Friday, December 16, 2011

The Flint Heart

The Flint Heart by Katherine Paterson and John Paterson. Published 2011.

This is a abridged, rewrite of Eden Phillpott's 1910 Fantasy by the same name. It keeps to a classic fairy tale form with the repetition of three, a land of fairies, strange magic and a human and animal interaction. There is dread and drama, but not excessively. The illustrations are fantastic and the story is magical and intriguing and a great bedtime read for children. The language can be a bit mature for students to handle on their own for the intended audience, which could make it a hard sell. The book is made to look like a large picture book with the glossy print and high color illustrations, but as mentioned, the language is harder than the picture book readers could handle.

A flint heart is created that gives ultimate power to whoever wears it, but it also turns them into a horrible version of themselves. For over 5,000 years it falls into different hands and only a boy, his sister, a dog and a hot water bottle can help the fairy kingdom to end the power of the flint heart.

Interest level: Grades 3-6 Reading level: Grade 6?
Genre: Fairy tale, fantasy

Comparable titles: A Tale Dark and Grimm, Tale of Desperaux

Book Connections: The original tale, fairy tales in general

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