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116th out of 1,087 books
—
3,183 voters
The Snow Spider (The Magician Trilogy #1)
by
Jenny Nimmo
Jenny Nimmo's award-winning SNOW SPIDER TRILOGY is back as an exciting Orchard Books fantasy series!
On Gwyn's 9th birthday, his grandmother tells him he may be a magician, like his Welsh ancestors. She gives him five gifts to help him--a brooch, a piece of dried seaweed, a tin whistle, a scarf, and a broken toy horse. One blustery day, unsure what to do with his newfound m...more
On Gwyn's 9th birthday, his grandmother tells him he may be a magician, like his Welsh ancestors. She gives him five gifts to help him--a brooch, a piece of dried seaweed, a tin whistle, a scarf, and a broken toy horse. One blustery day, unsure what to do with his newfound m...more
Hardcover, 160 pages
Published
September 1st 2006
by Orchard Books
(first published July 30th 1987)
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Jun 19, 2008
Candy Boisvert
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Kids
Recommended to Candy by:
No one
Title: The Snow Spider
Author: Jenny Nimmo
Copyright date: 1986
Publisher: Egmont
How many pages: 122 pgs
How long it took me to read: 2 days
Category: Fiction
I learned about this book from: going on a search looking for something to read after Harry Potter.
This book was purchased at: Chapter's
This book is: for anybody who has an imagination
Other books by this author: Emlyn's moon, The chestnut soldier, Midnight for Charlie Bone, The time Twister, The blue boa, The castle of mirrors, The renaldi ring,...more
Author: Jenny Nimmo
Copyright date: 1986
Publisher: Egmont
How many pages: 122 pgs
How long it took me to read: 2 days
Category: Fiction
I learned about this book from: going on a search looking for something to read after Harry Potter.
This book was purchased at: Chapter's
This book is: for anybody who has an imagination
Other books by this author: Emlyn's moon, The chestnut soldier, Midnight for Charlie Bone, The time Twister, The blue boa, The castle of mirrors, The renaldi ring,...more
A haunting, otherworldly tale about a young boy (Gwyn) who lost his older sister Bethan in a snowstorm while looking for his lost ewe. His family hasn't been in the same since, and his birthday, the day in which she disappears, is a bittersweet time. His grandmother reveals to him that he has a strange talent for magic, but he has no idea how to fully unlock the gift. She gives him some odd gifts which he unleashes out into the world to get his sister back. A young girl who reminds him of his si...more
Many, many years ago, I read Susan Cooper's Dark is Rising. The series enthralled me, and I found myself anxiously waiting for each book in the series to come back in to our school library (the series was popular). So how is this relevant to Jenny Nimmo's The Magician Trilogy? Reading The Snow Spider put me in the same frame of mind that Cooper's series put me into so very many years ago, so much so, that I (1) can't wait to read the 2nd book in Nimmo's series and (2) am itching to re-read Coope...more
On his ninth birthday Gwyn received a strange present from his grandmother. "It is time," she said, "to find out if you are a magician." But a piece of seaweed, a yellow scarf, a tin whistle, a twisted metal brooch, and a small, broken horse seemed like strange tools to use to find out if he was a magician, but he put them away and wondered how to use them. All his grandmother had said was "Give them to the wind."
Three weeks later, the winter wind arrived, and when Gwyn opened his dresser drawer...more
Three weeks later, the winter wind arrived, and when Gwyn opened his dresser drawer...more
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Young Gwyn's world has been lonely since the disappearance of his sister Bethan. His parents, particularly his father, are still grieving and his father blames Gwyn for his sister's loss. On his ninth birthday, though, his life takes a strange turn as his nain (grandmother) gives him five gifts and tells him that now is the time to find out if he's a magician. One of the gifts, a brooch, is tossed into the wind and becomes Arianwen, the snow spider. And so begins a journey which could finally he...more
Although I read the newer edition, this is the edition that I owned when I was a tween (before the term "tween" EXISTED and no one made clothes in the right size for tweens because they didn't exist yet, hmpf.)
I pretty much had forgotten about Gwyn Griffiths and his Welsh magic until the boyf and I decided to read Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain. Then a little memory pricked my consciousness, saying "Wasn't there another book about a Welsh boy magician?" (Besides The Dark is Rising). And...more
I pretty much had forgotten about Gwyn Griffiths and his Welsh magic until the boyf and I decided to read Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain. Then a little memory pricked my consciousness, saying "Wasn't there another book about a Welsh boy magician?" (Besides The Dark is Rising). And...more
After losing interest with the Charlie Bone series, I thought I'd give Jenny Nimmo another try. The Snow Spider started off with a great plot and I loved the Welsch flavor (and especially the British guy reading it). About halfway through, however the plot began to take on an ethereal quality wherein nothing seemed grounded, and "mystical" things began happening with little explanation or reason. I've often ranted about the fantasy author's tendency to forget cause and effect and begin spouting...more
This genre of books is right up my alley, but I just couldn't get into this one. The plot isn't that bad - boy magician accidentally releases evil and has to recapture it with the help of mysterious girl who is remarkably similar to long lost sister - but the writing was just not up to par. All of the magical elements were just too easy. Every time Gwyn needed to use magic, he just "knew what he had to do." There was no build up where the readers got to work through the problem with him and wond...more
Jan 04, 2009
Cori
marked it as to-read
I have no idea about these books other than I'm going to have to start checking them out from the library. I read a book titled, Orchard of the Crescent Moon, as a youth and LOVED it. Its about a Welsh girl whose mother died, gets picked on in school/is shy and quiet, cuts the drapes of her piano teacher to create the perfect clouds in her fabric mosaic, and then there are weird things happening . . . . If you stick strictly to the real world, its not for you, but, I found it incredibly beautifu...more
This was a complete waste of my time. After I had read the first twenty pages, I considered just tossing it into the trashcan. Unfortunantly, I didn't. After I had finished it, I lamented about all the time I had taken to read it that I cannot get back.
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This has to be the wierdest children's book I have read in a long time. After reading about half the book, I still had no idea what was going on, and for a childrens book that's wierd. I felt like this book needed about 5 more revisions and edits. A lot happens but with no real structure, and for someone who reads to just enjoy and not really criticize that's saying something. Plus it really drives me crazy how almost every sentence Gwyn speaks ends with a "!". Apparently, he just likes to yell,...more
Young Gwyn and his family live on a sheep farm in the mountains of Wales. Ever since Gwyn's older sister, Bethan, disappeared on the mountain four years ago, there has been little joy in the family. On Gwyn's ninth birthday, his 'Nain' (grandmother), tells him it is time for him to find out if he is a magician, as his ancestors were, and she gives him five gifts: a piece of seaweed, a yellow scarf, a tin whistle, a twisted metal brooch, and a broken horse. Gwyn is to give his gifts to the wind,...more
This book reminded me of The Dark is Rising series, just not done as well. It takes place in Wales, I think, which may be why I find the two books similar. Also, Gwyn is a wizard and just naturally is able to do everything that he needs to do. There is no major struggles, not really a learning curve or anything. There was very little conflict in the story.
I also felt that some things were not explained very well. Maybe the rest of the trilogy would clear it up, but I don't plan on reading the o...more
I also felt that some things were not explained very well. Maybe the rest of the trilogy would clear it up, but I don't plan on reading the o...more
I love Charlie Bone, so I was disappointed by this slim volume. Something about the narrative style made it very difficult to connect to the characters. Maybe it was that everything happened freakishly easily, but without any explanation. You need to tell me why the main character shouted Welsh words into the wind, and why that made things happen. Also? The things that happened that were "magic"? Not so much with the impressive/fun/magic/interesting.
This is a nice thin volume, and a good book to listen to while waiting for the next hold to come in. The story was nice, with bits of magic and faraway lands, and a spider that could spin images of the people who live there. It has a well-meaning main character that makes his fair share of mistakes, and learns from them. Great for Jenny Nimmo's younger readers. However, I wasn't too fond of the reader's voice. It was only 3 discs though, so I'll probably listen to the rest of the series at some...more
I remember having really enjoyed the 1980s British television series based on this book, but had never read the story itself. My daughter had it from the library recently and loved it, so I read it afterwards - lovely story, quite slim and simple but packs in lots of drama and atmosphere. As a bonus, we were happy to find and watch the old series on Youtube: I hadn't remembered the special effects were that hokey, but otherwise it stands up very well!
Finished reading this last night...and it took a while (like more than 1/2 way through) to get going, but when it did it moved quickly. It occurs to me that it has some similarities to the Harry Potter series (ok, just a few similarities...Gwyn, the main character, has a friend, who has several siblings including twin brothers....) Anyway, a good read, much better for the younger set than the adults out there tho...
I read this book on tape with my boys in the car. Isaac was very fascinated, Micah was intrigued at times, Reece probably fell asleep. I got tired of waiting to listen to it all on tape so I picked up the book and read it quickly. I thought it was a great build up to the climax, but then the climax was vague and lacked details and suspense. It ended kinda lamely for me.
A very interesting short book. I liked Gwyn's character, but it was a little strange. I didn't like Eirlys too much, she was a little to creepy. The storylines could've used a little more development. I think the father of the family was too unrealistic for me. The writing style could use some improvement too. The author really likes exclamation points!!
Gwyneth...the boy who is the main character is a magician. He discovers that on his 9th birthday. His sister Bethanny just got up and went missing 4 yrs ago on his birthday. His father is bitter about it and somehow blames Gwyn. It DRAAAAAAGGGGGSSSSSS on and on and frankly, I got up to half way before I screamed...ENOUGH!!!
I quit.
Enough said.
I quit.
Enough said.
Mark-9 and Grace 7 loved this. I thought it was a little slow in parts, but it definitely kept their attention, even though one chapter took about 30 minutes to read. Contains magic and magical powers.
It is the first in a trilogy, and contained the first chapter of the next book, so I know what we will be reading soon. Book #2
It is the first in a trilogy, and contained the first chapter of the next book, so I know what we will be reading soon. Book #2
This is book one of The Magician Trilogy and I liked it well enough to look for the second one. Gwynn's grandmother recognizes that he may be a magician, so she gives him five strange gifts. Gwynn is an appealing hero and he is able to bring back his lost sister, temporarily, and mend the problem with his father that has existed for years.
Wow! What a good story. I was caught up in early on and did not want to leave Gwyn's world. Gwyn is a good character. He has to learn to make choices. Sometimes his choices are not the best but he does try to fix what he has done wrong. I have to get the rest of the trilogy now.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Nearly finished this book, it is truly i brillant book to read, can't wait to pick it up and read more of the story, have'nt read a book like this in a long time, taking me time to finish it, very enjoyable 10 out of 10 recommend it to all even tho its a children book.
Anthon love, loved this book. We loved the Charlie Bone series, so decided to check this one out as well. It has a nice lyrical type prose and a unique spin on the classic good vs evil. Anthon can't wait to read the next one, which I just got from the library for him today.
Not every book needs to be 500 pages, but the storyline in this book could have used just a bit more TLC. The other thing that made me crazy were all of the names that I had no idea how to pronounce. Not very many people are fluent in the Welsh language (including people from Wales!), and I, for one, would have really appreciated having a pronunciation guide included in the book.
Mar 06, 2009
Cole
added it
Gywn is a young boy who lost his sister when he was only eight. Now he is 11 and learns that there is still hope. He gets five strange gifts from his grabdmother. She tells him that he is a wizard. To find out what happens next read snow spider.
I like Jenny Nimmo because her fantasy is suspenseful, but not terribly scary, unlike so much that's written for kids today. David was intrigued by this story. I am assuming that the things not resolved will actually be resolved in later books.
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Jenny Nimmo was born in Windsor, Berkshire, England and educated at boarding schools in Kent and Surrey from the age of six until the age of sixteen, when she ran away from school to become a drama student/assistant stage manager with Theater South East. She graduated and acted in repertory theater in various towns and cities: Eastbourne, Tunbridge Wells, Brighton, Hastings, and Bexhill.
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