The Castle in the Attic (1985)

A lovely tale about a boy who inherits a Castle from his nanny and then finds that the lead knight is real. He's only 9 and his nanny is about to leave him when he shrinks her to the size of the castle and then realises that really, he shouldn't have done that, in order to restore the knight and nanny he too has to shrink and approach the world the knight came from and defeat evil.

I found it a charming story, with occasional stutters where it didn't bridge between scenes as well as it could have, but a fun story. ( )

Rating=10/10. This book was the first of the series and GREAT. The beginning and middle and end was awesome. The magical castle and new world was GREAT. Read this book!! :)
it was a good book
Review by: Jodee

This is a fun and exciting book. I recommend it for kids under 11 ( )

Read this with Randy when he was a kid. He loved it and I enjoyed it even as an adult. ( )

William is a young boy who is worried about his long-time nanny Mrs. Phillips, leaving for England to live with her brother. She reminds William that he is old enough to be without a nanny, and as a farewell gift, she gives him a toy castle that she played with during her childhood, complete with a silver knight. The knight comes to life and William learns about the knight's curse - the evil wizard Alastor had killed the knight's father, the king, and took over their kingdom. Alastor had used a magical medal to turn the knight into lead. The knight is in possession of another magical medal that shrinks live beings - which William uses to shrink Mrs. Phillips so that she wouldn't leave for England. She becomes highly upset, and William learns that he too must shrink himself and venture with the knight to battle Alastor for the other magical medal - so that the knight can reclaim his kingdom and return Mrs. Phillips back to normal. Ultimately, William is able to defeat Alastor himself and saves the knight and his nanny.

The tale truly captures the imagination with the knight coming to life and the use of the toy castle as a magical portal to the knight's realm, and the reader is easily engaged with William's heroic journey - initially he is completely dependent on his nanny, and finally realizes that he is a strong, confident, young man.

This book is perfect for ages 9-12, and teaches a great lesson about self-confidence and determination. ( )

THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS I'VE EVER READ!!!!! very action pact and funny. ( )