The madcap, macabre, and maddeningly funny Tales from the Five Kingdoms continue — with an oddly heart-warming adventure.
It’s a fine day for dwarf watching! At least that’s what Gracie Gillypott and Prince Marcus innocently think as they set out, unaware that Princess Marigold has honed her sights on Marcus and plans to follow him to the ends of the earth — fan, frilly petticoats, and all. As for the dwarves, it’s not a fine day at all: they’re overworked and underpaid, rushing to produce extra gold to make crowns for a royal wedding. The Chief of Works has no choice but to send for some trolls to deal with the problem, but they have their own agenda: finding a princess for their lonely king. Throw in the faithful Gubble, a slinking goblin, four chatty bats, and a heart of glass that will give its owner absolute power and you have a hilarious new adventure rife with mistaken identities — and the ever-compelling search for the perfect match.
Vivian June Isoult French MBE was born in 1945 and educated at Exeter University. Vivian French was best known in school for being extremely skinny and for talking a lot. At school she developed an attachment to words and later became an actor, then a storyteller, and finally a writer of children's books. She is the author of more than two hundred books. Ms. French lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, and has four grown daughters.
Gracie Gillypot and her friend, Prince Marcus, are going into the Unreliable lands to see if they can observe some dwarves, as a fun outing, you know like who doesn’t want to watch some dwarves or trolls now and again when life gets dull. Gracie falls into an ancient trap for dwarves still around and is in the underground caves of the trolls that most people think don’t exist anymore.
There is a prophesy, an old one, that alludes to a Trueheart, which Gracie is one, and a troll. So everyone is worried. We also have Princess Marigold chasing after Prince Marcus thinking she wants and adventure, but doesn’t really. There are bats and trolls and chases and bad bargains and bad singing made. It’s amazing that Princess Marigold uses her incredibly horrible singing to her advantage in many ways. Oh, yes, there is also a royal wedding going on.
I enjoy Gracie and this unusual and creepy world. I happened across the first book in this series and had fun reading it. I will finish the series. I like Gracie and Marcus. The other characters are crazy. We know that the main characters are safe and no one will be hurt, since it’s middle grade, but there are some great plots and ideas in this little book.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun and quirky Fantasy series. It’s a quick read.
Gracie Gillypot dan Pangeran Marcus melakukan ekspedisi melacak-kurcaci. Ditemani dengan Marlon dan keponakannya, juga Gubble si troll, mereka bertualang tanpa kendala. Hingga Gracie tiba-tiba hilang dan membuat Pangeran Marcus panik. Bagaimana caranya mencari gadis itu di Rimba Muslihat yang penuh muslihat? Lalu apa hubungan mereka dengan jantung kaca milik Raja Troll?
Marcus's motivations / lack of conscience seemed a bit unconvincing in this. But I enjoyed it anyway. Good series for confident junior readers and tweens.
hahaa, sangat sangat sangat menghibur!! kali ini gracie, pangeran marcus dan gubble berpetualang ke flailing - daerah luar perbatasan five kingdoms - untuk melihat kurcaci. namun para kurcaci sedang frustasi karena tidak bisa menemukan emas di penggalian mereka guna memenuhi pesanan mahkota untuk sebuah pernikahan di kerajaan dreghorn. bangsa kurcaci meminta bantuan kepada kaum troll dan mengadakan perjanjian terlarang. mullius gowk sang troll kuno pengawal raja troll berencana untuk membangkitkan kembali raja troll kuno dalam dirinya dengan jantung kaca dan memanfaatkan seorang jiwa sejati. gracie menghilang terjerumus ke terowongan troll, diburu oleh troll kuno dan mahluk setengah troll - setengah goblin. marcus harus mencari seorang putri kerajaan untuk meminta bantuan pada para kurcaci.. dan keluarga kelelawar tak bisa luput dari petualangan seru ini, weleh.
lebih seru dr buku #2-nya tp blm sebagus robe of skulls. dlm cerita yg ini penuh dng makhluk2 tanah: troll, dwarf n goblin, plus ada kelelawar yg alergi *bukan pilek lo* :)
nb. meskipun seseri, tp buku ketiga ini diterjemahkan oleh orang yg berbeda dr kedua buku sblmnya. jd ada bbrp istilah yg jg diterjemahkan berbeda... spt hutan pemikat mjd rimba muslihat atau ist lima kerajaan yg digunakan sblmnya berubah tidak diterjmhkan, tetap Five Kingdoms.
This is another series I read simply because it is a whole lot of fun. The Tales of the Five Kingdoms have a fairy tale quality to them and follow the adventures of Gracie Gillypot, living with the Ancient Crones who weave the tapestry of life. Gracie is not always the main character in each book, though. This time around, almost every one of the main characters we have met so far and their families are part of the story as a wedding is under preparation. The bride's sister, Princess Marigold is the jealous sort and lacking attention takes off on an adventure she is ill-suited for, only to end up in need of rescuing. Prince Marcus meets Gracie and asks her to join him on his current adventure to get some more gold crowns from the Dwarves for the up-coming wedding in his family. Gracie leans against a tree and disappears. Prince Marcus, along with the help of a Dwarf and the bat family we've come to love, set off Underground into Troll territory and end up on the trail to rescue both Gracie *and* Princess Marigold.
Another fun addition to the series, though I won't say it was my favourite. What I found both a plus and minus at the same time was the fact that so many old characters return in this story, in addition we are also introduced to a handful of new characters. Of course it was fun to see the return of so many familiar faces, but this does cut into getting to know the new characters well enough. I much preferred the way Bag of Bones was written, focusing almost entirely on the new character, Loobly, with some of the old characters returning to join the story. Funny enough, Loobly was not in Heart of Glass, though her brother was and she was mentioned a couple of times. So other than there being too many characters for slim size of this book, I did enjoy the story.
The trolls were hilarious in a mock-scary way. Gubble was just as lovable as ever. The fairy tale friendship of Gracie and Marcus inched a step closer to romance and when all is said and done this is a heart-warming story for all concerned
http://gcbooks.wordpress.com/2010/05/... Blog post 28/05/2010 Last week I was blogging about Shannon Hale’s excellent fairy tale retellings and assuring all the (at least chronologically) adult readers that, although they were written for teenagers, they can be enjoyed by the (notionally) grown up. Hey! That’s not a slight – I’m right there with you on the my-age-has-finally-reached-my-European-shoe-size scale of adulthood. Anyway, moving along…..
If you’re with me so far let’s take the next, logical step and have a look at some childrens’ books.
For a great little fantasy adventure – quick, enjoyable reads; classic fantasy ingredients with appealing twists; and engaging characters – I’d recommend a visit to The Five Kingdoms. Start with an evil sorceress’ wardrobe crisis in The robe of skulls, meet more rats and the witches of Wadington in The bag of bones and discover some disturbing things about trolls in The heart of glass.
Now, here’s where my snarky comments come back to bite me…. while discussing Hale’s Princess Academy I said I didn’t want to read a Tiara Club type of book. Well, the talented Vivian French is responsible for both The Tiara Club and The Five Kingdoms, so I should just close my mouth and remember what one person sees as fish, another sees as poison. Or something like that.
So, the long and short of it is, if you like fantasy, you should take the time to meet Gracie Gillypot, the hero of French’s Five Kingdom books and, if you’re reading bedtime stories to any kids aged between about 6 and 60, then this is prime storytime stuff.
Pesan moral yang disampaikan buku ini sangat cocok untuk para remaja, sasaran pembaca buku ini. Bagaimana pun situasi dan kondisinya, kita harus berhati-hati jika memberikan janji, karena janji harus ditepati. Janji adalah hutang yang harus dibayarkan. Untung itu jangan sembarangan memberikan janji pada yang lainnya. Pikirkan dulu masak-masak bagaimana kondisinya, apalah merugikan bagi diri kita dan orang lain, bagaimana cara kita memenuhi janji tersebut.
Mungkin saat melakukan alih bahasa, kalimat yang memuat bagian Putri Marigod mengatakan, "... Marcus Sayang! Tidaklah kau mau menciumku?" bisa dihilangkan. Kesannya kurang baik saja bagi remaja, meski cium dalam buku ini bisa berarti menciup tangan ala sopan santun.
Another delightful installment in this delightful and funny series. The troll king is lonely and wants a princess to keep him company, so the dwarves promise him one in exchange for a troll digger who can help them mine more gold for the imminent wedding of Princess Fedora. Meanwhile, Gracie Gillypot is in mortal danger when she is caught by a dwarf trap and pulled underground, then stalked by the scary gollum-like creature, Oolie. It's up to Marcus and his team of loyal bat messengers to figure out how to get a princess and help Gracie, who ends up as usual doing pretty well on her own. 5th grade and up.
Lagi-lagi ilustrasinya kece. Sederhana tapi menarik ditengah-tengah cerita.
Saya lebih suka cerita dalam The Heart of Glass - Jantung Kaca (Tales from the Five Kingdoms #3) dari pada The Robe Of Skulls - Jubah Tengkorak (Tales from the Five Kingdoms #1). Mungkin karena saya sudah mengenal Pangeran Marcus dan Gracie Gillypot serta karakter lainnya. Jadi merasa dekat dengan mereka.
Tales from the Five Kingdoms series bagus untuk dongeng anak-anak. :)
A fairly quick read greets you in the third tale from the 5 kingdoms. Gracie and Prince Marcus have another adventure off to see dwarves, and trolls. As Gracie is a Trueheart, she gets herself into a bad situation again, and we have to see if someone can get her out of it. A fun, and light read...and 2 more to go in the series.
Dari ketiga seri, aq paling suka seri yg ini. Terlepas dr benar atau engga-nya legenda antara Jiwa Sejati sama Raja Troll hehehe teuteup ya... Ikutan hepi buat Marigold - Vincent ya? pasangan yg pas. Keren juga neh Ratu Bluebell! Finally, Gracie tetep sama Marcus. Yeaay! Curiga klo si penulis agak bethe sama princess hehehe karena princess di Five Kingdom's kayanya payah semua hahaha
This amazing book is all about Prince Marcus and Gracie Gillypot and how they try to search for dwares. This quest is too much for them to handle and it leaves Gracie in the hands of Oolie- a evil creature who has the strength of a troll and the brain of a dwarve. At the end Marcus has to use the help of Gubble,dwarves and even maybe a bit from Prince Vincent to rescue Gracie.
A great further entry in a really strong, enjoyable fairy tale series akin to E.D. Baker's Frog Princess. Fantastic main characters Prince Marcus & feisty, truehearted orphan Gracie Gilliepot have an adventure involving the Trolls living under the forest just outside the Kingdom.
I do so love a book that makes me smile. so far all three novels in this series has done just that. This one, The Heart Of Glass, was just a tad more in-depth than the others, I felt. quite simply, I loved it!
To me, this story fell somewhere between the first and the second in overall quality. The book told a good story, but the tale did tend to feel a bit disjointed in places.
Prince Marcus and Gracie set off to find the dwarfs. Of course, they end up in a big adventure. Some old friends end up turn up to share and some new friends are made. Trolls end up being tamed and the dwarfs perform miracles with gold. Can't wait until the next installment comes out.
Book three of five in this wacky fantasy lite series from Vivian French which seems to throw every cliche from fantasy world at you in the hopes that something will stick in your brain. Some humorous parts, all together an average read.
I love this series. This is one I would happily read aloud. (I also happily read it to myself!) I am looking forward to the next installment in the series.
Menurutku, buku ketiga ini lebih seru dan seram dibandingkan dengan buku kedua. Petualangan Gracie, Marcus, Marlon, dan kawan-kawan melibatkan kaum kurcaci dan troll yang tinggal di dalam tanah. Trigger warning untuk para pembaca yang mengidap klaustrofobia. . Ceritanya, karena bakal ada royal wedding, para kurcaci kebanjiran pesanan mahkota. Sampai-sampai mereka kewalahan nyari bahan bakunya: emas. Mereka pun minta bantuan troll buat nambang emas, dengan syarat, mereka harus membawakan seorang putri buat menemani raja troll. Nah, gimana caranya tuh, tahu-tahu Gracie yang mengaku diri jadi seorang putri? . Alur ceritanya tetap cepat, kepribadian tokoh-tokohnya semakin menarik. TAPI tetap juga ada saltik 🙃 kzl ih. . Romansa antara Gracie dan Marcus semakin kentara ... Tapi masih malu-malu kucing gitu sih, lucu banget 😂 Aku suka slow-burn romance macam ini, cocok dengan usia tokoh-tokohnya. . Setelah tiga buku, jadi tahu persamaan ilustrasi covernya. Yang dipajang di cover itu selalu tokoh penjahat utama. Dan aku kayaknya lupa menyebutkan, serial ini di dalamnya ada ilustrasi-ilustrasi hitam-putih yang sangat mendukung cerita 👍🏻 . Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Sekarang, tugasnya adalah mencari buku 4, The Flight of Dragons, dan buku 5, Music of the Zombies ... Sepertinya tidak akan menjadi suatu hal yang mudah.
While this is probably my least favourite book in the series so far (I just don't think I'm interested in trolls as much as I am in witches) I still really enjoyed this one. It was very well plotted though the bits with Marigold annoyed the hell out of me. I found Oolie terrifying as a kid and she is still VERY creepy reading as an adult. Despite it probably being my least favourite so far I still really enjoyed this and it's a wonderful addition to this delightful middle grade series.
This one took me a bit to get into as I don't seem to like tunnels or large trolls so much. Once I got into the story though it was fabulous as always and I just love Gracie, Marcus, and all the bats. Excited to read the next story and the possibility of dragons :)