An interesting twist on the typical children's story. The story never gets completely told! The characters from the book (The Great Good Thing) eventually move from the book into the dreams of the reader. From there new adventures are created. The characters of the story span the lives of four generations. Each generation of readers helps to keep the story alive until finally the fourth-generation daughter commits the story back into a book so millions more can enjoy the story. For us, the readers of the readers, we never get to know the whole of the original story, but we do get to see the transition of the characters throughout this process. Very inventive!

This is a book about books. Specifically, a princess named Sylvie who is part of the cast of characters in a book and "performs" her part every time a reader cracks open the book she is written into. Readers are sparse, but the cast of the book is thrilled when their book becomes the new favorite for a little girl. Sylvie occasionally departs from standard book-character behavior and ventures off into the girl's dreams, but things really get weird when the book is burned and the characters must find a new home.

This seemed like a promising premise, but it didn't turn out to be that great of a plot. Too meandering and nonsensical. The characters had a fairy-tale like quality in that there wasn't always that much depth to their emotions and actions. The book seemed to have Things to Say about stories, and memory, and the importance of books living on, but I guess I just didn't find it all that compelling.

I love this book. I loved it the first time I read it, I still love it after this most recent read. Roderick Townley weaves a fantastic story that suggests what happens to the characters in a book when the book is closed and what happens to our memories as we age and fade away. Even though its directed audience are children I think this books touches the reader in different ways as we go through our own lives.

I've always had a fondness for the trope of characters in a book jumping off the page and entering their reader's life and this is a particularly charming example. Certain emotional background events in the "real world" are mostly hinted at rather than actually addressed, but given the target audience this book is actually written for, that's perfectly alright. I was honestly surprised to see the narrative span multiple generations of "real world people" actually growing up, dealing with grown-up problems and growing old as they interact with the protagonist, didn't expect that. All in all, a quick but low-key emotional and definitely fun read.

I was a little annoyed that a few characters introduced early had gone unaccounted for in the story (like the disguised prince - I must be the only one who cared that he forgotten in the narrative. Like, she’s supposed to marry him, and yet she describes him as horrible multiple times. We never see him but Sylvie has multiple scenes with the legit villains), but other than that, it was a pretty cool concept and Sylvie was a great heroine.

This is a book about stories and characters who live on in your memories. Reading it reminded me of the book called Between the Lines, and now I want to reread that one too. It's been so long since I read it.

"How did you travel?"
"By fish."

Someone recommended this book to me many years ago, and I found a copy for a dollar at a book sale some years back.
While looking for another book to read aloud to my mom I came across this one and we tried it out together.

This book reminded me of Toy Story and Inside Out at times, with a lot of fairytale whimsy.

Just now I am finding out that there are two other books in this series!

Comment below if you know of other books about characters living lives independently of their books--Inkheart and Storybound/Story's End come to mind.

Basically a perfect little meta-fictional children's book. I love it.

Not your typical once upon a time.

forever one of my favorites from when i was little, i read it for a fun super easy read and was in love with it the whole time just like i was when i first read it so long ago. its so perfect that one day is enough to read it in and it honestly doesn’t ever need anything more.

This is a children's book and not one that has the depth to stand up to critical reading by an adult, but as a children's book, it was a fun story with enough depth and uncertainty to keep it from being saccharine. If your question is "Should an adult who likes great children's books read this?" the answer is maybe. But if your question is "Should I read this if I am sitting in my child's room and need something to read?" the answer is, "yes, and you'll probably have a pretty good time."

“Never mind, said the King. “She knows it isn’t true. The sun shines. Readers read.” (Pg. 5)
Found the cutest little story about characters in a fairytale and what they do when no one reads their story—how sad….the characters just sit around waiting for something to happen and for the pages to turn so their story can unfold. Only Sylvie the princess and main character has been living her story for years and finds that when the reader is asleep she can venture into her dreams and live new adventures with her and her grandma..This was a great premise but ultimately it was too mature and disjointed for me to really recommend it to students though I adore a fairytale..this was already on our shelves and will return there LOL but I did want to try it and I loved all the references to readers!:
“Sylvie forgot the number one rule of all storybook characters: Never look at the reader.” (Pg. 12)
“Storybook characters live for the sound of the Readers breathing, especially as it softens and settles like the breath of dreamers. It gives the characters courage to go on through the most difficult plot twists. (Pg. 17)
Ultimately this was not a favorite though, short and sweet but on to the next….

If i could award half stars, this is definitely more 3.5 than 3. It’s clever—all the ways the story intertwines. A real complaint i have is that the Author has by the end nearly forgotten Thomas, after making it so clear in the beginning that he was a character to watch. But i am glad that the story goes on, even better (dare i say) than the Author’s original.