The Fledgling (Hall Family Chronicles, Book 4) (Paperback)

by Jane Langton (Author) "THE OLD GOOSE FOUND the present at Walden Pond..." (more)
Key Phrases: goose prince, giant duck, parlor curtain, Miss Prawn, Aunt Alex, Uncle Freddy (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Langston's superbly told story leaves an echo that is at once touching and challenging". -- ALA Booklist

Product Description
If there's one thing Georgie Hall has always been, it's determined.

So when her stepcousins Eleanor and Eddy tell her that she can't fly, Georgie doesn't get discouraged -- she just tries harder She feels a peculiar lightness when she leaps from the top of the staircase, and is even more certain of her seemingly impossible ability when she jumps from the porch and soars to the rooftop before landing safely on the ground. And now that a mysterious Canada goose is visiting Georgie's window on a nightly basis, the Hall family begins to wonder just what Georgie is capable of....

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1 edition (December 16, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0064401219
• ISBN-13: 978-0064401210
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #266,085 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 4 in The Hall Family Chronicles Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fledgling is fantastic, March 26, 1998

By	[e-mail] (Lake Forest, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fledgling (Hall Family Chronicles (Numbered)) (Library Binding)

This book is so fantastic. It has all the qualities I consider appealing to non-committal fantasy readers. A young girl searching for something, a goose prince, a magic present and some characters that oppose all that the main character does. Georgie is a young girl who is a little out of the loop of day to day life, seeing as how she lives near a place called Walden pond, this is no surprise. Georgie starts believing that she can fly and actually injures herself a couple of times. Truth be told she really can with her goose prince who seems to have been drawn to Georgie. There is an awful lady who lives next door. She plants shrubbery with thorns on them to keep children out of her yard. She has seen Georgie flying and opposes this very much. This story becomes a tumult between nature and man , childhood beliefs and adulthood notions. I would highly recommend this book to any age person. In the begiining of the book there is a quote from Thoureau's Walden to bring the natural connection to this book even closer. There is more here than meets the eye.

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Please read this book before reading it to your child., December 19, 2002

By	Clay Walker "claywalk" (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Fledgling (School & Library Binding)

My daughter and I just finished reading this book together a little over a week ago.

This book has upset her more than any other book we have ever read together (and we have read thousands.) She cried for nearly an hour after we finished and basically fell asleep crying. She was still very disturbed the next day and I wasn't sure if she would be able to go to school.

My daughter bought this book from her second grade book form and it was, of course, highly recommended. It has won an award and everyone we had spoken to about it while we were reading it, said it was a great book, even though they hadn't actually read it.

I am not sure after actually reading it how appropriate it is for a young girl such as my seven year old.

I discussed the book with my daughter's school's librarian. He did a research on it and said that it was geared towards a minimum of 5th grade level and that it was definitely inappropriate for a 2nd grader.

I was very shocked by the ending - something very bad happens to one of the main characters in the story and you should know this before reading this book to your child. This is what upset my daughter so greatly.

It is definitely a good book, I will not argue that. It is well written and has interesting characters. But, for an imaginative 7 year old who is drawn in to the magic and wonder of this story, you will find that the ending can be quite psychologically disturbing to the young reader or listener when the violent ending occurs.

If I had read this book before reading it to my daughter or been warned at least about its content, I would have never shared this story with her at this age.

Please read this book before reading it to your child and decide whether or not it is appropriate for them.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book For Dreamers Of All Ages, June 11, 2001

By A Customer

The Fledgling is a delightful tale of a young girl desperate to fly....living near Walden Pond, she meets with a goose who befriends her as an equal and together - they fly. However, as the book draws to a close, they are in danger........

This book is a wonderful story to read for everyone no matter how old or how young they are. It draws you in from the first page and doesn't let you go until the last!