This is a delightful story about eight year old Princess Irene, her great-great-great-great grandmother, and a miner boy named Curdie. Together they fight to foil the goblins' sinister schemes. Little Irene is a true princess and acts like a little lady, while Curdy is a very brave and heroic boy.

Highly recommended for all ages. I will try to read the sequel, The Princess and Curdie, sometime this year as well. I am also set to read Phantastes by MacDonald for the Fantasy Challenge. I can't wait to get to this more "adult" fantasy tale. I really enjoyed MacDonald's writing, and I am not at all surprised that he was an inspiration to both Lewis and Tolkien. ( )

I was 8 years old when I picked up this book at the library and it completely enchanted me then as it does now. As a young reader, I think I probably skipped a lot of the descriptive passages, but there is enough action and dialogue to keep young readers and listeners attentive. I can't say the same for the sequel, The Princess and Curdie. I don't think I've ever been able to finish that book. But The Princess and the Goblin is a worthy predecessor to the Lord of the Rings and other fable/fantasies. ( )

Mindy Hardwick (Children's Literature)
Princess Irene is eight years old, and lives side by side with the Goblins. The Goblins once lived above ground, but retreated underground when they were subjected to severe laws and taxes. On the top floor of Princess Irene's house is her Great-Great-Grandmother who only Princess Irene can see. Princess Irene's secret Grandmother is magical. She keeps a lighted moon in her window, eats eggs from the pigeons, and spins spider webs into magical thread balls. Soon, the Goblins are being forced from their homes by the miners who sing rhymed verses to push the Goblins further into the hills and away from the mines. So, the Goblins devise a plan to capture Princess Irene. However, Princess Irene is given one of the magical threads and it leads her away from the Goblins when they attack her father's palace. Young readers will be enchanted with this little known fairy tale and find themselves caught up with Princess Irene as she tries to convince the adults around her of her Great-Great-Grandmother's existence. Readers will want to be sure and read the second book in the sequence which continues the story of Princess Irene and her friend, Curdie. 2004 (orig. 1874), HarperCollins, $6.99. Ages 8 to 12.

Amazon.com
As always with George MacDonald, everything here is more than meets the eye: this in fact is MacDonald's grace-filled vision of the world. Said to be one of J.R.R. Tolkien's childhood favorites, The Princess and the Goblin is the story of the young Princess Irene, her good friend Curdie--a minor's son--and Irene's mysterious and beautiful great great grandmother, who lives in a secret room at the top of the castle stairs. Filled with images of dungeons and goblins, mysterious fires, burning roses, and a thread so fine as to be invisible and yet--like prayer--strong enough to lead the Princess back home to her grandmother's arms, this is a story of Curdie's slow realization that sometimes, as the princess tells him, "you must believe without seeing." Simple enough for reading aloud to a child (as I've done myself more than once with my daughter), it's rich enough to repay endless delighted readings for the adult. --Doug Thorpe ( )

A good story to read aloud to children. And as always, it is better than the movie.