The Witch's Boy CD [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Michael Gruber (Author), Denis O'Hare (Reader)

Book Description

Age Level: 11 and up

A wondrous journey through the realms of magic

They call him Lump. Ugly, misshapen -- more goblin than human child -- abandoned as an infant and taken in by a witch, he is nursed by a bear, tutored by a djinn; his only playmates are the creatures of the forest, whose language he learns to speak.

But when Lump inevitably stumbles into the human world, his innocence is no match for the depths of people's cruelty, which turns his heart to stone, and fuels a vengeance that places him and his witch mother in deadly peril. Yet these disasters also send Lump on a journey of self-discovery, to realms deep within the earth and far beyond mortal imagination.

In this stunning fantasy debut, Michael Gruber has created a world that is at once deceptively familiar and stunningly original, a world of cruelty, beauty, legend, truth, and above all, wonder. Readers will delight in the author's ingenious retelling of classic fairy tales and will marvel at the stunning new tale of a boy raised by a witch, a cat, a bear, and a demon.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Michael Gruber is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Book of Air and Shadows. He and his wife, painter Elizabeth Winder Noyes, live in Seattle, Washington.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From AudioFile

Lump, the witch's boy, is a selfish brat who no one, save his mother, loves. Vanity forces him to wear a mask to hide his ugliness and despair, literally driving him underground until he finds salvation with the help of a bear. Luckily, Lump is surrounded by kindhearted characters listeners will recognize from favorite fairy tales, although the author has tweaked the traditional stories. This is one title that is better listened to than read. Denis O'Hare uses various voices and skillfully employs several accents to make this a believable fantasy. Even when Lump is behaving his worst, O'Hare is acting his best to move the story along. M.M.O. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 11 and up
  
• Audio CD
• Publisher: HarperFestival; Unabridged edition (March 29, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060785969
• ISBN-13: 978-0060785963
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 5.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,700,790 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite books, December 19, 2007

By 

Tomas Palmer "Littlebear" (Redmond, Washington USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Witch's Boy CD (Audio CD)

After reading the Book of Air and Shadows, I looked for another book by Michael Gruber and found this one. After a few minutes I caught onto the joke and had a great deal of fun as Gruber brought in characters from fairy tales both well known and obscure. The tone and style was so different from Air and Shadows I couldn't believe it was the same author. Both books are a great joy and now I need to get the balance of Gruber's work to satisfy the hunger for his work