Utterly charming! This seems like a fairy tale, with Princess Sylvie being rescued by a blind snowy owl and a transparent fish, but it is basically set in the interface between a book's characters and its readers, in this case several generations of girls in the same family.

Cute story about characters in a book and the adventures that ensue when the reader closes the pages. Sometimes a bit hard to follow at times in the thick of the story between the book, dream and real world, but story wrapped up nicely. Overall enjoyed!

Such a good book! I used it as my shower read so my copy is water damaged I hope Sylvie doesn’t mind. This was everything the Neverending Story wasn’t. It was the perfect length while still having a cool premise that could extend into other books if interested. I recommend to anyone and everyone especially those who have always wanted to interact with their factories fictional characters.

The blend of fiction and reality was awesome and while I probably won’t be reading the rest of the series Roderick Townley did an excellent job.

It is also a great book to read to get out of a reading slump with its quick pace. It is heavily character driven and the characters are lovable. I often find main characters to be a bit annoying, but Sylvie wasn’t at all!

I found this book at a used book sale for fifty cents, and it looked like an interesting new read. Last night I read it and it was the cutest story! I think this'll go on my favorites shelf. (Also, the one I got had a much better cover illustration).

-"The wilderness is littered with forgotten stories that will never be retold."-

Timeless, enchanting, and beautifully original. Do you ever wonder what happens to your favorite characters after you stop reading their story? Does the story live on after it is forgotten or does it fade away without a reader to bring it to life? Step into The Great Good Thing and discover the tale of a beloved cast of characters fight for survival against the tides of memory.

Knjižica koja može da se pročita za sat-dva i istovremeno je namenjena deci od recimo... osam, devet godina?... i njihovim majkama/bakama koje će je verovatno čitati kao solidno turobniju priču.

Taunli od samog početka barata vrlo uspešnim obrtom u „priči o priči“ – ne samo da njegovi junaci, likovi dečje knjige, imaju život nezavisno od zapleta, već se njihovo bivstvovanje u Knjizi organizuje na principu malog pozorišta koje je večito „na gotovs“ – ako Čitalac otvori Knjigu u sredini, svi likovi moraju da se polome ne bi li na vreme stigli do svog mesta na strani i krenuli s recitovanjem teksta; ako Čitalac (Čitateljka) prstom pritisne mesto gde je stala, pritisnuće jadne lopove uz pločnik; ako zatvori knjigu nasred poglavlja, dok princezu guta vrtlog, princeza će lepo da ispliva i dohvati peškir koji je uredno okačen izvan vidokruga.
Iza tog ljupkog ali na duže staze oskudnog koncepta jeste drugi, znatno ozbiljniji – o tome kako se priče prenose iz jedne generacije u drugu, kako se menjaju i na koji način u njima i dalje žive majke, bake i poneki nastavnik geometrije.
Tako da je konačni utisak nekako dvostruk, s jedne strane knjiga je čak preterano penušava i vazdušasta i lagana i nekako proleti bez traga kao... pa kao čokoladna bananica... a s druge strane nudi klasičnu spoznaju „o prolaznosti života i besmrtnosti duše“ koja je, mislim, dovoljno jasna da se poneko osetljivije dete od ovoga smori a da ne zna tačno zašto.
I da, moram reći da je izdanje koje sam ja čitala stvarno predivno dizajnirano, i da su pazili da ima upravo onakve plave platnene korice kakve ima i Knjiga-u-knjizi, i prelom je božanstven, sa raskošno velikim marginama: baš prava Knjiga, da osetite milinu već zato što je držite u rukama.

This was so wonderfully, refreshingly good! I enjoyed it from the first sentence and was sad to have it end. I am excited to read the next two now!

Surprise! I finished my first 2018 read on the first day of the year!

This is a cute, sweet story. A refreshing, clever and fantastical take on what happens to book characters and how stories are created and last in the mind of readers.

I would say this book is very appropriate for children who are getting into reading chapter books, or maybe working toward middle grade books. It isn't complex or heavily written, but it includes language that is well above a beginning reader, especially with some of the sentimental concepts introduced.

I would like to warn that the are a few moments that death of elderly people is discussed. It isn't in depth, and it is handled delicately, but I figured it might be good to know that the subject matter is there in case a young reader has questions or is sensitive to it.

A solid 4 out of 5 bitchin' stars from me! I am holding onto my copy for my future children!

Great premise, and a wonderful beginning.

However, after that it wanders hither and yon, an interesting character and a clever notion in search of a plot. They never really find one.

Pre-teens may enjoy it; older kids will probably prefer a story with more of a story.

I picked up this book as I remember seeing it when I was little in my Primary School library but I never read it but I remembered that I loved the cover.

I loved the introduction to this story, I found it to be rather original. The middle felt a bit slow but the ending was well wrapped up. All in all, a fun and cute wee story for young readers.

It was never unusual for my mother to buy books for me. It was unusual for her to buy them without my input. One day she handed me “The Great Good Thing.”

“It looks like something you’d enjoy,” she said.

I should’ve read it then, but I didn’t. I went through a phase in college and graduate school where all my reading was course related, and so, this book sat on my shelf for a very, very long time.

Until the day my sister asked for book recommendations for her eight year old daughter. I went through my usual list, then headed for my bookshelf, intent on finding other books to send her. (If you have recommendations, please drop them in the comments.) I don’t get to see my nieces and nephew very often; they live across the country, and while I know they love me, I hate being absent in their lives. So if I’m able to send or do, I try my best.

“The Great Good Thing” will soon find its way into my unicorn, mermaid, and princess loving niece’s hands. It is such a fun, thoughtful, poignant book I have to send it her way because, as Sylvie, the princess and protagonist of the tale proves, good books are meant to be shared.

“‘The wilderness is littered with forgotten stories that will never be retold.'” (pg. 169)

Sylvie has been a twelve-year-old princess for more than eighty years. Her story is a good one, great even, but it’s the same each time it’s read, and Sylvie is bored with the same old story. They’ve been on the shelf so long it comes as a surprise one day when a reader picks up the book and begins to read. It comes as an even bigger surprise when Sylvie looks up, and decides to see what’s beyond the pages of her book.

I am, at heart, a storyteller, and sometimes I am absolutely consumed with frustration at the lack of originality in books, television, and movies today. This from a woman who wrote her thesis (happily) on fairytale retellings. I can tell you now, I have never read anything quite like “The Great Good Thing.” Yes, there is a king and queen, a prince and princess, a magical curse, and a few faithful (even magical) animal friends; they are, after all, part of Sylvie’s story. But there is so much more: book characters interacting with readers, deep generational ties, a sense of loss, adventure, fear of the unknown, and courage to do the hard thing asked of you.

Townley’s novel is creative in a way I’ve never read. We see Sylvie in her world, but we see her readers in theirs, too. We see how they need Sylvie, and how Sylvie needs them. We see the dramatic impact of stories, and how they can comfort us in times of our deepest sorrow. There is so much beauty in this little book, but my favorite part is towards the end on page 190; Sylvie and the First Reader are talking about Claire, another dearly loved reader. They discuss how all Claire wanted was to do a great, good thing, but never thought herself capable. Perhaps, even at the end of her long life, she thought it impossible, but those who knew her and loved her best knew better. Her great good things were many, particularly her kindness, which they ultimately recalled.

“The Great Good Thing” is a dear book, and I highly recommend reading it with your kids. It is part of a trilogy, but if I’m being honest, I don’t know if I’ll read the other two. I love how “The Great Good Thing” ended, and I’m not sure I want to move on past that sweet, ideal ending. If you’ve read the series, please let me know what you think!

The imaginative plot of this book follows a group of storybook characters (mainly the princess, Sylvie) and their lives between readings. Soon enough, curious Sylvie wanders out of her book and into the dreams of a reader, who fell asleep with the book open. In the mind of the reader, she is introduced to a whole new world of adventure as well as concepts she has never encountered in her storybook - change, growing up, death and loss. This is a fun story about facing your fears, helping others, and leaving a legacy. I think this will be a good one to reread with my kids when they’re a little older. (It’s totally clean, I just think they’re too young to appreciate it.)