Davy and the Goblin; or, What Followed Reading "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"
by Charles E. Carryl
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A little boy, who believes that fairies and goblins are strictly creatures of fantasy, gets taken on a "Believing Voyage" by a hobgoblin.Tags
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KTIversen1 Sometimes called the Poor Man's Alice in Wonderland (or a bad copy), Davy And The Goblin is a highly entertaining book in its own right. And I gave it five stars in my review because it is still one of my favourite children's books.
Member Reviews
So, I was trying to get our new stove to boil water for veggies, or something, and the new stove wasn't much interested in cooperating with my culinary intentions. Naturally, I began to mutter the phrase, "a watch pot never boils". From that I was swept back to elementary school, back in the dark ages, where I vaguely remembered having read a book called Davy and the Goblin. In that book, there was a short episode during which Davy comes upon someone leaning over a pot of watches, hoping to get them to boil. They don't, of course, so he pulls out a gun and shoots the pot of watches, muttering the phrase I used to begin this piece. Something like that. Anyway, I then had to look up the book to see if I'd remembered correctly. I pretty show more much had remembered that particular episode correctly, but virtually all of the rest of the book didn't seem at all familiar.
Davy, it seems, is a young boy who doesn't believe in make believe. No fairies, giants or goblins for him. So a goblin shows up to take him on a Believing Voyage, or something like that. So the book is a series of short vignettes wherein Davy comes across one imaginary thing or another. Some are from well-known stories, such as his visits to Jack and the Beanstalk's Farm and Sinbad the Sailor's House, and some are to places and creatures that were unknown to me.
I dunno, I wasn't much into this book. I suppose I need more of a plot now days. It would be a great book to read to small children, because it is fanciful and works well in small bits. The advantage for an adult reader is that the book contains oodles of word plays, which will likely be over the head of a six-to-ten-year old, but which will be fun for us more mature types. For example:
Anyway, there you have it. It's probably not worth one's while if one is just reading to himself, but likely to be well worthwhile if one is reading to a young child. show less
Davy, it seems, is a young boy who doesn't believe in make believe. No fairies, giants or goblins for him. So a goblin shows up to take him on a Believing Voyage, or something like that. So the book is a series of short vignettes wherein Davy comes across one imaginary thing or another. Some are from well-known stories, such as his visits to Jack and the Beanstalk's Farm and Sinbad the Sailor's House, and some are to places and creatures that were unknown to me.
I dunno, I wasn't much into this book. I suppose I need more of a plot now days. It would be a great book to read to small children, because it is fanciful and works well in small bits. The advantage for an adult reader is that the book contains oodles of word plays, which will likely be over the head of a six-to-ten-year old, but which will be fun for us more mature types. For example:
"What's the difference between a dog-watch and a watch-dog? It's a conundrum." "I don't know," said Davy, who would have laughed if he had not been a little afraid of the Dog. "A dog-watch keeps a watching on a bark," said the old Sea-Dog; "and a watch-dog keeps a barking on a watch."
Anyway, there you have it. It's probably not worth one's while if one is just reading to himself, but likely to be well worthwhile if one is reading to a young child. show less
One of my favorite stories when young, tho0ugh I read it in the St. Nicholas Anthology, not this version. It contains "The Walloping Window Blind" as well as many ,ore amusing verses to adorn the tale of Davy's adventures with the goblin --to me, it comes closer than most to the whimsy of Alice in Wonderland while actually being funnier. I am not usually fond of the Hildebrand's photo realistic style, but I think it works better for this story than most.
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Davy and the Goblin; or, What Followed Reading "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"
- Original publication date
- 1884
- People/Characters
- Davy, The Goblin
- Important places
- Sinbad the Sailor's House
- Dedication
- To Guy: Dear little boy, upon these pages find . . .
- First words
- The first thought that came to Davy's mind when he found himself out-of-doors was that he had started off on his journey without his hat . . .
- Quotations
- A capital ship for an ocean trip
Was “The Walloping Window Blind;”
No gale that blew dismayed her crew
Or troubled her captain’s mind.
The man at the wheel was taught to feel
Contempt for the wil... (show all)dest blow,
And it often appeared, when the weather had cleared,
That he’d been in his bunk below. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)In fact, the Believing Voyage was ended.
- Original language
- English
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, Fantasy
- DDC/MDS
- 813.4 — Literature & rhetoric American literature in English American fiction in English Later 19th Century 1861-1900
- LCC
- PZ7 .C2373 .D — Language and Literature Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Juvenile belles lettres
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 99
- Popularity
- 321,820
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.44)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 9
- ASINs
- 6
