The Whisper of Glocken

This sequel is laborious--the New Heroes are not nearly as interesting as the Old Heroes; the plot plods; the resolutions are incomplete. Read The Gammage Cup and stop. Even fifth graders will find this one unsatisfying

I loved reading The Gammage Cup while I was in school, yet somehow it took me years to learn that there’s a sequel to the story! We decided to have it as a family read-aloud recently, and I enjoyed being back in the world of the Minnipins again—such fun!

This book wasn’t as good as its predecessor. I didn’t connect with the characters quite as well, and in some ways, the book felt slightly slower-paced than the last one. Perhaps, too, the novelty of this world has worn off a little bit or something, I don’t know.

Still, it was a fun adventure story, and I enjoyed watching the characters as they tried to sort out what caused such chaos in their world and then set out into the unknown to try to save all the other Minnipins. The show more Diggers were a definite favorite of our family; we particularly enjoyed the hole scene (if you know, you know). Suffice it to say, that part brought out more than one hoot of laughter as I read it aloud!

If you enjoyed The Gammage Cup, you’ll likely enjoy this book. It isn’t as good, but it’s a fun what-if scenario set just after the exploits of beloved Muggles, Curley Green, and the others. show less

The second written of the three books in Kendall's Minnipin series. When the Watercress River floods, five new heroes must leave the valley to discover the cause.

There were some great adventures, and Kendall did a good job depicting the conflicts of three species with different lifestyles - the Diggers, the Minnipins, and the Hulks. The plot meandered around a bit too long, and the characters of the heroes were not as clearly defined as in the other books - I kept forgetting whose point of view I was getting. The weakest in the series, but still worth reading.

While not quite as good as The Gammage Cup, I found the characters to have more psychological depth, so it was a bit more modern to me -- their preconceived notions of the old Heroes were adjusted by reality so that they learned that everyone isn't perfect, even heroes. This book is well worth keeping and re-reading every few years.

(Amy) This book falls far short of the mark set by its Newbery-Honor-Book precursor, or so it seems to me. It is possible I'm not being as objective as I think I am, though, given that I first read the first one as a child, and the second as not until I had grown up into a fairly picky 31-year-old. First impressions are important, to be sure. Still, though, I was not unaware of the flaws in my re-read of Gammage Cup despite the lingering nostalgia from my original reading, so I am as confident as I can be in my comparison of the two.

In any case, the book is probably still quite good for what it is - a book for 5th graders - but I found it a bit overly simplistic for my jaded tastes these days.
( show more target="_top">http://weblog.siliconcerebrate.com/zenos-library/2009/08/the_whisper_of_glocken_... ) show less

Second book in the Minnipins series after the great The Gammage Cup. While it is nice to see the "heroes" --the outcasts who saved the Minnipins in book one--again, the plot this time involves contact with a depressingly modern outside world which rather spoils the atmosphere of the isolated Minnipin culture.
The message this time seems to be that modern industrial culture is inherently bad, which I am not really comfortable with as a generalization.
It does nmot help that the illustrator is Imero Gobbato, who is competent but not on the evel of Erik Belgvad who illustrated The Gammage Cup.

This sequel to The Gammage Cup is somewhat charming, but not as much as the first.