Monday, December 15, 2014

12 Days of Christmas! Day 4- Howl's Moving Castle

You've seen the film.  The film is awesome.  You know that's more awesome?  This book!

Howl's Moving Castle

By Diana Wynne Jones 


This book has everything for all ages!  Worried that one may be a bit too young?  This book was written with a perfect tempo for reading aloud, the phrases easily rolling off the tongue.  Though written for young people, everyone can get something out of Howl's Moving Castle.  There is deeper characterization, more characters, and more adventures than in the Miyazaki film.  Just some of the lessons include: beauty is more than skin deep, you can only do as much as you're willing to allow yourself to, not everyone is what they seem, and complaining never helps you solve a situation.

I love this book!  This book makes me want to write magic stories, because this story allows every character to go on an adventure without romance being the primary objective.  While there is some romance, looking for romance is not at all why Sophie and her two sisters Martha and Lotte get into all the mischief that they do.  They want to experience life, go on adventures, and have good fortune.  It takes them some time to realize that anyone can have anything, so long as they work for it.


I can't guarantee that all people will feel how I did after I happened to pick this up from the Rivendell bookstore in Montpelier, Vermont but I, for one, am absolutely smitten with this story and wish that Miyazaki had stuck closer to the original.  Check below for the trailer to the movie.  This would be another great story to get children involved with, and then allow them to see the movie afterwards (which would also lead into a perfect lesson about how books and movies differ, an important lesson for any school age children).




If you like this review, and the writing style of this quirky reviewer, please consider visiting and liking my Facebook author page: Lizzy March.

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