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Counting Stars Counting Stars Counting Stars
by
David Almond
David Almond's extraordinary novels have established him as an author of unique insight and skill. These stories encapsulate his endless sense of mystery and wonderment, as they weave a tangible tapestryof growing up in a large, loving family. Here are the kernels of his novels-joy and fear, darkness and light, the
healing power of love and imagination in overcoming the wo...more
healing power of love and imagination in overcoming the wo...more
ebook, 0 pages
Published
April 23rd 2002
by Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers
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I opened the book just to take a peek; I was already reading another book, after all. David Almond drew me in and I dreamwalked episodes from his childhood in northeastern England with him. There isn't really a storyline in this book. The episodes come in no apparent sequence, floating into view, becoming sharper, fading out. His little sister and his father have died in one chapter, but are alive again in the next. He had a large Catholic family and woven through the stories are the insistent q...more
Apr 24, 2007
Susan
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Anyone with a little imagination
An unmissable chance to discover the influences behind David Almond's compelling stories, enabling us to trace the birth of such characters as the beautiful, broken Skellig and others.
There's warmth, light, darkness, fear and love here.
There's warmth, light, darkness, fear and love here.
J ALMOND
Sarah-4 stars
The book is a beautifully written collection of stories and emories from the author's childhood years, growing up in England. The stories deal with death, of his father and younger sister, and also with religion, specifically Catholicism.
The writing is lyrical and imaginative, sad but hopeful as the child-author comes closer to an understanding of the role that dream and fanstasy play in his everyday life. The imagery and crafting of each section is extraordinary, but might...more
Sarah-4 stars
The book is a beautifully written collection of stories and emories from the author's childhood years, growing up in England. The stories deal with death, of his father and younger sister, and also with religion, specifically Catholicism.
The writing is lyrical and imaginative, sad but hopeful as the child-author comes closer to an understanding of the role that dream and fanstasy play in his everyday life. The imagery and crafting of each section is extraordinary, but might...more
May 03, 2009
Hallie
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Kelley, Audrey
Shelves:
kids-books
Pretty much the same things apply as in my review of Kit's Wilderness. Less of the magical realism, as this is a collection of autobiographical short stories about the author's childhood, but the elements are still there. I particularly like the way the stories skip around chronologically (but within a fairly confined period), which makes the reader focus more on the events of the short story and less on what happens next in the author's life.
This is a memoir that has alot of details related to the suthor's childhood, growing up in a lare Catholic family--but for me (and maybe this is because I lost a brother as a child) this was about the experience of growing up first having, then losing a sibling, and seeing that first as a child, and then as an adult, and trying to make sense of the loss. There are some hilarious scenes, some sad scenes, and some reflective scenes as well. The voice of the author is genuinely childlike and well d...more
I enjoyed the short stories format and taking little tidbits of life at a time (and yet, some of them had the same theme or info that carried through and added a little magic to the stories). I didn't, however, really particularly like any of the stories. None of them really grabbed me and made me keep reading. I just sort of kept going just waiting for the finish.
Mar 13, 2009
Theodora
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Lacey should read this book, too
Shelves:
catholic
i read this book a few years ago. it is a wonderful book i would classify as "Catholic lit." Made me cry and wonder. Also gave voice to Catholic experiences like mine, which maybe are not so crazy after all -- just Catholic.
This book perfectly evokes what it was like growing up in a northern town as part of a large Catholic family. I love reading biographies of childhood, especially when siblings are involved.
Mar 04, 2008
Melanie Snyder
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
people who can take a lot of emotions in one book.
Shelves:
book-report-books
Counting Stars is a book about David Almond and his childhood stories. He was raised in a big, loving Catholic family and had many stories to tell. In this book there were some dark stories and some made you feel happy. There were some parts that I didn't get and the other parts were just disturbing! Sometimes I read the book and it made me happy. There were just a lot of emotions in this book. It goes through every type of emotion. It left me confushed and some of the time I didn't know what I...more
Jul 04, 2010
Susan
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
people interested in memoir, England, death in the family
Recommended to Susan by:
HPB
Well, I'm not sure what to think about this one. On one hand, I was really bored during most of it. On the other, it was really well-written in a somewhat dreamy sort of way and it seemed interesting enough. I don't know if I'm just in a phase right now because that's two books in a row that I should've loved and I had trouble getting through both of them. One problem I think was that the separate stories could've been held together by a stronger thread or narrative arc. I didn't feel it added u...more
Very well written, enjoyed The fact that I was completely drawn into the story and the surroundings fantastic author :)
Feb 19, 2013
Selina Lock
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
short-story-collection
Interesting collection of short stories based on experiences of Almond's childhood in the North East England. You can see the early genesis of some his ideas here.
All of David Almond's books are worth a read - they're some of the best books out there.
This book was really confusing but it had an ok plot. I thought that it jumped a lot from time to time...
David Almond writes so beautifully that everything else disappears and you find yourself completely absorbed in the story he weaves. This is a lyrical memoir giving insight into his influences and the memories he draws upon in his writing. It is probably best to know his style and have read some of his other books, such as the amazing Skellig, before diving into this in order to fully appreciate it. It will seem disjointed if you are unfamiliar with Almond. Like any memoir, it doesn't mean as mu...more
Great book.
Shields has a beautiful writing style. Every word is like poetry, and each story is both profound and poignant in equal measure. Definitely a collection I will continue to peruse every now and again in the future, and a great inspiration for writing non-fiction creatively.
Got about half way through this and gave up. I was kind of surprised to find this in the JF section but it's just not for me.
Feb 04, 2012
Alison
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
memoir-biography-nonfiction
A hauntingly lyrical memoir of the author's childhood in a small English town in the sixties. One of best-written memoirs I've read.
Treasured Copy Signed by the Author when he came to my school.
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David Almond is a British children's writer who has penned several novels, each one to critical acclaim. He was born and raised in Felling and Newcastle in post-industrial North East England and educated at the University of East Anglia. When he was young, he found his love of writing when some short stories of his were published in a local magazine. He started out as an author of adult fiction be...more
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“It happened so long ago I can't even be sure it happened as I say it did. Stories change in the telling, memory makes up as much as it knows. We were very small. The things we saw were all mixed up with the things we dreamed and the things we were scared of.”
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4 people liked it
“Death is knowing you're about to die,' says Mam. It's seeing the dead and seeing the living all at once. It's wanting not to die and not to live. It's wanting to stay with the last breath when the dead and the living are all around you, and touching you, and whispering, It's all right, Mam. Everything's all right. But there's no way of staying with the last breath. You have to die.”
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0 people liked it
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