The Wishing Spell: Book 1 (The Land of Stories) Paperback – 6 Jun. 2013

One of my favourite childhood memories is walking through my home town on a Saturday morning, one hand holding onto my mother's and clutching in my hot little other hand a new and beautifully illustrated Ladybird Book retelling the story of either Cinderella, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty (or some other equally inspirational heroine or hero)and being absolutely desperate to get home and start reading it to myself. Today as I devoured Chris Colfer's masterpiece in one sitting, I relived the joy of about one hundred of those Saturday mornings.I just adored this book. It answered questions that had always been lurking in the back of my mind since I first experienced the joy of reading fairy tales for myself and it gave me a new perspective on reading fairy tales to the children I teach. The plot was so intricately woven that the surprises kept on coming until almost the very last page and nothing felt forced or out of place. I loved that not all the characters were good but that that there were elements of goodness in some of the most unexpected characters. Despite having all the very best features of a fairy tale, this book didn't so much make me suspend disbelief as throw it into The Thorn Bush Pit and I loved it all the more for that.Chris Colfer isn't just a talented writer; he's also a great storyteller and I just can't wait to see what he comes up with next.p.s. Who knew Goldilocks was so rock and roll?

I am a massive fan of Fairy Tales. I saw the book advertised on the TV and decided to give it a go. I thought it might prove quite similar to my favourite show 'Once Upon a Time' but was pleased to find it to be something really new and original. It's a very easy read, I would have adored this book as a kid but I think it can be enjoyed by any age group. There is a character for everybody to relate to, the different takes on well known Fairy Tales are exciting and interesting and I love that there was a little Illustration at the start of every chapter. Would really recommend this book if you want to disappear into a Fairy Tale of an afternoon, persevere with the first couple of chapters, the story really gets going once they are in the 'land of stories .'

Reading this book was like I was transported into Chris' very mind and soul. And you know what? It's a colourful and crowded place. Chris' ideas about what happened after 'And they lived happily ever after...' in our best loved fairy tales were inspired, creating vivid back stories that will not sit in my brain as canon. I also enjoyed his added bits to the original stories, why certain fairy tales happened and why. Chris has an incredible imagination and this book clearly shows that.I saw a lot of myself in Alex, and adored Conner's wit and humour. The banter, the bickering and the love the twins showed for each other was heart-warming and I really felt like I knew them.I can't wait to read the next instalment and find out what happens next to the Bailey Twins!

At first, when I started reading this book, I didn't like this book that much. I thought it was boring, poorly written and way too many unnecessary metaphors. It got better after page 80, where they are dumped into this new world. But I still didn't like it that much, I thought that Alex was annoying, too reckless and couldn't listen to reason.But then the story really began and it got better and better. I liked the characters, the plot and all the different trials they had to go through. It even made me cry near the end.Plus I loved the art at the start of every chapter. An amazing idea.It's definitely a book you should read if you like middle-grade adventure/fantasy books and if you can read through the start without a problem.

I absolutely love, love, loved this book. I would give it 6 stars if I could. It is an amazing book full of twists and turns and lots of fun charaters. I especially love Conner's sense of humour.

My son loved this book and we are now looking to purchase the second one.

I bought this book for my 10 year old sister as she loves fairytales (she said she's really enjoying it.) But I ended up giving it a read myself first as I like fairytales too. :)It's really interesting storyline and is really well written. I like the twists given to the already known characters as well as the original characters. I'll probably re-read it again when my sister is done and I'll definitely be buying any sequels, if there will be any. :)One of my favourite aspects that I liked was how strong and independent female characters were. It's a nice change from many original fairytales where I sometimes find the female characters to be quite boring as they're usually dependant on the male heros. This aspect actually made me think it was written by a woman but it's nice to see male writers that are able to portray traditional characters as strong and independent. :)I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasies and fairytales, even if they're not children. :)

I bought this book for my ten year old daughter, and she loved it. This book was really great. Truly a great read!

Adventurous book and great plotLove this book

Sehr guter Einstieg um englisch zu lernen, da der Text leicht zu verständlich ist und zudem auch unterhaltsam.

I used this as a novel study with my home schooling student who just turned 9. It is such a great way to incorporate Fairy Tales in the form of an adventure through the world of fairy tales - "The Land of Stories". It is very well written with text that promotes colorful imagery on the part of the reader and opens up lots of conversations.

Me encanto como el autor junto todos los cuentos en uno solo de manera entretenida