Happily Ever After
Written by Anna Quindlen
Illustrated by James Stevenson
Reviewed by Brianna R. (age 9) & Melissa C. (age 9)
A girl named Kate experienced an adventure she will NEVER forget! Kate had an Eddie Bestelli mitt and she didn't know it was magic! One day she put her baseball mitt under her pillow and made a wish. "Geeze Louise!", Kate exclaimed. Her wish came true! Does she know what kind of magic her mitt gives?
Kate has a very firm spirit. She's a steam shovel pushing through. Kate's a brave girl with no fear. Nothing will slow her down. Kate even knocked out a knight and helped slay a dragon.
Once she was kidnapped by a witch and a troll and they brought her to the woods. Kate didn't even fuss or cry. We would have been screaming in such a dark and gloomy place. Do you think Kate got harmed?
We think the lesson in the story is that you shouldn't make a wish unless you really mean it.
If you want to find out the rest of this MAGICAL story, you'll have to read this AMAZING book.
This book reminds us of when we had a good dream. Our dream was about a prince and princess. We girls saved the prince.
I (Melissa) had a favorite part. It was the scene when Kate knock out the mean knight. She threw a copper pot at him and it seemed so goofy. I (Brianna) had a favorite part too. It was when the good prince sang a really looney song about roses. It was funny because his words were humorous like when he said, "Roses, roses watch their beauty fade."
I (Melissa) have a brother that sings funny songs about roses like the prince in the story. I (Brianna) think my dad is like Kate in the way that they are both brave and they both never cry.
The illustrations made clear pictures in our minds. Like when the author said, "Standing in the middle of the road was an old women in a black cloak with a long curving nose and wild white hair like a cloud around her head." The illustrations were extremely detailed. We noticed Kate was in almost every picture. There are a few pictures in the book and they are all in black and white. In every picture it showed her in an adventure.
We are happy Kate found her way home where she longed to be.
We recommend this book to people who like to pretend they are in the story. You will find Ann Quindlen's book a delight. We think the reading level of this book is for First through Third grade because it would be a comfortable read for them. Forth graders and up would find this book too easy for their advanced reading level. If you like fairy tales you will enjoy reading Happily Ever After.