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The Secret History of Tom Trueheart (Tom Trueheart #1)
by
Ian Beck
Will Tom ever have a story of his own?
Tom Trueheart's six older brothers are famous. They go on exciting quests in the Land of Stories to complete tales the Story Bureau assigns them. Tom stays at home with his mother. But when his brothers fail to return from their latest adventures in time for Tom's twelfth birthday, a letter from the Story Bureau arrives . . . addres
...more
Published
(first published February 6th 2007)
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As a family, we listened to The Secret History of Tom Trueheart on a long road trip. Usually we need breaks from our audio books, but this story entertained all ages from four to thirty-seven so well that we listened to the last four hours straight through. It is a good family book, either for listening or reading out loud.(We listened to the recording by John Curless. Apparently there is another audio book out there).
Tom’s six older brothers are all adventurers in the Land of Stories. They go o...more
Tom’s six older brothers are all adventurers in the Land of Stories. They go o...more
Young Tom comes from a line of storybook heroes. And by that I mean the actual heroes of such stories as "Jack the Giant Killer" and "The Frog Prince." Whether a clever tailor or a charming prince, the hero in each of your favorite fairy tales was most likely a member of the Trueheart clan, acting on instructions from the staff at the Story Bureau, and with a little help from sprites who carry messages and throw in a little magic now and then.
Here's how it works: Either Tom's father Jack (missin...more
Here's how it works: Either Tom's father Jack (missin...more
Inane Drivel...But Lovely Woodcut Illustrations
I just finished reading this with my almost eight year old daughter. I thought it was a lame serving of leftover fairytales thrown into a lousy soup of a pointless story. It started out with what seemed like a clever idea and went absolutely nowhere from there. The pacing was limp, the stories are predictable with all the traditional endings and the original portions are sprinkled throughout very inconsistently.
The writing is mediocre at best. I wa...more
I just finished reading this with my almost eight year old daughter. I thought it was a lame serving of leftover fairytales thrown into a lousy soup of a pointless story. It started out with what seemed like a clever idea and went absolutely nowhere from there. The pacing was limp, the stories are predictable with all the traditional endings and the original portions are sprinkled throughout very inconsistently.
The writing is mediocre at best. I wa...more
This is a truely amzing book that gives a spin on classic fairy tales in a very unexpected way! The story breates new life to old dusty fairy tales by giving Tom's brothers jobs or roles to play in each story. Each boy whose nmaes are all Jack, recieve a letter from The Story Bereau and is then wisked away to be a prince or maybe a lowly peasent. All the boys except Tom are sent on missions, but promise to be back for Tom's birthday. When Tom's birthday arrives none of his brothers are home, so...more
Apr 06, 2012
Cami
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
read-aloud-to-your-child
My children and I listened to the audio book of Tom Trueheart #1 by Ian Beck, brilliantly dramatized by Clive Mantle. Character voices, charming accents, etc.
This story takes place in a story land where Tom's six older brothers (all named some version of Jack) go off adventuring with familiar fairy tale characters to live, then tell the stories which are so well-known to us.
When the older brothers do not return in time for Tom's 12th birthday, Tom is contacted by the Story Bureau to begin a resc...more
This story takes place in a story land where Tom's six older brothers (all named some version of Jack) go off adventuring with familiar fairy tale characters to live, then tell the stories which are so well-known to us.
When the older brothers do not return in time for Tom's 12th birthday, Tom is contacted by the Story Bureau to begin a resc...more
This book was fantastic. All of my kids (really all 5 of us) were enthralled. It is about a boy named Tom. He is the youngest brother in a family of adventurers. All of his other brothers are named some form of Jack.....these brothers go on adventures...jack and the beanstalk....the frog prince....there job is to go into Storybook Land and finish the story that has been started for them. All of the brothers go off on their adventures.....but a man in the story office is upset that he doesn't get...more
จับนิทานดิสนีย์มายำใหญ่ใส่สารพัดวางจานจัดหลายเหลือตรา
ไม่ค่อยสนุก หรือว่าตอนที่อ่านไม่ค่อยมีสมาธิก็ไม่รู้
รู้สึกว่ามันเด็กไปหน่อย (แสดงว่าถ้าเด็กๆอ่านน่าจะชอบ)
แต่ชอบภาพประกอบนะ
อันนี้ก็อ่านจบแล้วถึงเพิ่งรู้ว่ามีภาคต่อ!
ไม่ค่อยสนุก หรือว่าตอนที่อ่านไม่ค่อยมีสมาธิก็ไม่รู้
รู้สึกว่ามันเด็กไปหน่อย (แสดงว่าถ้าเด็กๆอ่านน่าจะชอบ)
แต่ชอบภาพประกอบนะ
อันนี้ก็อ่านจบแล้วถึงเพิ่งรู้ว่ามีภาคต่อ!
Aug 18, 2010
Catherine Mustread
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Catherine by:
Peoria Library
Action, suspense, adventure, and familiar characters come to life in the Land of Stories – home to the Trueheart family and all other fairy tale characters. Twelve-year-old Tom is a sympathetic character as he sets out to rescue his older brothers despite his lack of bravery. The Story Bureau is responsible for assigning characters and starting the stories but then the rest is up to the characters, especially the Truehearts who are famous for the toughest, scariest, and most romantic and excitin...more
Oct 09, 2007
Debbie
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
4th grade and up
Shelves:
4th-6th_grade,
fantasy
What a great story. For those who like fantasy and fairytales and adventure stories. Grade 4–7—This well-known British illustrator's first novel is a charming twist on fairy tales. The Trueheart clan lives near the Land of Stories, once upon a time, long ago. Tom is the youngest of seven boys, and his brothers (all named Jack) have carried on the family tradition of being adventurers-that is, stepping into a story and carrying out the dashing exploits that eventually become legend. On Tom's 12th...more
My husband is reading this to the boys as their bedtime story. So far they're all enjoying it. I need to sneak the copy out of their room so I can read it during the day.
Updated -
I read this book and really liked it. It was cute and funny and clever and suspenseful and around every turn you met a new fairy tale character. I enjoyed how Tom went from doubting himself to being a true hero - and even heroes are scared sometimes.
The boys in my family just finished reading it with their day. I asked...more
Updated -
I read this book and really liked it. It was cute and funny and clever and suspenseful and around every turn you met a new fairy tale character. I enjoyed how Tom went from doubting himself to being a true hero - and even heroes are scared sometimes.
The boys in my family just finished reading it with their day. I asked...more
Jun 27, 2008
george
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
read-in-2008,
juvenile
Tom Trueheart is the baby of the family. His six older brothers are exactly like their father--true adventurers whose job it is to find endings for the stories that the Story Bureau assigns them. Tom, however, is not an adeventurer. He stays and home with his mother and dreams of one day following in his family's footsteps. But then all of his brothers fail to return from their adventures and the Story Bureau knows something is very, very wrong. With only one Trueheart left, it is up to Tom to g...more
I got this to read with my girls(9 & 11) and I was a little disappointed. The writing was slow and redundant. It is a little boring at the beginning, but my girls seemed to like it so I had to finish it. If they hadn't wanted me to, I would not have read the whole thing. It didn't really keep their attention like other books we have read together, so I don't think they truly enjoyed it, but we did finish it!
Although I read a lot of kids' books and love fairy tales, I didn't like this one. It felt boring and contrived. Perhaps children might like it, but it is VERY long for them and way too simplistic for older readers. Even the idea was confusing to me: what do all those characters do when they're not acting in a story? And if they're just acting, why do the girls fall in love with the princes? If they're just acting, is there any true peril? I just didn't buy it. I liked the family name - Truehear...more
I've been perusing the children's novel section of the newly completed library (Yay--less than 3 blocks from my house) on the lookout for "chapter" books to read aloud to my girls at bedtime. This one is a winner. I wonder if they'll be able to follow the concept of The Story Bureau determining the beginning of the adventurer's travels, but I know they'll love the fun character of Tom. Delightful!
I was on my way out of the library, when I saw this book on the shelf. It sounded interesting so I picked it up. I think if I was 9 or 10, I would really like this story, but as an adult, there are parts that had me rolling my eyes and asking "really?" I would recommend the book for grade school kids who have big imaginations
Tom is the youngest of 6 older brothers of the story telling adventure Trueheart family. As his 12th birthday approaches, his brothers are sent off for their story adventures, but do not return. So the Story Bureau sends Tom off to rescue his brothers in Story Land, and he also searches for his long lost father. Great fun!
I listened to this book as an audiobook- great performance by John Curless - it took a little while to "get into" the story, but once we were in, we were hooked. Loved the adventure and connection to fairy tales. I think that if I was reading vs. listening, I might have skimmed some fairy tale wrap-ups, but enjoyed the audio so much, it didn't matter. My son loved this book as well and we're both planning to read the next book when we have time!
My daughter Emily loved this book (and the follow up sequel), and eagerly asked me to read it. I picked it up, and found it boring. She insisted, so I plodded on until the end. And still found it boring.
The book takes such a creative concept - the lives of adventurers behind all the "fairy tale stories" that are following scripts from the Story Bureau - and completely makes it a chore in its structure and pacing. zzazz.
It saddens me that I didn't love it as much as she did!
The book takes such a creative concept - the lives of adventurers behind all the "fairy tale stories" that are following scripts from the Story Bureau - and completely makes it a chore in its structure and pacing. zzazz.
It saddens me that I didn't love it as much as she did!
Jun 09, 2008
Patrick
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
junior-fiction-elementary-age
This was OK. 2 1/3 stars. I thought it was going to be better. It's about a family of boys who live fairy tale adventures so that the stories can be written down for the world to enjoy and how the youngest has to bail them all out of trouble.
There are some very clever details, but the book seemed a little slow to me and the main antagonist was not very imposing or believable. The funny little takes and cameos from a dozen different fairy tales were the enjoyable parts.
This would be fun to read t...more
There are some very clever details, but the book seemed a little slow to me and the main antagonist was not very imposing or believable. The funny little takes and cameos from a dozen different fairy tales were the enjoyable parts.
This would be fun to read t...more
This was a really great book for the young, or the young at heart. It was all of our favorite fairy tales told sort of behind the scenes.
I see on Goodreads that there are sequels, and I will probably check them out. This is a book I would read with Hallie in ten years.
I see on Goodreads that there are sequels, and I will probably check them out. This is a book I would read with Hallie in ten years.
Started off very well, but lost momentum and the element of surprise about halfway through. I think younger children would enjoy this a good deal, though, partly because of all the familiar fairy tale characters that keep cropping up, and partly because it's not too scary.
Great fun fairtytalish adventure! Kids Grades 3-5 live this book or having it read to them....warning you have to do really cool voices tho! Theres an audio available which is fantastic for long car trips! Assured peaceful journey!
Tom is the youngest of the Trueheart adventuring brothers, and the only one whose name is not some variant of Jack. When a malicious storyteller devises a way to trap all six of his brothers mid-story, Tom is sent by the story bureau to rescue them and help them bring all their stories to a happy ending.
This is a fabulous read-aloud book. I was hooked the whole time and everyone loves it when Mom wants to keep reading to the kids! :) Great writing, fun story and clever details. Our family loved it.
I liked this book, it's a new twist on the fractured fairy tale, and similar to Michael Buckley's Fairy Tale Detectives. It's the story of Tom Truehart, who is the youngest brother in an adventuring family. All his older brothers go on adventure missions for the Story Bureau and come home and report on their travels. This is how stories like Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, etc. came to be. But someone has kidnapped and stopped the stories his brothers are trying to complete. And only 12 year old To...more
Read to the kids last summer. They loved it. They looked forward to a new chapter every night. It was an excellent twist on fairy tales that was very entertaining.
Listened to this one to go to sleep this week. Good narration and the story was compelling enough, though I don't think I liked it enough to read the next ones in the series.
This is a cute book. There isn't a ton of deep thinking that went into it. If you have a child that loves fairy tales then I would recommend it.
I read this book aloud to Nick and both enjoyed it. It's a twist on the traditional fairy tales. Appropriately written for children.
This was a super cute book that incorporates our favorite stories-Cinderella, Rapunzel, etc. I'd love to read this outloud to my class!
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Ian Archibald Beck (born 1947 in Brighton) is an English children's illustrator and author. In addition to his numerous children's books, he is also most famous for his cover illustration on Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album. He has sold more than a million copies of his books worldwide.
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Dec 23, 2009 10:13pm