Stardust

 

Photo Credit: www.barnesandnoble.com

Gaiman, Neil. Stardust. New York: HarperCollins, 1999. Print. ISBN: 9780061689246. $6.99. 288 pages.

Awards & Honors:

Mythopoeic Fantasy Award 1999
SF Site Editor's Choice 1999
Locus Nominee Best Fantasy Fiction 1999
Geffen Award Best Translated Fantasy Book 2000
ALA Best Book for Young Adults 2000
Alex Award 2000
South Carolina Young Adult Book Award 2001-2002
ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults 2003

Annotation: Tristan Thorn lives in Wall and loves the most beautiful girl on earth.  When he sets off to find a fallen star for the woman he loves, he discovers a whole new world and learns that maybe love is something very different from what lies in Wall.  Stardust is an unforgettable adventure and splendid  tribute to traditional fairy tales.

Review:  Stardust is a wondrous tale about Tristan Thorn, who lives in the town of Wall. The town is just a normal town, but just past the surrounding wall is a magical world. The wall is guarded, but one day Tristan breaks through the wall in search of a fallen star that he desperately needs to prove his fialty to his one true love. What lies ahead for Tristan is a world of magic, true love, sky pirates, witches, and stars.  Gaiman's charming story is akin to the fairy tales of the Brother's Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson and will remain in the hearts of readers of years to come.

Find the NOOK version here.

Find the Kindle version here.

Read an interview with Neil Gaiman here.
 

The film version of Stardust, featuring Claire Daines, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Robert De Niro was released in 2007.

 

Photo credit: www.wikipedia.com

Rapunzel's Revenge

Photo Credit: www.barnesandnoble.com



Hale, Shannon & Dean.  Rapunzel’s Revenge.  New York: Bloomsbury, 2008.  Print. ISBN: 9781599902883. $15.99. 144 pages.

Awards:

ALA Notable Children's Book (ALA)
Amelia Bloomer Project Selection (ALA)
An Al Roker Today Show Book Club Pick
An IndieBound Next Pick
Cybils Award (Graphic Novels)
Great Graphic Novels for Teens (YALSA)
Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults (YALSA)
Texas Maverick Graphic Novel List
Utah Book Award
Young Hoosier Book Award Nominee

Annotation:

 

Rapunzel has it all, a beautiful home and a loving mother, but she is tormented by a dream that there is something much greater outside of the wall that keeps her trapped. This non-traditional tale of Rapunzel is both fun and empowering as she proves that anyone can be the heroin of her own adventure. 

 

Book Talk Technique: Open End

 

How can it be that Rapunzel lives in such grand villa, and others live in a wasteland? Rapunzel lives a great life.  She is waited on by servants and has everything she needs.  There are only two things in her life that bother her.  One is her recurring dream about a family she has never met, but loves her so, and the other is the giant wall that surrounds her home and prevents her from chasing her dream.  One day, Rapunzel discovers that her hair can help pull her over the wall, but she is quickly found and forced back to her mother, Gothel, who imprisons Rapunzel in a magical tree.  Can Rapunzel use her hair and her wit to escape Gothel and find her dream family ultimately Rapunzel’s Revenge?

 

Find the NOOK version here.

Find Shannon Hale on Facebook here.

Read Shannon's Hale's Blog here.