I read this book out loud with my daughter and could not have been more pleased. This is one of those worthy children’s books that any child (boy or girl, 5 year old or 10 year old or 31 year old like me, etc) could, and probably would, enjoy. May daughter and I certainly enjoyed it.
It has all the elements of adventure and humor that you find in other such fairy-stories, but the fact that two of the primary characters, Joe and Sylvia, are normal humans makes for an interesting blending of normalcy with the magic of the land of faerie.
As far as takeaways, I want to list a few of my favorite quotes for future reference and briefly remark on a prominent theme of the book.
1. Favorite quotes:
Interestingly, my favorite lines in this book are all humorous. This book was by no means a ‘comedy,’ but the humor stands out:
- Of the Snergs’ love for feasts:
They are great on feasts, which they have in the open air at long tables …This is necessary because nearly everybody is invited – that is to say, commanded to come, because the King gives the feasts…They are sometimes hard up for a reason for a feast, and then the Master of the Household, whose job it is, to hunt for a reason, such as its being somebody’s birthday. Once they had a feast because it was nobody’s birthday that day (p. 10).
- Of the Dutch Sailor, Vanderdecken’s parrot:
Vanderdecken’s parrot was still going strong, for the curse had come on him too…and he sat on a perch outside in the sun with a tin pot full of nuts beside him, swearing in High Dutch (p. 16).
- The King’s sarcasm toward Gorbo the Snerg (who is considered the village idiot):
Hail, Gorbo, cleverest and brightest of the Snergs we don’t think…And what doest thou here with these young ones, O Ornament to the race the other way around?….Yes and in what part of the wide address didst thou find them, thou first-class brain perhaps not? (p. 42).
- This isn’t a quote, but the idea of Golithos being a ‘reformed’ Ogre has given us quite a bit of fodder in our house.
- Again, not a quote, but the comedic antics of Baldry (the jester), i.e. hitting folks with his stick, buttering the steps, and especially his dramatic faking of his own death to win the king’s favor, is quite humorous.
- Of Gorbo bribing the witch’s cat to lead them to her by feeding him fish (this may be my favorite line in the whole book):
‘Did ums old cats want um sprats?’ he said soothingly. ‘Then um good old cats must work for um sprats’ (p. 205).
2. Theme
The idea that primarily stands out in the story (though I’m not sure that most children would see it) is that of an anti-moral-story. This does not mean that there is no morality, nor that bad morality is at the heart of the story. Rather, the author continually alludes to the fact that children are meant to learn a moral from the story. He reminds us that Joe and Sylvia have been very bad in running away from their home in Watkyns Bay, and that their actions have led to, for lack of a better term, a big mess. Yet in the end, Sylvia and Joe are heroes, along with Gorbo, who has been painted as an idiot throughout the book.
In other words, the troublemakers and the idiot actually accomplish a lot of good (bridging gaps between several cultures – helping them to join together in one cause, forming great friendships in the various kingdoms, and slaying two wicked villains in the process). The moral in the end therefore is not what you expected. Bad works out for good, which makes it much harder to condemn the bad. In the end, the children were just adventurous, and perhaps we all need a bit more of this quality.
