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The Great Good Thing Paperback – October 1, 2002
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Sylvie has been a twelve-year-old princess for more than eighty years, ever since the book she lives in was first printed. She's the heroine, and her story is exciting -- but that's the trouble. Her story is always exciting in the same way. Sylvie longs to get away and explore the world outside the confines of her book.
When she breaks the cardinal rule of all storybook characters and looks up at the Reader, Sylvie begins a journey that not even she could have anticipated. And what she accomplishes goes beyond any great good thing she could have imagined...
- Reading age10 - 14 years
- Print length240 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Grade level5 - 9
- Lexile measure620L
- Dimensions5.13 x 0.7 x 7.63 inches
- PublisherAtheneum Books for Young Readers
- Publication dateOctober 1, 2002
- ISBN-100689853289
- ISBN-13978-0689853289
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About the Author
Mr. Townley has also published the novel Sky, described by VOYA as "one hell of a book," as well as volumes of poetry, nonfiction, and literary criticism. He has two children, Jesse and Grace, and is married to author Wyatt Townley.
Product details
- Publisher : Atheneum Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (October 1, 2002)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 240 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0689853289
- ISBN-13 : 978-0689853289
- Reading age : 10 - 14 years
- Lexile measure : 620L
- Grade level : 5 - 9
- Item Weight : 5.6 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.13 x 0.7 x 7.63 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #605,180 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #502 in Children's Royalty Books (Books)
- #5,956 in Children's Folk Tales & Myths (Books)
- #10,243 in Children's Fantasy & Magic Books
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Like so many of the best children's books, this story satisfies different audiences at different levels. At one level, it is a tale of adventure and humor and friendship. At another level, it is a study in character, maturation, and personality as guides to one's path in life. It is a story of growing old and of staying young, and a story of love across the generations from mother to daughter, grandmother to granddaughter.
The central "trick" of the A Great Good Thing is that the characters in a book are like actors who actually live out their lives in the story even when the book is closed, and that they then act out the story whenever the book is being read. Princess Sylvie, the protagonist of the story book named "A Great Good Thing," is also the protagonist of Townley's book, also called "A Great Good Thing"! The fate of the characters is thus tied to the fate of the book in which they live; when the book is forgotten or destroyed, the same fate befalls them. But the second "trick" of A Great Good Thing is that people, even fictional people, live on in one's heart and memory. Thus, this is also the story of Claire, Claire's grandmother, and Claire's daughter -- readers of Princess Sylvie's story.
So, you can sit back and enjoy this as a good children's book, full of imagination and storybook elements, suitable for ages 8 - 14. But readers of any age can also enjoy the depth and intelligence of the emotions. Townley's book may not be the greatest book ever, but it is certain a great good thing.
I started reading this one aloud to my children even before I finished reading it to myself, which is something I usually don't do with chapter books. I loved the ending, but I was so glad to find that it's not the end of the story because there is a sequel!
Sylvie is a princess in a story. But she is actually real. When the book opens, the characters have to be in their places and reprise their roles many times over. Sylvie is adventurous, though, and wants to see what the world is like beyond the margins of her book.
Sylvie meets the only reader of the story that she's ever known. What will happen when that reader gets older and forgets about Sylvie, her family and their friends.
I thought the author did a fantastic job of describing what it would be like if a character in a book was an actual person. How many times have you described a book as if the characters were real? TV characters, etc.? There are so many characters that I've come to love as if they were real, so this was a wonderful premise.
There was just enough detail and complexity to give the sense of actually being a part of a story, then a part of someone's subconscious. I love that the original author helped her characters to continue on in so many ways. There were parts that weren't always easy to understand but my connection to the characters and the story were strong enough to let go and realize that I may not understand it all. On re-reading, things became clearer.
If you prefer books with realistic characters in real-life settings, this is not the book for you. Or if you are looking for your standard, princess, fairy-tale fare, this may also not be for you. But if you would like to take a fun, fancy-filled ride through the words on a page and then off its margins with a brave and curious princess then this is the book for you.