Author | Anna Dale |
---|---|
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Genre | fantasy, magic |
Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
Publication date | 2008 |
Media type | Print (Hardback and paperback) |
Pages | 280 pp |
ISBN | 978-0-7475-9479-6 |
Spellbound is a 2008 fantasy/magic novel for children and the 3rd to have been written by British author Anna Dale, the author of Whispering to Witches and Dawn Undercover . [1]
Spellbound is used by the University of Winchester as an example of a book produced by an alumnus of their Creative Writing program who has gone on to become a successful author. [2]
12-year-old Athene Enright is bossy and cruel to her cheery, 6-year-old brother, Zach. On their family summer holiday she encounters a separate species from humans called the Humble Gloam. When she makes best friends with two of them, Humdudgeon and Huffkin, Athene learns about the Low Gloam and their prisoners. Is this a perfect way to get rid of Zach?
However, before long Athene starts to see how much her brother really means to her and so with Humdudgeon and Huffkin she begins an unforgettable journey to save her brother and all the prisoners from the dreaded Low Gloam.
On publication the novel was generally well received. Anna Gannon of Inis magazine said she saw "parallels to Alice in Wonderland". . [3] American reviewer Usha Reynolds called the book "charming and funny". [4] Books for Keeps' Huw Thomas described it as a "beautifully crafted tale." [5]
The book has been recommended as an example of magical storytelling by the Daily Telegraph's Toby Clements. [6] Other reviewers have said it reminds them of the works of Enid Blyton and C. S. Lewis. [7] [8]
5 editions of the book have been published between 2008 and 2010. [9]
Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren was a Swedish writer of fiction and screenplays. She is best known for several children's book series, featuring Pippi Longstocking, Emil of Lönneberga, Karlsson-on-the-Roof, and the Six Bullerby Children, and for the children's fantasy novels Mio, My Son, Ronia the Robber's Daughter, and The Brothers Lionheart. Lindgren worked on the Children's Literature Editorial Board at the Rabén & Sjögren publishing house in Stockholm and wrote more than 30 books for children. In 2017, she was calculated to be the world's 18th most translated author. Lindgren had by 2010 sold roughly 167 million books worldwide. In 1994, she was awarded the Right Livelihood Award for "her unique authorship dedicated to the rights of children and respect for their individuality." Her opposition to corporal punishment of children resulted in the world's first law on the matter in 1979, while her campaigning for animal welfare led to a new law, Lex Lindgren, in time for her 80th birthday.
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Georgia Byng is a British children's writer, educator, illustrator, actress and film producer. Since 1995 she has published thirteen children’s books, and co-written and co-produced one film. Byng has won The Stockton Children’s Book Award, The Sheffield Children’s Book Award, The Massachusetts Children’s Book Award, The Salford Children’s Book Award and The Best Kid’s Film at The Peace And Love Festival, Sweden. Most of Byng’s works are magical realism adventures, with protagonists who overcome self-doubt and become self-empowered. The themes in Byng’s books are often bullying and its darkness, kindness and its light, friendship and its warmth, and the power of the mind.
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Elizabeth Wright Enright Gillham was an American writer of children's books, an illustrator, writer of short stories for adults, literary critic and teacher of creative writing. Perhaps best known as the Newbery Medal-winning author of Thimble Summer (1938) and the Newbery runner-up Gone-Away Lake (1957), she also wrote the popular Melendy quartet. A Newbery Medal laureate and a multiple winner of the O. Henry Award, her short stories and articles for adults appeared in many popular magazines and have been reprinted in anthologies and textbooks.
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