The House Gobbaleen

by Lloyd Alexander, Diane Goode (Illustrator)

Poor luckless Tooley longs for some help from the Friendly Folk, so when an odd little man shows up, Tooley is delighted. But Hooks worsens Tooley's bad luck. It's up to Tooley's wise cat to get rid of Hooks—by summoning the dreaded House Gobbaleen! Diane Goode's warm paintings bring to life a story that is quintessential Lloyd Alexander.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Fairy Tales, Cats, Fantasy

32 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1995

About the author

Lloyd Chudley Alexander was an influential American author of more than forty books, mostly fantasy novels for children and adolescents, as well as several adult books. His most famous contribution to the field of children's literature is the fantasy series The Chronicles of Prydain. The concluding book of the series, The High King , was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1969. Alexander's other books have also won the National Book Award and the American Book Award. He was also one of the creators of Cricket Magazine.

Reviews

[Cort · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tooley has terrible luck. One day Hooks, one of the fairy folk, arrives at his door and Tooley believes his luck is fixed! But little does he know that his luck is about to get worse. He should have listened to his cat and never have let the House Gobbaleen in. This was a funny, interesting story by Lloyd Alexander! It teaches a lesson of being optimistic and not taking things for granted.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This humorous picture book stars one of Lloyd Alexander's favorite animals--a cat who is much wiser than his human owner. This book is quite wordy, and so is too old for pre-school children, but fine for primary grade children.
Although no setting is specified for the story, I am thinking it is somewhere in the UK, for Tooley, the human, believes that the Friendly Folk can help turn his bad luck into good. Tooley sets out food to attract one, and when one shows up (a small man that is leprechaun-like), Tooley lets him in despite his cat's warnings. Of course, the cat saves the day.
Diane Goode does a grand job of illustrating the story, with humorous looking people and a wise looking cat. Tooley's red hair matches his marmalade cat's orange coat. The illustrations are set off in plain orangey-brown borders. A delightful story.

[Michelle Nogales · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent little gem by Lloyd Alexander (the Chronicles of Prydain). Tooley is good-natured but feckless and not the brightest Irishman that ever was; fortunately he has his clever cat, Gladsake, to advise him how to outwit the horrible, demanding Hooks when Hooks takes over his house. A wonderful read-aloud story.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tooley thinks he never has any luck. Gladsake, his cat, tries to convince him otherwise. Tooley decides he must coax one of the Friendly Folk to his house because they have all the luck. But when Hooks appears, ill-tempered and demanding, Tooley spends all his time feeding Hooks with no return on his “investment.” They soon realize that Hooks will never give them anything and Gladsake devises a plan to get rid of him. They create a Gobbaleen.

Great illustrations. Charming story.

[Carfig · Rating 4 out of 5]

A man isn't as smart as his cat but doesn't know enough to realize it. He invites a "lucky man" into his home, hoping for some good luck to come his way, even though the visitor warns that he won't leave even if asked to. A must for Lloyd Alexander fans

[Pamela Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was delighted to find this one my library shelf. I've read several of Alexander' s books and loved them. This one was such fun!

[Linda Rusche · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story enjoy appreciating what you have and not trusting strangers! 😂

[Josephina · Rating 4 out of 5]

best and only gobbaleen book i have ever read

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tooley bemoans his bad luck and wishes for a "Friendly Folk" to bring him some good luck (like a pot of gold). He puts out treats to lure one to his home and, despite warnings from his wise cat, invites the one who shows up into his house. The short round little fellow proves to be a demanding pain in the neck, but what can Tooley do? The fellow had told him, "once in [the house], never out." Will Tooley be able to rid himself of this bad-luck dwarf?
This is a longer read-aloud with expressive illustrations in watercolor and colored pencil. Fun for Grades 1-3, especially during St. Patrick's day festivities.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful Irish folktale that begs to be read aloud with an Irish brogue. Unfortunately, my Irish brogue is not good enough to entertain our girls, so I had to switch to my normal reading voice. Still, we really enjoyed this tale, especially the wise talking cat. The story was funny and yet also teaches a moral lesson about being happy and grateful with what you have. The illustrations were clever and humorous, and we really laughed at the images of the round little man rolling around. We've read this one a couple of times.

[Claudia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, this book freaked me out a little and I didn't really like how the author worded the story.

But, for whatever reason, this book, out of all the library books we got this last time, was one of the books the kids wanted me to read to them over and over again...so, I'll warily place it up on goodreads.

[Joseph Rizzo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short interesting kids tale that is a quick read. Its basis is in folk legend, leprechauns, etc. It may be a little mature for younger kids, definitely not a toddler age book, more like 8-12 year olds.

[SmokingMirror · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best of the dozens of picture books I have read in the last week. Lloyd Alexander struck the best balance among colloquial speech, natural unfolding of events and folktale tropes. He was a great storyteller.

[Tanya Wadley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolutely hilarious children's book. The illustrations are so funny... I'm glad we came across this.

[Teri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I shelved this in St. Patrick's Day because it's all about luck and one of the small "friendly folk". Just OK--

[Anthony Faber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short book for younger kids. Odd take on the "little people" legends.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, that horrible gobbaleen! How will we ever get rid of him?