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misspippireads's review against another edition
3.0
Jump into the world of British fairy tales! John Paterson and his wife Katherine freely adapted Eden Phillpott's original story, The Flint Heart. They modernized the tale for today's readers. If you are a lover of fairy tales, find this treasure. Brilliance Audio also included an amazing afterword with Katherine Paterson.
The story reminds me of Alice in Wonderland. The pieces fit together, but in unexpected ways. Mysterious creatures and inanimate objects come to life! Reader Ralph Lister is enjoyable to hear. His UK training is appreciated considering this is an English story.
When you finish this tale, you might be interested in finding the original. The Flint Heart is an old story and isn't easy to find. I recommend Google Books to view of copy of Philpott's original tale.
Reviewed from a library copy.
The story reminds me of Alice in Wonderland. The pieces fit together, but in unexpected ways. Mysterious creatures and inanimate objects come to life! Reader Ralph Lister is enjoyable to hear. His UK training is appreciated considering this is an English story.
When you finish this tale, you might be interested in finding the original. The Flint Heart is an old story and isn't easy to find. I recommend Google Books to view of copy of Philpott's original tale.
Reviewed from a library copy.
lanica's review against another edition
5.0
This is a book I am going to put in every library for which I buy books. It has spectacular language, a simple and wonderful plot, great characters and it stand strong as a work of literature amidst the drivel that is being marketed to kids these days. According to an interview at the end of the audio-book, it was originally written in 1910 and was captured and re-edited for the 'modern' reader by Katherine and her husband John Paterson. It still reads as a bit 'old-fashioned' but it's a beautiful book. My only concern is that is seems a bit young for the 'mature' kids and a bit tough, linguistically, for the young kids. It is a perfect classroom read-aloud or introduction to audio-books. Excellent narration as well!
annabannana's review against another edition
I read this but the kid doesn’t want to finish it, and since he’s the one who picked it out from a library shelf, that’s fine.
kice7788's review against another edition
3.0
a good book but kinda confusing at some points. good fairy read though!
brandypainter's review against another edition
2.0
I would give this one star except John Rocco' illustrations are so wonderful they knock it up a star.
Review originally posted here.
The Flint Heart is a "freely abridged" version of a story written by Eden Phillpotts. Katherine Paterson and her husband, John Paterson, did the abridging. Katherine Paterson is a beloved by me (and many others) author so I was naturally intrigued. Add to that I had heard buzz long before the book came out that John Rocco's illustrations for it were beautiful. Rocco's illustrations are indeed beautiful and the best thing about the book. The best thing by far because they were they only thing about the book I actually enjoyed. (They are very beautiful color illustrations and I'm sad they were wasted on this story.)
Looking at that last sentence of the synopsis I have to say that the youngster in question would have to be very young indeed. Except the language of the story is rather prohibitive for the very young. I can see this best being enjoyed by adults who like Victorian fantasy. (But even then....) I love Katherine Paterson to pieces but I really have to question why she wanted to abridge this story in the first place. I am not at all familiar with the source material so I went into this with nothing more than the information in the synopsis. This is one of those absurdly quirky fairy stories which is not my cup of tea. I don't like my fairies to frolic and flitter about. I may have been able to get past that as I really enjoyed the first two chapters and the idea of the flint heart. I may have even been able to get past how the story journeyed far far away meandered away from the point at times. Might have. If it had not been for the introduction on page 124 of the walking talking hot water bottle as a character. Yes, you read that correctly. A walking talking hot water bottle. Seriously. This hot water bottle is actually a rather important character too. That was it for me. I skimmed the rest of the book but there was no recovering any enjoyment at all from it for me after that.
Review originally posted here.
The Flint Heart is a "freely abridged" version of a story written by Eden Phillpotts. Katherine Paterson and her husband, John Paterson, did the abridging. Katherine Paterson is a beloved by me (and many others) author so I was naturally intrigued. Add to that I had heard buzz long before the book came out that John Rocco's illustrations for it were beautiful. Rocco's illustrations are indeed beautiful and the best thing about the book. The best thing by far because they were they only thing about the book I actually enjoyed. (They are very beautiful color illustrations and I'm sad they were wasted on this story.)
Looking at that last sentence of the synopsis I have to say that the youngster in question would have to be very young indeed. Except the language of the story is rather prohibitive for the very young. I can see this best being enjoyed by adults who like Victorian fantasy. (But even then....) I love Katherine Paterson to pieces but I really have to question why she wanted to abridge this story in the first place. I am not at all familiar with the source material so I went into this with nothing more than the information in the synopsis. This is one of those absurdly quirky fairy stories which is not my cup of tea. I don't like my fairies to frolic and flitter about. I may have been able to get past that as I really enjoyed the first two chapters and the idea of the flint heart. I may have even been able to get past how the story journeyed far far away meandered away from the point at times. Might have. If it had not been for the introduction on page 124 of the walking talking hot water bottle as a character. Yes, you read that correctly. A walking talking hot water bottle. Seriously. This hot water bottle is actually a rather important character too. That was it for me. I skimmed the rest of the book but there was no recovering any enjoyment at all from it for me after that.
bookgirl4ever's review against another edition
2.0
I guess this story came from someone a ways back. The story could have been a good fairy tale but this rendition isn't very engaging. I forgot I was reading it and found it sitting in the back seat of my car.
Middle elementary
Middle elementary
kidclamp's review against another edition
2.0
This book is beautiful, the way it looks and feels really made me want to read it. Sadly, I was pretty disappointed.
An abridged/revised edition of a children's story from 1910 it came across like it had been a bit too dumbed down, a bit to shortened, so everything felt rushed and the jokes a bit flat.
I can't say if kids might like it, but I did not.
An abridged/revised edition of a children's story from 1910 it came across like it had been a bit too dumbed down, a bit to shortened, so everything felt rushed and the jokes a bit flat.
I can't say if kids might like it, but I did not.
sallydonnelly's review against another edition
3.0
Fantasy is not my favorite genre. However, the Patersons write an interesting tale.
livgomersall's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
hidingzeus's review against another edition
2.0
A sweet and cute story that harkens back to fairy tales of old.