Customer Reviews

the fledgling

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

The Fledgling is about a girl named Georgie who lives in Concord, Massacusetts. She lives with her mother, her mother's husband Freddy, and Freddy's nephew and neice, Eddy and Eleanor.
Georgie is sure that she can fly. She is always trying, and always hurting herself. But Georgie is very small for her age, so is it possible . . .?
Then a giant Canada goose starts taking Georgie away to Walden Pond in the middle of the night to give her flying lessons.
To see what happens, read this book!

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!

The Fledgling

Book review by Maddie

I read the book The Fledgling, by Jane Langton. She illustrated and wrote it. The genre is fantasy, which I have much sympathy for. For it may be easy to just make up any old thing out of your head and write it down, but I have learned from writing fantasy books, (because they are my favorite genre) that having a limit of magical powers is important. Because if you say at the beginning of your brilliant story, "There was a guy named Henry. Henry was unpopular. The special thing about Henry was he could fly." Then later in your story you have Henry get stuck in an icky, dirty, dungeon and he can't reach the open window, then you have to change that. Because I bet the readers know or still remember that Henry can easily fly out the window.
This story is about a young girl named Georgie. Georgie thinks she knows how to fly. After finding out she can jump down twelve steps in two graceful bounds she's sure she can fly.
Then one night a Canadian goose appears outside her window. It seems like the bird is telling her, "Come, climb onto my back and I'll teach you how to really fly." It seemed to Georgie that the only thing to do was to climb on his white and black, fluffy and soft, back and have a fascinating adventure flying over the whole town.
She meets the goose every night. She seemed to trust his shiny, black eyes. Soon she's flying all by herself. But there's one problem, this terrible Ralph Preek will do anything to stop her goose from coming. Hunting season is coming up, Ralph Preek gets all hands on his gun... To see what happens next, you'll have to read this amazing, fantastic book!!!
The story takes place in a little town near Walden Pond. The geese are stopping at Walden Pond because that's part of their migration. Georgie lives at No.4o Walden Street.
Georgie is a very creative little girl that is not one of those fancy girls that walks around in a perfectly sewed velvet dress that doesn't have a speck of dirt on it. She's more casual type. She has a little "bush house" that she plays tea party in. The rocks are cups, the leaves make good seats, and the one big rock in the middle is the table.
Eleanor is a happy, determined young girl who never gives up. She cheers Georgie up, and even tries to get Georgie a friend. Eleanor still has her bad times too. She once made a beautiful yellow dress with orange spots on it. She was positive everyone at school would like her new dress!!! When she came home from school, she ripped her dress up and screamed, "A giraffe! I look like a giraffe! Robert Toby called me a giraffe!" (On page 115).
Eddy is a very supportive brother. He always seems to know what to say at the right time. When Georgie put to much frosting on the cake, Eddy says, "You can't have to much frosting on a cake!" (On page 115). Eddy always has a new way to look at things. One time Georgie jumps down the stairs, but she falls. Eddy then explains to her that nobody can fly, but you can leap. Then he shows her how to leap down the stairs.
This book is a very nicely written book. It really has a way to get to you. Like when it says, "and hunting season was over." You get a sigh of relief, because you know, "Yes! Now Ralph Preek can't kill the goose!" but then Ralph sets his watch five minutes slow so hunting season is still going! You become overwhelmed with things to say like, "That's not fair!" or, "That's against the law!" you get extremely intense. I think that shows a good book, because that must be hard to do.
Eleanor reminds me of my sister. Always standing up for me, and never scared to try something new. She can get mad, but she's mostly nice, just like Eleanor.
Georgie reminds me of Stanley, in the beginning of the book Holes. Stanley is unpopular and he doesn't have any friends. Georgie is really unpopular also, and she wouldn't even think of having friends.
Its funny, when I read the sentence "Hard work was something Miss Prawn knew how to do", on page 36, the first think I thought of was my mom and dad. They work their heads off taking impeccable care of me and three other children.
I don't think that you will ever find a book like this one, so if you want a good book to read, pick this one. Don't worry, it has an interesting ending, which is like no other book I've read, so I don't think I can relate to any other book. You'll have to read this supreme book that is definitely worth reading.

I loved this book. It's a story of a girl who discovers she could fly. One night when a Canada goose came to her window she climbed on its back and went off with him to learn how to really fly. But, Ralph wants to stop her from flying, he wants to stop the lovely Goose Prince from coming. Chelsea - 10 years old

The Fledgling is truly amazing! I think that every book is unique in its own way, and this book is definately in my top ten favorite book list. This book is so wonderful that it makes you feel as if you could talk to geese and fly, but only while you're reading it, and that's why it's great. This book is so amazing and wonderful. My friends say that this book is ha ha funny because this girl (Georgie) talks to a goose,flies with a goose, and keeps hurting herself because she jumps of a staircase thinking she can fly. I must admit that at some points it was funny, but I like books that make you laugh. ...it's my #5 favorite book, and that's not bad. So I truly truly truly recomend this book.

I read this book 8 or 10 years ago, when I was a young girl. It wonderfully captures the feelings of a chld who yearns for things that adult sensibilty considers impossible. I remember playing w/ Maple seed helicopters because of it, but I think anyone will be able to relate to her desire to fly, and for companionship in her lonely life. At the time, I didn't notice that it was well-written, but looking back, the images seem vivid. I remember crying at the end. Readers who like stories of children who befriend and fly w/ wild geese may also enjoy The Wonderful Adventures of Nils by Selma Lagerlof, which also has a strong emphasis on nature.

Georgie is full of mystery and when she meets her precious goose prince it was only natural for her to fly with him. I'm actually more of a soap opera fan, but this book was outstanding. I love books that I can't put down!!

This book is fantastic! A girl named Gorgie sees a flock of geese fly by right above her house,and whishes she could fly too! One goose looks right down at her and ends up becoming her friend. They fly over a pond every night and usually stop there. Eventully Gorgie learns to fly without her friend, but she's always flying near. Nosy people think the goose is a preditor and plan to kill it.Find out if they do or don't by reading the book.