Customer Reviews

Shadow Castle

5 star:		(111)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Shadow Castle was my favorite book for years. I bought my copy from the Scholastic Book Club in 4th or 5th grade, about 38 years ago, and read it over and over until it fell apart. I was captivated by the story of Mica and Gloria, and a love that could last for longer than I could even imagine. Somehow, the book vanished along the way, probably during a family move about 30 years ago. I was crushed by its loss and tried to find another copy, but no one seemed to be able to find it. Meanwhile, I kept finding other writings that reminded me of it: from Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" to "Alice in Wonderland" to "The Princess Bride".

When I had a daughter 19 years ago, I started trying to find it again, but no library had a copy and every bookstore told me it was out of print. Over the years, I have read "The Hobbit", "Lord of the Rings", and the "Chronicles of Narnia" to her several times. But still I wished I could share "Shadow Castle" with her, as I knew she would love it as I had.

Tonight, I logged on to Amazon.com to search for another book, but typed in "Shadow Castle" on a whim. I almost fell off my chair when I realized the book was truly available and that I was not alone in my search. After reading all of the reviews to my (now 19-year-old) daughter, I realized this book has a mysterious quality of disappearing once someone becomes attached to it. So I have ordered two copies, one for me and one for my daughter. Hopefully, at least one of them will still be found when she has children of her own to pass the story on to. I look forward to that, and am grateful to Amazon for reprinting this wonderful book, and allowing Mica, Gloria, Lucy, Bluebell, and all the rest to live again.

One Christmas when I was 8 or 9,Santa brought me a wonderful book---Shadow Castle. I am sure through the years I must have read it 100 times. Today I am 60 years old. Like so many others who have reviewed this book, my copy disappeared, and I have searched and searched for a replacement. Just on a chance, I typed in the name on amazon.com,and there it was. Those who have tried to find this book know the feeling that I had after all those years of serious searching.And the book is just as imaginative and romantic as it was when I was a little girl. The first thing I looked for was the picture of Robin and Bluebell. It is just as I remember it. The wonderful ending where the shadows move around is still so excititng. To think that a thousand years and seven days have gone by. What a love story! I shall read it 100 times more, and those times shall be even better because there are grandchildren to read it to.

I had a dream about "Shadow Castle" yesterday night. This was my most absolute favorite/treasured childhood book but tragically, I lost it. For years, I thought about this book and I missed it so much. I had forgotten the title of the book. Prompted by my dream, I went on-line yesterday to amazon.com and I first typed "Enchanted Castle". After briefly reading some of the reviews, I knew this wasn't the book. I was a bit disappointed but undaunted. My next guess was to type "Shadow Castle". I was sure this would be the wrong title as well. To my shock and amazement, I started reading some of the reviews and saw names like, "Bluebell", "Robin" and "Gloria". It all came back to me--flooding my memory not only with the details of the book, but the feelings I felt as a 12 year old girl when I read this wonderful magical enchanting book! It had the PERFECT elements of romance, fantasy, hope and excitement. The characters were SOOOO real--I know I'm gushing but it's because I'm so excited about finding this treasure of a book. Read it and you'll know what I'm talking about! I want to thank the reviewers who mentioned some of the details of the book as well as the characters' names--I wouldn't have known this was the book without the information!

I am so happy to see this back in print. Like many, I have the Scholastic editiion with the gorgeous cover picture of Gloria in pink and Mica under a tree. Even the description of the book in the Scholastic Books catalogs was memorable! I read and read this book so many times that finally a teacher gave it to me. I too had a ring with a little green stone, and a "cave" (really just a funny growing bush) in the backyard. But the stories lose nothing with age-- there is subtle, quaint humor and truth of human behavior throughout. As I approach my mid thirties I often think of Gloria looking in the mirror... and the story of Bluebell and the goblins really sticks with me. How Robin said that that goblin hadn't looked one little bit like his Bluebell! All the choices made throughout are as rich as those in the Harry Potter books-- characters are tested for loyalty, must choose whether or not to be mortal-- and the "framing story" is as good as the individual tales. This is my all-time number one favorite.

In 1968, my mother bought me a copy of this book---a slender paperback printed and illustrated in green ink. I loved the book, and thirty years later, read the story to my little girl, who LOVED it. Unfortunately, my original copy is yellowed and brittle, and I was reluctant to let my daughter handle its fragile pages as often as she wished.

Imagine my delight when this wonderful book was reprinted. The new version has all the old illustrations, but the ink is black, not the original green. The color illustration from the jacket of the paperback is reprinted inside the new version, but in black and white. Despite these minor changes, I am thrilled to have this old favorite back again.

A bit of the plot: a young girl named Lucy meets a kind, but rather mysterious young man named Michael, who tells her the story of Mika, a fairy Prince who falls in love with a mortal woman. This book contains all of the usual elements in a traditional fairytale---a princess abducted by an unpleasant suitor, goblins, a dragon, enchantments, battles between the forces of good and evil---but it is very different from the impersonal stories in typical fairytale books. Marian Cockrell's characters are vivid and unforgettable, and her story is magical, entertaining, and even humorous in parts.

Give a copy to an eight year old that you love. You won't be sorry.

I first read Shadow Castle when I was just a little girl around 8 or 9 years old. I checked it out of the school library time and time again. Once I kept it out a very long time and was very tempted to keep it, but I felt guilty. It would just be too selfish to keep such a wonderful book to myself. This book has all the classic elements of fantasy literature, but it is much more than just a fairy tale. I was drawn into the story from the moment the little dog, Flumpdoria, appeared until the sweet, romanic ending. Shadow Castle made me a fan of the fantasy genre, and I have been ever since; but I don't think I have ever encountered a book that was any better. After becoming an adult, I remembered my love for this book and tried to find it, but there was no trace of it. I even scoured used book stores, in the hopes of finding it there, but all in vain. Imagine my surprise when 30 years later, I typed it into Amazon.com and there it was - just like magic. Thanks to Amazon.com I now have this wonderful book again. I even bought multiple copies to give to children of friends and relatives. It is truly a book to inspire imagination in the hearts of all children (and adults) who read it.

I have been looking for this book for a long time now,and I was

so happy to see that it was back in print.I got my very well-loved copy at a book fair when I was in grade school,and it has

been my favorite book(aside from "the last unicorn")

I ordered it just recently from amazon,and I started reading it

right away....it was like finding a long-lost childhood friend.

I would have given this book 10 stars if I could have.

When I was a child my parents used to go to Auctions. They picked up this book there as a used book. I must have read that book at least 50 times after they purchased it. I even took it to college. When I first started teaching, I read it aloud to my class. The book was stolen. Fortunately, my librarian found another copy. I read it to my next class and it too was stolen. Now, 21 years later I found it and have read it to two more classes, but now I lock it up so it can't be stolen. Both of my daughters love it too. What a great tribute to a beautifully written and absorbing story. I think it is the book which made me a fantasy reader today. Thank you Marian Cockrell!

I also bought my copy from the Scholastic Book Club in 5th grade, about 38 years ago, and read it over and over until I lost it or it just disapeared. I was so captivated by the story of Mica. The book vanished about 30 years ago. I was heart broken by its loss and tried to find another copy, but no one ever seemed to be have it. When I finally got a computer and went on the internet I searched every so often to find it again, but no library had a copy and no one ever heard of it.

Finally, I logged on to Amazon.com and typed in "Shadow Castle" on a whim. I was amazed when I realized the book was truly available and that I was not alone in my search, I read the feedback to make sure it was the same book and behold it was! After reading all of the reviews, I realized this book has a mysterious quality of disappearing once someone becomes attached to it. I am so grateful to Amazon for reprinting this wonderful book, and allowing Mica and the rest to live again in our dreams.

When I was a young girl, my mom and I went to a used book shop and I found Shadow Castle, and thought it looked interesting. I fell in love with the characters and the magic of it. I read it until the cover came off. Last Year I had mentioned that I would love a new copy, but no one could find it in the book stores, because it was out of print. Well imagine my surprise when I opened this enchanting tale from my past. My mom had found it and I was able to read the adventure and romance again, just like when I was little. I love it. Any girl who wants or wanted to be a fairy princess would!!! It has all the elements of a wonderful story with a suprise ending that is perfect!