writer, you may have experienced that same terror before . . . not fun.

However, as I continued to read, I saw that this story was much different than my own. Yes, the characters are alive and basically live their own lives while the pages of the book are closed. Yes, they have to re-enact their story each time someone reads it. But those two rather broad ideas were where the similarities between this book and my own ended.

This book is for a rather young audience. Age 8 and up, I'd say. It's full of wonderful adventure, surprises, and stakes that will make any child want to stay up all night reading it. I delighted in reading it, myself, and I recently found a used copy that I bought for my own (which is what prompted this rather late review of it). I think my 8-yr-old son will love reading it purely for its premise and intrigue, even if it DOES cast a princess as the main character ;)

I recommend to anyone, any age, who enjoys a story with the mystery akin to The Secret Garden, the childlike charm of Winnie the Pooh, and the quirky whimsy of The Princess and the Goblin. In short, a true children's classic.

The book was really interesting but it was a bit complicated to understand in some parts that is way this book was not my favorite. I recommend this book for people who like mystery and fantasy. This book was not my favorite but maybe other people might enjoy it.

This was super cute! I think I would have loved it as an impressionable ten-year-old who was into fantasy. The part with the reader aging made me cry. The stories that are important to us stay with us forever <3

A cute little story about fictional characters being truly alive!

To read my full review, click here.

Genre: Fairy Tale (Traditional Literature)
Awards: N/A
Audience: 4th-6th grade
A) The characters are described with beautiful language, but are simple characters overall. They are either good or bad for the most part. The characters are described throughout the story, so there is not just a description of each as they are introduced to the story.
B) I am not familiar with any other versions of this story.
C) I would definitely use this story as a read aloud for storytelling to my class or a single child. The book is a chapter book with a few difficult words, so it might be beneficial to read aloud to students to increase their chances of enjoyment and comprehension.
D) Why do you think the idea of starting over with a new kingdom was such a difficult thought for the King and Queen? They had never been adventurous and thoroughly enjoyed their life that consisted of doing the same thing repeatedly and living in the same place. Starting over was too great a task to bear.

Tis possible this is getting a 5 rating purely for the nostalgia of it. I picked this book up to fulfill “reread of a childhood fave” bingo prompt, and boy was this. You can tell by the wear that it was well cared for but read many times. It was likely what got me to enjoy reading and to enjoy fantasy.

As an adult I will say, the idea behind this book is great. Really I’ve never seen something else like it: a story book character’s life and adventure from within her own book and into the mind and dreams of the book’s Reader.

This was a really sweet book infused with a childlike wonder. I don't really have much to say other than it was very short, simple, and sweet. 3/5 stars because it was very childish, but I would recommend for sure. The Great Good Thing

Oh my word, I loved this book. I even cried at the end. It's a story about the protagonist in a book and the characters who live inside it's pages, with her... and even can hide in independent clauses. The author does such an eloquent job of writing the characters and their struggles with breaking out of the molds they were written for (most never do). The plot has numerous twists as the protagonist becomes friends with the reader. This book is so original and creative and I even cried at the happy ending.

I wish I had found this book as a child because I know it would have been one of my favorites growing up. It has everything I loved then and still do now. I'm glad it is getting reprinted and hopefully will be found by many new readers.

Metafiction is one of my favorite things in a book. I love it when characters know they are characters and interact with the world outside of their story. It was enjoyable to read about what they did when the book was closed. I loved reading about them having to run to whatever page the reader opened to. This brought a good amount of humor to the story that I'm sure young readers will love, as will those young at heart, like myself.

Sylvie's story is heartwarming and quite sad at times. She's a great heroine for young readers to read about. There are many hard topics in this book which were handled well. The message behind this book is quite powerful, especially with the title. I won't spoil that here. Also, it embodies the joy of reading and falling in love with a story. I remember being Claire's (one of the readers in this book) age and rereading my favorite books repeatedly. Rereading is still one of my favorite things but I do not do it even close to the amount I used to. When I fell in love with a story, I liked to experience it as much as possible, which often meant rereading the same book five times in a row. At least my favorite scenes.

This is a book about how important a story can become to a reader and how it becomes part of your memories. It shows how even after so many years a story can still greatly impact your life for the good. The Great Good Thing is a great story for book lovers who get lost in the stories they are reading. It made me feel nostalgic for those magical times when I would fall in love with a book as a child. Reading really is special.

I highly recommend this for young readers and those like me who still feel enjoyment from reading whimsical books like this.

*Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.*

Such a wonderful story of being in a story! I couldn’t put it down!

really loved this book, unique, creative and I think overlooked - has concepts reminiscent to inkheart which the book predates. A light easy read with elements of writing that are a pure delight.