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The Enchanted Forest Chronicles
(Enchanted Forest Chronicles #1-4)
by
Collected together for the first time are Patricia C. Wrede's hilarious adventure stories about Cimorene, the princess who refuses to be proper. Every one of Cimorene's adventures is included in its paperback edition--"Dealing with Dragons, Searching for Dragons, Calling on Dragons, " and "Talking to Dragons"--in one handsome package that's perfect for gift giving.
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Paperback, 1056 pages
Published
July 1st 2003
by Hmh Books for Young Readers
(first published 1990)
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Purviben Trivedi-Ziemba
Yes. I am 50, have read everything from Lord of the Rings to Percy Jackson. I enjoyed this book.
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30
Start your review of The Enchanted Forest Chronicles (The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, #1-4)
Mar 22, 2008
Werner
rated it
really liked it
Recommends it for:
All fans of humorous fantasy
Shelves:
fantasy,
books-barb-owns
This series is absolutely one of the fantasy genre's treasures! It's wonderfully light-hearted and humorous; the author revels in puncturing any number of fairy-tale conventions. Princess Cimorene, for instance, isn't kidnapped and enslaved by a dragon --she voluntarily becomes housekeeper for the Dragon King to escape an arranged marriage. (And the draconian king is female; dragons use that title for monarchs of either gender to keep things "simple.") But though her main characters often don't
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May 24, 2007
Tortla
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
people who like fairy tales and witty little stories
Only just recently, it has come to my attention that the final book in this series was actually written FIRST. THIS BLEW MY MIND. The final book ties everything together so very neatly...Goodness gracious my perception of the world is crumbling around my widdle ears. OK so, these books are all really good aside from the whole my not being aware of the chronology of the publication and whatnot. They're all dragony and delicious. And also, it's like one giant fairy tale of awesome. Also, there are
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This is some of the best young adult fantasy out there, especially if you like some humor in your fantasy. In the first book, the main character gets fed up with her life as a princess. When she tries to learn to fence, she's told it's unladylike, so she has to stop. When she tries to coook, she's told it's unladylike, so she has to stop. So, we begin the story with the main character running away to find a dragon to live with. She does find one, and she spends much of the book making cherries j
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This is a series for people who like fantasy with a dash of humor and a strong female heroine who is perfectly willing to tell the slightly stupid handsome prince he can kindly throw himself off a cliff. Add some dragons, a few wicked wizard, one very forward thinking witch, a floating blue donkey with a 6-foot wing span, and an entire kindgom made of magical threads and you might begin to understand the stories. Wrede has a way of pulling in a few old fairy tale favorites while forging a story
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I recently finished reading these books with my ten year old daughter. I read them years ago, so I didn't remember much plot, just that they are fun fantasy. And they are--light and witty, funny, creative, and strong female characters. I didn't like the last book as well. It didn't seem as well written and I missed Cimorene as a main character. But it was needed to finish the story. It was fun to enjoy the books together. We no longer have much of an oral tradition in our society, so it's easy t
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I read and reviewed each of the books collected in here separately, so this is really just for my own records. The rating - 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 - is an average of the individual ratings. The first two books in the series, Dealing with Dragons and Searching for Dragons, both earned 3 stars. They were fun (and often funny) fantasies for kids, and their strongest point was their protagonist, Cimorene, who ran away from being a princess to be housekeeper for a dragon, making lots of desserts
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So I was waiting for my latest book club's choice to arrive in the mail, and knowing that it was a serious choice this month, I decided to relive some young adult books that used to be great favorites of mine. I own a very ratty hardcover copy of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, but recently purchased the newly released paperbacks in a box set. Perfect time to read them.
These vary in how much I like them. The first one I've read more than the rest, and do like a lot. It features a feisty prince ...more
These vary in how much I like them. The first one I've read more than the rest, and do like a lot. It features a feisty prince ...more
I never read Harry Potter or the Lord of the Rings, or the Chronicles of Narnia, I read The Enchanted Forest Chronicles. And to this day I haven't been able to figure out why these adventure stories aren't films already. Very fun.
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These books shaped my childhood
Okay, time for a Nostalgia Review!
Recently somewhere on the depths of the internet I came across a list of "badass women of fantasy" or something like that, and Cimorene from this series was on there. And I was like, I remember her! She was awesome! And I was possessed by a sudden desire to reread these books because I hate doing things that I need to do. So that's what I did! Each book is only about 100 - 200 pages long, and it took me around 3 hours to read each one. Unsurprising, given the ta ...more
Recently somewhere on the depths of the internet I came across a list of "badass women of fantasy" or something like that, and Cimorene from this series was on there. And I was like, I remember her! She was awesome! And I was possessed by a sudden desire to reread these books because I hate doing things that I need to do. So that's what I did! Each book is only about 100 - 200 pages long, and it took me around 3 hours to read each one. Unsurprising, given the ta ...more
I absolutely loved this series and was enthralled by the first book. I didn't mind when there was romance later in the series, but I have to admit that I disliked what happened with Cimorene's husband and the fact that her child was a male. I'd have loved to see a female child of Cimorene as the protagonist of the fourth book, which is why I could only give this series 4 stars. It's still a solid and engaging read, and I would still recommend it as a good fantasy series for kids.
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26 April 2020: $4.99 on Kindle
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The Enchanted Forest Chronicles consist, in chronological but not publishing order, of Dealing with Dragons, Searching for Dragons, Calling on Dragons and Talking to Dragons. Talking to Dragons was written first, Dealing with Dragons was written as a prequel, and the other two books were written in sequence to fill in the gap between the two. I'm treating them as a unit, since I purchased them as an ebook omnibus and basically read them as one.
The Chronicles take place in a fairy tale world that ...more
The Chronicles take place in a fairy tale world that ...more
I loved these books in grade school and I love them still. The author does a great job of making fun of what is considered a typical fairytale. Princesses take classes on how to scream correctly when a dragon carries them off & knights are constantly trying to find a damsel in distress to rescue (even if they don't wish to be).
Dealing with Dragons
Princess Cimorene of the kingdom of Linderwall decides that being a princess is too boring and confining, leaves home to work for the dragon Kazul, and ...more
Dealing with Dragons
Princess Cimorene of the kingdom of Linderwall decides that being a princess is too boring and confining, leaves home to work for the dragon Kazul, and ...more
As a child, I know I re-read this series several times, and really loved it! I did recently re-read them as an adult, and they were more boring than I remember. It's hard for me to decide how to rate them, because child-me absolutely adored them! So, should I rate them based on that opinion, or my opinion of them now? Child-me would give them 5 stars, and adult-me gives them a 3. So do with that what you will.
Cimorene escapes her palace to live with Dragons, so that she doesn't have to continue ...more
Cimorene escapes her palace to live with Dragons, so that she doesn't have to continue ...more
I rediscovered the first volume, Dealing with Dragons, which I really enjoyed when I was a kid, and after a short online search, found out it was part of a series and ordered the whole box off amazon.
After having read through the latter three books in one week now, I am ready to give my verdict.
At 23, I am probably a little too old for this, but I still thoroughly enjoyed the books and plan on reading them to my future children.
The wacky and whimsical wit paired with the believable characters, ...more
After having read through the latter three books in one week now, I am ready to give my verdict.
At 23, I am probably a little too old for this, but I still thoroughly enjoyed the books and plan on reading them to my future children.
The wacky and whimsical wit paired with the believable characters, ...more
i loved these books!!!!! you don't have to read the first one to understand the second or third or fourth one. they are hilarious books with a lot of magic in them. they aren't that serious, but that is what makes them fun to read!!!!!
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These are fun to read. I really like the central character in the first book. She's the princess who doesn't want to get married. LOVE that! This is a nice modern fairy tale series.
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I read these books in junior high and I remember really loving them. I think they really opened me up to my love for fantasy novels.
This series is great. I've read it a few times even as an adult. :)
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Check out my reviews on the main versions of each book.
All four books in this neatly packed volume (surprisingly light for its pages) were delightful, fun and light, full of the whimsy and magic one hopes for when immersing in fantasy for youth. I have studied fairytales from around the world in depth: through reading, writing and performing for young audiences so this genre is near, dear and always potent.
The last 2 books in the series gave me pause, however. Things started off so keenly in the first 2~ we had a wonderfully wayward main character, ...more
The last 2 books in the series gave me pause, however. Things started off so keenly in the first 2~ we had a wonderfully wayward main character, ...more
This series (or, at the very least, the first book, Dealing with Dragons) was one of my childhood favorites. I remembered very little of it, but I remember very clearly that I LOVED Cimorene and wanted to be her. I've been meaning to do a reread, and a series of three plane rides over two weeks presented a good opportunity. I wasn't sure what to do for a rating here, or if I should even rate it at all, because my nostalgia is very strong but truthfully I had a lot of mixed feelings about the ser
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With a critical eye for fairytales as I have my unique preferences when it comes to fantasy land, this book initially grips you with lively characters with unique and surprisingly modern perspectives: a runaway, practical princess; a Dragon King who rules authoritatively instead of authoritarianly; mentions of faraway countries and places... however the magic sort of ends and pewters there. Instead of following the intricacies of the world in which these characters inhabit, the "adventures" the
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I just love this series. Patricia has such an imaginative way of giving shape to magic. Fire magic, Enchanted Forest magic, dragon magic, and wizard magic--each with their own presence. I also love how each book in the four-part series is written from the perspective of a different person. I have series that I'm working on where I might actually try the same approach...
Patricia's other books on magic (Mairelon the Magician and The Magician's Ward, respectively) have an even different shape to it ...more
Patricia's other books on magic (Mairelon the Magician and The Magician's Ward, respectively) have an even different shape to it ...more
Exactly what I was looking for in a book right now.
These four books were simple, yet joyful. I can't believe I didn't discover these when I was younger, I know my teenage self would have read them over and over. Wrede somehow manages to walk the line of the classic fairy tale, and turn it into something new, even while following all the comfortable old rules and story lines.
The portrayal of the quirks and egos of cats is perhaps one of my favorites I have ever read, and as a worshiper of the f ...more
These four books were simple, yet joyful. I can't believe I didn't discover these when I was younger, I know my teenage self would have read them over and over. Wrede somehow manages to walk the line of the classic fairy tale, and turn it into something new, even while following all the comfortable old rules and story lines.
The portrayal of the quirks and egos of cats is perhaps one of my favorites I have ever read, and as a worshiper of the f ...more
This is an omnibus containing all 4 of the dragon stories:
Dealing With Dragons
Cimorene runs away because she is bored with with the sort of things a princess is expected to learn, and her parents stop her from learning the interesting things like magic and fencing and cooking. Also she doesn't want to marry the boring prince selected for her. She finds herself in a group of dragons and is adopted by Kazul, becoming the dragon's princess voluntarily. She and Kazul get along very well, but the v ...more
Dealing With Dragons
Cimorene runs away because she is bored with with the sort of things a princess is expected to learn, and her parents stop her from learning the interesting things like magic and fencing and cooking. Also she doesn't want to marry the boring prince selected for her. She finds herself in a group of dragons and is adopted by Kazul, becoming the dragon's princess voluntarily. She and Kazul get along very well, but the v ...more
Who doesn't like sassy dragons and witty princess heroine?
The Enchanted Forest Chronicles are an older 4 book series by Patricia C. Wrede (published in the early 2000s), but don't let that stop you from picking them up in your local bookstore. Wrede's tale focuses on a princess named Cimorene who bargains her way into the "clutches" of a dragon named Kazul--mayhem ensues as the smart and witty Cimorene deals with princes who come to "save" her from her exciting new life with Kazul and the dragon ...more
The Enchanted Forest Chronicles are an older 4 book series by Patricia C. Wrede (published in the early 2000s), but don't let that stop you from picking them up in your local bookstore. Wrede's tale focuses on a princess named Cimorene who bargains her way into the "clutches" of a dragon named Kazul--mayhem ensues as the smart and witty Cimorene deals with princes who come to "save" her from her exciting new life with Kazul and the dragon ...more
Rating this as a whole rather than individually, since it's as a whole the story is best appreciated I feel. This is yet another favorite of mine from junior high, and I've long felt that it's deserving of proper Disney treatment as it has colorful characters, a fun tone, and a strong female lead in Princess Cimorene. The entire series has a fun, slightly satirical tone to it that definitely influenced my own series 'The Sakamota Journals'.
While I'm told the last novel was in fact published fir ...more
While I'm told the last novel was in fact published fir ...more
This book is the kind of book I wish I could go back and hand to my nine-year-old self so she could grow up loving it. It has been instantly added to my list of all time favorite books because it is FANTASTIC! The characters are extremely likable and practical and just awesome. It makes you root for everyone except the bad guys and you always want them to fail. I also love how a lot of the worldbuilding is based on classic fairytale tropes and brief descriptions. Cimorene is the princess we all
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| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Has anyone besides me read The Enchanted Forest Chronicles? | 35 | 65 | Jun 07, 2015 01:53PM | |
| Goodreads Librari...: merge books | 3 | 14 | Dec 11, 2014 07:31AM |
Readers also enjoyed
Patricia Collins Wrede was born in Chicago, Illinois and is the eldest of five children. She started writing in seventh grade. She attended Carleton College in Minnesota, where she majored in Biology and managed to avoid taking any English courses at all. She began work on her first novel, Shadow Magic, just after graduating from college in 1974. She finished it five years later and started her se
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Enchanted Forest Chronicles
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