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183rd out of 2,610 books
—
917 voters
Below the Root (Green Sky #1)
Raamo, at thirteen, had rarely doubted the wisdom of the Ol-zhaan, the unquestioned rulers of the Green-Sky planet. Yet, after he had been chosen to become an Ol-zhaan, he made surprising discoveries and was exposed to dangers different form any he had envisioned. The world of Green-Sky was not what he and the Kindar people had thought. This engrossing science fiction fant...more
Paperback, 244 pages
Published
November 1st 2005
by Backinprint.com
(first published 1975)
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Dec 05, 2007
Wendy
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyone wanting to take a fantastic journey in youth.
This is the first book in The Greensky trilogy that just absolutely made my mind soar as a child and can still touch my heart as an adult.
A group of people inhabit the tree tops called Kindar. They are vegetarians and float from branch to branch using glider packs called Shubas. Some are gifted with powers. The power of teleportation and telekenesis (called kiniport in the books), the power to make trees grow (called grunsprek), and the power to read minds (called pensing). These children are u...more
A group of people inhabit the tree tops called Kindar. They are vegetarians and float from branch to branch using glider packs called Shubas. Some are gifted with powers. The power of teleportation and telekenesis (called kiniport in the books), the power to make trees grow (called grunsprek), and the power to read minds (called pensing). These children are u...more
The Zilpha Keatly Snyder went up the waterspout....
Just had to get that out of my system
Bought Below the Root and And All Between for Madison from the used bookshop in Napanee over Christmas, and reread them both while I was there. Wish they'd had Until the Celebration; the trilogy needs an ending.
I can't have been much older than Madison when I read them last. 20 years ago? I remembered them vividly. I was a little surprised to find out that they read very much like my memories of them. Often...more
Just had to get that out of my system
Bought Below the Root and And All Between for Madison from the used bookshop in Napanee over Christmas, and reread them both while I was there. Wish they'd had Until the Celebration; the trilogy needs an ending.
I can't have been much older than Madison when I read them last. 20 years ago? I remembered them vividly. I was a little surprised to find out that they read very much like my memories of them. Often...more
This was the first book I ever checked out of the Library. I picked it up purely for the cover, and fell deeply in love with it. A couple of years later I got the Windham Classics video game as a birthday gift, and fell in love with the world all over again, but I came to it already loving the world of Green-Sky.
[Review contains minor to significant spoilers!]
Some people reviewing this book and its sequels recently have criticized their originality and called out their trope of human colonists l...more
[Review contains minor to significant spoilers!]
Some people reviewing this book and its sequels recently have criticized their originality and called out their trope of human colonists l...more
I loved this book as a kid. A substitute librarian in our town library pointed the trilogy out to me, and I remember checking it out of the library over and over again. Now with 2 kids ages 4 and 6, I sometimes tell them bedtime stories about the people who live in trees, describing how they glide from branch to branch. I still find the idea of living in enormous trees simply magical! So, after months of telling the kids these stories based on the books, I ordered a set of the books from Alibris...more
Nov 25, 2012
Meg
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
children who might find current YA dystopia too graphic
For the first half of this book, I would have called it "hippie dystopia." The "Make Love Not War" message came on a bit too strong at times (Did she really need to mention the need for temporary sterility in the youth halls? And does "close communion" mean what I think it means?), but like most dystopian societies (and cults) the happy world of Green Sky is not as joyful as it seems.
Like many others I played the video game (on my grandmother's Apple II) and love the treetop world of Green Sky....more
Like many others I played the video game (on my grandmother's Apple II) and love the treetop world of Green Sky....more
Those suffering from “Hunger Games” withdrawal might find some relief in Green-sky. Snyder creates a futuristic world in which the Kindar live and glide among the trees, never touching the forest floor for fear of the dreaded Pash-shan. Except for this one thing, life is Peaceful and Joyous due to the fact that Earth’s violence has been systematically forgotten over the centuries. But, what are the Pash-shan, really? Is it a good thing to keep everyone in the dark about their origin? Is the vine...more
This book was the basis for a computer game that I played when I was young. Since I was young and didn't fully understand the game, when I found out it was based on a book, I was excited to read it. The book is about two different groups of beings... the ones that lived entirely above ground in giant trees and the ones that lived underground - below the roots. It was an easy read with interesting ties to what could happen when a society's past is covered up. The ending was optimistic, but defini...more
My friend handed me this book and told me I HAD to read it. I'm glad she did. Fantasy is my old comfort zone from youth so it is still the genre I take on when I want to snug into a well-worn old cloak. (: This book (and I imagine series) can be added into that list.
I love trees and the idea of living in trees, so that was a big plus. The idea of lesser gravity and larger plants was incredibly appealing, as was the idea of these humans who could glide around in the treetops. I loved the focus on...more
I love trees and the idea of living in trees, so that was a big plus. The idea of lesser gravity and larger plants was incredibly appealing, as was the idea of these humans who could glide around in the treetops. I loved the focus on...more
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The beginning of this book really reminded me of The Giver in that the main character Raamo lives in a community where a person's position in life is chosen for them at age 13 (though I don't remember if it was 13 in The Giver). Like the main character in The Giver, Raamo is chosen for a high position of honor much to his own surprise. From there the differences branch out much more. There are secrets this society has as well, but Raamo has friends who help him to uncover the mysteries of the ev...more
I recently reread this after having read it in junior high. I'd played the Windham Classics game on my C64 often and enjoyed how the game picked up the story's feel without entirely duplicating the plot.
My revisit was not disappointing. Snyder creates an excellent utopia in this novel, which is just beginning to unravel at the end of the novel. I like the characters, even the ones of questionable motives, because they're all vulnerable in some ways. Green-Sky is a place I'd like to live, even t...more
My revisit was not disappointing. Snyder creates an excellent utopia in this novel, which is just beginning to unravel at the end of the novel. I like the characters, even the ones of questionable motives, because they're all vulnerable in some ways. Green-Sky is a place I'd like to live, even t...more
I fell in love with the world of Green Sky when I was only 3 years old. Sounds preposterous, but it's true. I sat watching my dad play the Commodore game by Windham Classics for hours, and hours. By the time I was 4-5 I could beat it myself by memory - but I always would call him at work if I forgot how to load the game (Load "*", 8, 1) hahaha.
When I was old enough, my mom told me the game was based on a trilogy - and so it began.
These will always be my favorite books, period. It even beat out...more
When I was old enough, my mom told me the game was based on a trilogy - and so it began.
These will always be my favorite books, period. It even beat out...more
Like a lot of other people (or so it seems from these reviews!), I played and loved the "Below the Root" video game when I was young. I had never read the books; when I looked them up recently, I was excited to realize that they were written by Zilpha Keatley Snyder, a young-adult writer who I remember having creeped me as a child with such subtle and unsettling books as _The Headless Cupid_ and _The Eyes In the Fishbowl_.
I've found it both delightful and weird to read _Below the Root_ for the...more
I've found it both delightful and weird to read _Below the Root_ for the...more
This is an enjoyable, if at times somewhat obvious, fantasy novel. It concerns the denizens of a place known as Green Sky. The planet seems to be largely rainforest, and a society of human-like beings known as the Kindar live in the canopy. The Kindar have a utopian society, where it is taboo to speak of or show anger, and where the concept of violence is almost unheard of. The only fear they hold is of the fearsome Pash-shan, creatures that live below the forest floor, where they are trapped by...more
How did I not read this as a child??? My librarian mother brought me home lots of fantasy and lots of Zilpha Keatley Snyder (I felt that The Egypt Game was about me - almost literally) - so how could I not have read this Snyder fantasy? Unless I tried reading it and was put off by the dense and formal writing style, so different from her other books.
Anyway, I've read it now and will eagerly read the next 2 in the series. Great world-building!
Anyway, I've read it now and will eagerly read the next 2 in the series. Great world-building!
I read this with Dorothy (and she is demanding to start And All Between tonight). I remember loving this trilogy to death when I was in elementary school - I think I checked it out of the library at least six or seven times, which is a lot when you consider that we were only allowed to check out one book a week. It's interesting to reread it as an adult, and to notice some things that went right over my head as a kid.
I dunno. I do like other works by Snyder, but this seemed awkward - like she concentrated on the ideas instead of the writing. The ideas were wonderful, though - what would it be like to live in a society where the curriculum in school (ages 2-12) emphasized course in Peace, in Joy, and in Love? What would it be like to have no books of your own, no lending libraries? To have songs and chants for every occasion, including at least three that are performed every day in every family? To be assigne...more
The first book in this trilogy which is about two groups of people divided by their lifestyles. One group inhabits the trees and another lives underground below The Root.
The beings inhabiting the trees are the ones we're concerned with here. A young man is chosen for the elite priesthood of these people and he begins to see the corruption that had occurred among his people. They are well-meaning, intending to eliminate violence from their society, however, they have eliminating all original thou...more
The beings inhabiting the trees are the ones we're concerned with here. A young man is chosen for the elite priesthood of these people and he begins to see the corruption that had occurred among his people. They are well-meaning, intending to eliminate violence from their society, however, they have eliminating all original thou...more
I read this series as a child. I'm not sure I understood all of it explicitly when I first read it, but on some level I think it had to have begun my questioning of things I grew up knowing were "true." Rereading it as an adult was a pleasure and gave me a great respect for books I read during that stage of my life and their ultimate influence on me.
Read this way back in middle school. Whoah, it blows my mind that so many people came to this book through a computer game! A game I didn't even know existed, because - I'm admitting it - I'm of an older generation!
I haven't reread this recently, but I thought it was wonderful when I was young.
I haven't reread this recently, but I thought it was wonderful when I was young.
I LOVE this series. On the surface, its a children's story of a boy coming of age. But there are depths that you'll only come to appreciate as an adult. Questions about human nature and the role of society. This series has grown with me from childhood to adult.
I had almost forgotten I'd ever read these books, but I ran across a really old platformer game co-written by the author that apparently continues the story... it's existence and association with such an obscure childhood memory boggles my mind.
I picked this book up at a used book store my parents took me to as a kid. I read it multiple times before I ever found the sequels.
Green Sky was probably one of the first fantasy worlds that I ever really became engaged with.
Green Sky was probably one of the first fantasy worlds that I ever really became engaged with.
Jul 15, 2012
Sara
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
childrens,
science-fiction-fantasy
As a child, this was one of my favorite books. I checked it out several times from the library and knew exactly where it was on the shelf. It's been many years but I still remember the story and think of it when I'm laying in filtered sunshine wondering what it would be like to only get sunshine "below the root".
I read this so long ago, I forgot the title for years and squealed with delight when I figured out again what it was called. I should really re-read it.
This was one of my favorite books when I was younger!! It was really inspiring, too - I used to sit in my room and try to move things with my mind :)
I read Below the Root ages ago, and it's one of the worlds that sticks with me. That tree... I used to dream it. A wonderful book.
Tried to read this, having played the game in my youth, but it was a tedious start that I couldn't manage to follow through with.
This was my favorite book as a child. I recently bought an out of print copy so that I could give it another read.
Interesting as well as thought provoking. I hope the next two books live up to the promise.
I read this because the setting, which is a green-skied planet with low gravity where people are small and birdlike and live in trees, appealed to me. Everyone wears a batwing-like garment that allows them to glide gently from branch to branch. It was like living in Myst, only not exactly Myst, but the crazy tree-world in the third Myst game.
It was a nice escape. The plot was reminiscent of [Book: The Giver] but without the bleak ending. I was hoping that Raamo would find out that ALL of his soc...more
It was a nice escape. The plot was reminiscent of [Book: The Giver] but without the bleak ending. I was hoping that Raamo would find out that ALL of his soc...more
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The recipient of three Newbery Honor Book awards for "The Egypt Game", "The Headless Cupid" and "The Witches of Worm", Zilpha Keatley Snyder has been writing books for children since 1964 when her first book, "A Season of Ponies", was published. Since that time she has completed 43 books, mostly for children aged 9 to 13, but also including two books for young adults, four picture books for younge...more
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