The Great Good Thing

First sentence: Sylvie had an amazing life, but she didn't get to live it very often. What good were potions and disguises if no one came along to scare you or save you or kiss you behind the waterfall? Week after week nothing changed. Years went by. The sparkles on Sylvie's dress began to fade, and a fine dust coated the leaves, turning the green woods gray. Once in a while, it looked as though something might happen.

The Great Good Thing is a book about books, or perhaps the self-awareness of fictional characters OF their human readers. This is a book about lasting impressions and dreams. It's an odd little book that doesn't necessarily fit many molds. It does celebrates stories and storytelling and LEGACIES of stories.

Sylvie, the main show more character, is a fictional book character that--for better or worse, mostly for better--has a special relationship with a family of readers--a grandmother/granddaughter. She is able to "crossover" from the fictional world--the literal pages of her book--into the readers' dream world. When her book suffers a horrible fate--a fire--she is able to help the other characters transition into her readers' dream world where they exist--barely, minimally--for decades.

The book is more abstract and philosophical than young readers may appreciate? In other words, this might 'touch' adults more than children. Though if it's read aloud by an adult who absolutely loves the story, I wouldn't be surprised if young readers catch the enthusiasm and love it as well. I just don't personally see it as a book that kids will discover on their own and absolutely fall in love with. It would need some hand-selling or "blessing."

The book has a heaviness to it which I think might vary from reader to reader to reader. It has a lot of things--directly and indirectly--to say about death. show less

This is a children's book and not one that has the depth to stand up to critical reading by an adult, but as a children's book, it was a fun story with enough depth and uncertainty to keep it from being saccharine. If your question is "Should an adult who likes great children's books read this?" the answer is maybe. But if your question is "Should I read this if I am sitting in my child's room and need something to read?" the answer is, "yes, and you'll probably have a pretty good time."

This started off to be very promising-the idea of book characters coming to life and even entering the reader's dream was really great. The problem to me with this book is that it became less about the fantasy and fun and more and more about death, old age, where people go when they die, etc, which is definitely not apparent on the back of the book, book jacket, anywhere! I would only recommend this book for kids who WANT to know more about death and dying or who has old grandparents who might pass soon, or a similar situation. Otherwise, I would hold off on this book as it is extremely sad and depressing.

This is a fantastic tale of what a story can be to those who love it. The characters must love the story, as it is their universe... or at least the characters must appreciate that this is their world and there are rules to the success of their world.

The readers, for the magic of the story to come alive, must love the story as an escape from their world.

The author, for the length of the life of the book, must be ready for the story to adapt to the changes of time.

The story-book princess who would love adventure other than what has been written for her with the pages of her tale, meeting a generation of women for whom this tale is so important (as readers of the story) is a beautiful exploration of the magic that books can make.

This is a cute story, really meant for grades 4-6. The premise of the book is that story-book characters are alive and real in the imaginations of readers. Good story line but I felt as if the author tried to rush the story a bit and left out some necessary character and plot development early in the book. His characters obviously are able to travel from books and the imaginations of readers into the dreams of the readers although the author doesn't clearly explain this to the reader of the book. Again, for me, the story felt familiar. A more grown-up and engrossing telling of the same sort can be found in Inkheart by Cornelia Funke.

An interesting twist on traditional fantasy. Instead of just exploring fairy tale characters stepping out of their time and setting, this one takes us into the realm of the reader's mind and what happens when book characters become memories, and memories fade.

I really enjoyed this little gem. It has a great premise and I think there are some deep themes to think about and discuss. You remember Shakespeare's play within a play? This is about a book within a book. Sylvie is the main character. She's the princess and heroine of her story. She manages to outlive her book and in the end does a Great Good Thing. I'm glad I didn't miss out on this one. I'll definitely read it again.