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The author of this book is one of the young prodigies in Hollywood-land, being one of the stars of the musical hit Glee where he plays Kurt Hummel. But this 22 year old man has launched himself to the quest of becoming the ultimate multiple threat, adding to his resumee stuff like a Golden Globe win, a couple of Emmy Nominatios, writing and directing credits in movies. But that´s not all… he also wrote a Fairy Tales book called
The Land of Stories – The Wishing Spell, a book that was almost immediately a New York Times Best seller.
One could easily argue that the book works because of its “star quality”; and, quite frankly, not be so far away from the truth, as the original packaging comes with a picture of Chris Colfer and includes a note signed by him inviting readers to enjoy the book. Marketing certainly helps selling books and I´m in peace with that fact.
What´s best is that the book can hold its own when you read it since it´s well written and targeted perfectly to younger audiences: tweens and early teens. The stories are well told, the characters well constructed and the flow of the main story interacting with the chapter´s story is smooth.
¿What´s the book about?
Twins Alex and Conner get a Fairy Tail Book from Grandma, and this book has some magic power: it can transport you to The Land of Stories, where characters and Fairy Tales are for real; and we get to see what happened after the “Happily Ever After”, for instance you can see how Goldilocks became a Fugitive or what happened to Red Riding Hood or Cinderella, among others.
Besides going through the stories and Fairy Tales we all know so well, but telling us the aftermath, the book is about the journey of these brother and sister as they search for a way to go back home while the Evil Queen is after them.
Some elements I want to pinpoint:
– The characters are very well known but the book tells us things we did not know about them. It´s the same element we see in successful TV Shows these days such as Once Upon A Time and Grimm. A formula that is working both in young and in adult audiences.
– The power of a book: Taking a paperback book that can transport you to magical land is a great message for kids.
– The Aftermath: The characters have conflicts that are not exactly the same as we knew from Hans Christian Andersen or Grimm Brtohers´ stories, but the consecuences of them. It´s a very well though out book.
In summary, I think this book is a little jewel for kids and I absolutely recommend it for boys and girls ages 7 to 13.
You can order this book in Amazon or Barnes & Noble for $9.99 to $10.98.
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i loved it > it was easy to read specially if english is not your first language > i was suprised about the characters i felt them > the writting was not that smooth but i loved it > when i miss the characters i like reading the book again over al i was suprised in agood way