Mirrorstone: Ghost Story [Hardcover]

Michael Palin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 12, 1986 | Age Level: 10 and up

An English schoolboy is snatched into another world by the magician scientist Salaman, who forces him to brave underwater terrors in a quest for the priceless Mirrorstone.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-7 A large-format, no-frills fantasy written around the latest gimmick to hit children's books: holography. In this story, Paul is pulled through his bathroom mirror by an ancient, obsessed researcher who forces him to recover a magic mirror from the ocean bottom. Lee's paintings are full of small, clear detail, and superimposed on the cover and on six internal illustrations are holographic images. If you hold the book at just the right angle, and use a little imagination, ghostly 3-D images appear. These illustrations will attract a lot of attention, and they have some display value, but the fabric of the story is so hung about with loose ends that it's difficult to see any shape to it. John Peters, New York Public Lib .
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers; 1st ed. US edition (November 12, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394883535
• ISBN-13: 978-0394883533
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #280,970 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Enjoyable Book, March 8, 2003

By 

Tory (FL, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mirrorstone: Ghost Story (Hardcover)

Mirrorstone is a good book that my son & I enjoyed reading. The illustrations are really superb. The story line is good and gripping at times. My son (7 yrs old) liked the book, but I thought that while the story was good, it could've been improved upon and little more thought through.
The storyline is about a modern boy who was brought into the past to retrieve the mirrorstone (magical mirror). Without giving too much of the plot, I think that given the basic storyline and the characters created to fullfill that story line, there could've been much more room for character development.
But even said all that, I thing that this book is one of the better "non chapter" books for young children. The illustrations are breath-taking (even as adult I enjoyed looking through the book), the holograms are really well done, and the story line, while not very complex, still point certain things out to the children.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Book, Wrong Audience, October 22, 2011

By 

B. Wolinsky "Ben's Reviews" (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mirrorstone: Ghost Story (Hardcover)

The Mirrorstone would have done better as a young-adult novel. I read it when I was 10 and found the story a bit hard to follow, while 8-year-olds had trouble reading the first two pages. The illustrations are spectacular; richly detailed, sophisticated, and obviously well-researched by the illustrator. But I'm not sure if it's worth the effort, because children's books like these aren't going to sell in large numbers. The revenue from the book would never compensate the artist's efforts.

If this book were extended and published as a novel, I can see it reaching a wider audience. It's an adventure story about a kid who's brought back in time by an evil magician, based on his ability to swim. This kind of yarn would be a favorite with the Harry Potter crowd, not with grade-schoolers.

Unfortunately, today's kids will probably never see this book at all.

5.0 out of 5 stars Mirrorstone Classic, June 16, 2011

By 

Glenn - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mirrorstone: Ghost Story (Hardcover)

This book has now become a 'classic'. I was part of the team which created it in 1988 and it still represents the most effective combination of holographics and traditional 2D design. I bought this copy to show friends in China who were amazed at the cleverness of the visuals. It is a fascinating story for all ages.