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Another quick and sweet audio, selected at the library without much knowledge on its plot. From the description on the back, it reminded me of "The Indian in the Cupboard" which is one of my favorites.
Ten-year-old William lives a relatively normal life. He loves gymnastics, he gets good grades, he likes to hang with his BFF. He doesn't see a whole lot of his parents due to their work schedules, but has his nanny, Mrs. Phillips, to keep him on the straight and narrow. But when Mrs. Phillips decides it is time to return home to England, William is inconsolable. As a going-away gift, Mrs. Phillips presents William with a beautiful miniature castle, complete with a working drawbridge, stables and a silver knight. One day when William visits the castle, which is kept in the attic, the silver knight, Sir Simon, comes to life, and explains that an evil wizard has put a curse on him, keeping him the size of William's index finger. Sir Simon has a magical coin that can shrink others to his size, but doesn't work in reverse until the wizard's spell is broken.
Hmmm...William starts to scheme, and decides to shrink Mrs. Phillips to keep her from leaving! As one might imagine, Mrs. Phillips is not happy. William guiltily admits he must do whatever it takes to reverse the wizard's curse, in order to free his beloved nanny and Sir Simon, and save them both from a life cooped up in his attic eating crumbs and roasting mice.
William allows Sir Simon to shrink him, and enters a magical fantasy world of a vicious dragon, an evil wizard, a greedy old hag, and humans that have been turned to lead. William bravely battles all obstacles thrown in his way, freeing everyone living under the wizard's curse. He even learns to believe in himself along the way.
While this is not a unique story...it is reminiscent of all of our favorites...it is sweet and entertaining. It is safe for all ages, although the teen crowd would probably think it silly and too juvenile. My kids, ages 9 and 11, however, loved it. The audio has a cast of characters that do a phenomenal job of narration, which I think was the highlight. There are positive messages, an escape into fantasy, and no marginal language I have found recently with the kids' audios. There isn't even a hint of an innocent crush. Very refreshing!
Ten-year-old William lives a relatively normal life. He loves gymnastics, he gets good grades, he likes to hang with his BFF. He doesn't see a whole lot of his parents due to their work schedules, but has his nanny, Mrs. Phillips, to keep him on the straight and narrow. But when Mrs. Phillips decides it is time to return home to England, William is inconsolable. As a going-away gift, Mrs. Phillips presents William with a beautiful miniature castle, complete with a working drawbridge, stables and a silver knight. One day when William visits the castle, which is kept in the attic, the silver knight, Sir Simon, comes to life, and explains that an evil wizard has put a curse on him, keeping him the size of William's index finger. Sir Simon has a magical coin that can shrink others to his size, but doesn't work in reverse until the wizard's spell is broken.
Hmmm...William starts to scheme, and decides to shrink Mrs. Phillips to keep her from leaving! As one might imagine, Mrs. Phillips is not happy. William guiltily admits he must do whatever it takes to reverse the wizard's curse, in order to free his beloved nanny and Sir Simon, and save them both from a life cooped up in his attic eating crumbs and roasting mice.
William allows Sir Simon to shrink him, and enters a magical fantasy world of a vicious dragon, an evil wizard, a greedy old hag, and humans that have been turned to lead. William bravely battles all obstacles thrown in his way, freeing everyone living under the wizard's curse. He even learns to believe in himself along the way.
While this is not a unique story...it is reminiscent of all of our favorites...it is sweet and entertaining. It is safe for all ages, although the teen crowd would probably think it silly and too juvenile. My kids, ages 9 and 11, however, loved it. The audio has a cast of characters that do a phenomenal job of narration, which I think was the highlight. There are positive messages, an escape into fantasy, and no marginal language I have found recently with the kids' audios. There isn't even a hint of an innocent crush. Very refreshing!
3.5 out of 5 stars
