ryannreads's review against another edition
5.0
Trinket's mother passes away, so Trinket and her friend, Thomas the Pig Boy, take off on an adventure to find Trinket's long lost father. James the Bard hasn't been for years. While Trinket and Thomas look for him, Trinket starts gathering stories herself. Will she find her father? Will she find the courage to tell tales herself? Will Thomas ever have enough to eat?
Storytelling is heart of this story--and what gives this story its heart. The author includes a folkloric elements into a tale that would make a great read aloud to anyone who loves a great story. I really, really hope this is made into an audiobook...with music!
Storytelling is heart of this story--and what gives this story its heart. The author includes a folkloric elements into a tale that would make a great read aloud to anyone who loves a great story. I really, really hope this is made into an audiobook...with music!
bex77's review against another edition
3.0
If you are looking for a quick, easy, and somewhat entertaining book, this one is pretty good. It's not great literature, nor does it have deep meaning, but it is kind of sweet.
It follows a girl named Trinket as she and her friend Thomas attempt to find her father; James the Bard. Trinket hopes to become a bard herself, so she is also trying to collect at least seven tales. This would allow her to stay in one town for an entire week. Along the way they encounter Gypsies, seal-people, a banshee, the queen of the fairies, a Pooka, and the Old Burned Man.
It was rather charming, relatively interesting, and occasionally amusing. I enjoyed that so much was drawn from traditional Celtic lore. Overall, a nice little book. Great read aloud for younger kids.
Rating: PG for mild peril and frightening scenes
It follows a girl named Trinket as she and her friend Thomas attempt to find her father; James the Bard. Trinket hopes to become a bard herself, so she is also trying to collect at least seven tales. This would allow her to stay in one town for an entire week. Along the way they encounter Gypsies, seal-people, a banshee, the queen of the fairies, a Pooka, and the Old Burned Man.
It was rather charming, relatively interesting, and occasionally amusing. I enjoyed that so much was drawn from traditional Celtic lore. Overall, a nice little book. Great read aloud for younger kids.
Rating: PG for mild peril and frightening scenes
baranchi's review against another edition
2.0
This is entirely my own fault because I knew the book had racial slurs in it from the beginning. It's right there in the synopsis on the cover. But the plot sounded interesting and I thought maybe the racial slurs wouldn't be too much. I was wrong.
The first tale of the book is just strewn with racial slurs. It is also heavy with very negative stereotypes about the Romani people. I thought if I could get through the first tale, it would be ok, but it still peppered the racial slurs in randomly.
On top of having racial slurs and stereotypes, the book just wasn't as much fun as I thought it was going to be. It was pretty serious all the way through and then the last tale reframed all the previous tales in a way that made them even more grim. Even though it did end on a note of hope, it wasn't enough to overcome the rest of the darkness for me, personally.
I probably would have still thought it was ok, because it was at least interesting, if not for all the racial slurs.
The first tale of the book is just strewn with racial slurs. It is also heavy with very negative stereotypes about the Romani people. I thought if I could get through the first tale, it would be ok, but it still peppered the racial slurs in randomly.
On top of having racial slurs and stereotypes, the book just wasn't as much fun as I thought it was going to be. It was pretty serious all the way through and then the last tale reframed all the previous tales in a way that made them even more grim. Even though it did end on a note of hope, it wasn't enough to overcome the rest of the darkness for me, personally.
I probably would have still thought it was ok, because it was at least interesting, if not for all the racial slurs.
amdame1's review against another edition
3.0
Trinket is just 11 years old when her mother dies. She sets off with a tattered map, Thomas the Pig Boy, and her hopes of finding our what happened to her father – a bard who left years ago. Along the way she finds her own gift for story-telling and seven tales, each with a strong touch of magic and Celtic lore. Older readers will be put off by the juvenile cover, but if you can get them to look beyond that, they will also enjoy these tales.
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