The Castle Corona

In this world there are haves and have nots and this is what the story shows plus what each group do.or.do.not do.

Lovely book full of discovery and adventure! With a hint or romance, this book is one of my favorites. I adore how it tells everyone's point of view.

A good book.

It was a great and interesting book loved it! All the adventure and roughness made me excited for more all the time!

Creech brings out a tale of two orfans that lead a amazingly written story for kids that is a joy to read

My niece loved it!! Thanks

Good book

The Castle Corona is a beautiful book, written by a Newbery award winner and with illuminations (not illustrations) by Caldecott winner David Diaz. The illuminations are a good way of explaining the book, actually, since the story is itself a blend of the old and the new. Diaz is a contemporary, multicultural artist working here in a medieval tradition--and this combination gives the artwork a unique look. In the same way, Sharon Creech blends the fairy tale tradition with the modern character-driven novel.The Castle Corona begins with two peasant children who find a strange pouch dropped by a thief fleeing the King's Men through the forest. We soon learn more about this sister and brother, Pia and Enzio. We also find out about the lives of the royal family, who live in a glittering castle. Here's Creech's preface:"Once there was a Castle, high on a hill,/and a King who longed for a nap/and a Queen who yearned for solitude/and a Prince who loved poetry/and a Princess who loved herself/and a Spare Prince who loved his sword/and a Hermit who was wise.//And there was a Village, down in the valley,/and a Peasant Girl who dreamed of flying/and a Peasant Boy who dreamed of horses/and a Master who dreamed of turnips/and an Old Woman who kept secrets."The mystery of the pouch is solved in time, although The Castle Corona is less adventurous than one might expect. Rather, the story has a lot to do with how people are thinking and feeling. The royal family is initially portrayed as so inept and proud and superficial that readers might be rooting for them to be overthrown, but that's not where Creech is going with this. She's more interested in broadening the horizons of her dispirited, spoiled bunch of royals by introducing them to the freer personalities of her peasant boy and girl...All of which confirms my impression that this book is really a contemporary fable. If you're not sure you agree, read the book and then picture the royal family as any upper-class family living in America today; then pop the peasants into the impoverished neighborhood or third-world country of your choice and voila! Still, maybe more than conveying a message about class and culture (not to mention today's fears about crime/terrorism), The Castle Corona touches on the idea that all of us are yearning for something more, and we're not even sure what that might be.Sharon Creech flaunts the conventions of the genres she invokes right and left. And I suspect fables (or allegories) are a bit of a hard sell to the contemporary reader, who resents being preached at in even the smallest way. However, Creech has created something new here, and I for one like the result. Her language is lovely. Just look at this verb, when the overweight, overdressed, sycophantic Count and Countess are given an audience with the royal family: "When the King, the Queen, Prince Gianni, and Princess Fabrizia entered the reception chamber, the Count and Countess rustled to attention." Rustled to attention--just perfect! Another strength is the gentle humor with which Creech creates her characters and their personal frustrations, reminding me a little of Eleanor Farjeon's forgotten classic, The Silver Curlew.The Castle Corona is unexpected in many ways, but it might just capture your heart and make you think--which is what only a very good and risk-taking writer is capable of doing.(For a slightly futuristic fable about similar social themes, try Edward Bloor's new Young Adult novel, Taken.)