The Land of Stories
 A book | |
| Author | Chris Colfer |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Brandon Dorman |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Land of Stories |
| Genre | Children's literature, Fantasy |
| Publisher | Little, Brown Books for Young Readers |
Publication date | 17 July 2012 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback, (ebook) & Hardcover) |
| Pages | 448 |
| ISBN | 031620157X |
| Website |
www |
The Land of Stories is a children's fiction series written by actor and singer Chris Colfer. The first title, The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell, was released on July 17, 2012,.[1] The second, The Land of Stories: The Enchantress Returns was published on August 6, 2013. The third book, "The Land of Stories: A Grimm Warning", was published on July 18, 2014. The fourth book, "The Land of Stories: Beyond the Kingdoms", was published on July 7, 2015. The books are described by Colfer as a "modern day fairy tale," following twins Alex and Conner Bailey as they fall from the real world into a world full of fairy tales they have only ever read about before.
The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell
Conner and Alex Bailey are twins, and after their father died they moved into a rental house. They are accidentally teleported into the Land of Stories by their Grandma's book, which was cherished throughout their childhood and given to them for their birthday. They meet characters including, but not limited to, Froggy (a man turned into a frog, who is actually the long-lost Prince Charlie Charming), the Witch from Hansel and Gretel (who is tricked into becoming a vegetarian), Snow White, Sleeping Beauty (who is a courageous young woman intent on restoring her sleepy kingdom into its former glory), Cinderella (who is pregnant with King Charming's baby girl, later named Hope), Sir Lampton (who helped them get Cinderella's shoe), the three Charming brothers, the Sea Foam (spirit of the Little Mermaid), The Fairy Council, Trix (a fairy on trial who Conner saves), Trollbella (the princess of the trolls, who frees the Baileys in exchange for a kiss from Conner), The Huntress (mute daughter of the Huntsman), Red Riding Hood (elected queen of the Red Riding Hood Kingdom), Jack, Goldilocks (who is constantly on the run for stealing from kingdoms), and the Evil Queen (Snow White's stepmother). It is revealed that both Goldilocks and Red Riding Hood were and are in love with Jack, but when they were young Red wrote a note to Goldilocks, who, believing it was Jack, waited for him until she got tired and slept at the bears' house. Jack tells her that he grew up illiterate, and they are in love. They attempt to make the Wishing Spell that will get them back home, thus having to sneak into castles and explore the whole land, and almost succeed. The book reaches its climax when Alex, Conner, the Evil Queen, the Huntress, Goldilocks, Jack, Queen Red Riding Hood, and the Big Bad Wolf Pack (descendants of the Big Bad Wolf who agreed to kidnap the twins in exchange for Red) as well as Red's army, meet at a hidden palace in the Sleeping Kingdom. Goldilocks and the Huntress battle until Jack fires a cannonball at the Huntress and she is killed. This book also tells the story of Evly, The Evil Queen and her lover Mira. When she was little, she was a very kind and caring girl. Evly stole the Wishing Spell to free her lover Mira from the magic mirror, but he dies in her arms and they are both swallowed up by the mirror. Alex and Conner find themselves trapped in the fairy world, until they learn that their grandmother is the Fairy Godmother, who is capable of making portals between the Other world and the Fairy World, and the journal written by a man who had successfully completed the Wishing Spell years before when he fell in love with a woman on Earth belonged to their father. Therefore, Alex is part fairy. Alex and Conner get back to their mother in the other world in the end.
The Land of Stories: The Enchantress Returns
The story takes place in the Sleeping Kingdom, where villagers celebrated the end of the Enchantress's curse. While conducting the celebration, Sleeping Beauty found that she was feeling quite weary and asked King Charming to take over for her while she rested. While in deep sleep, the knights of the kingdom entered Queen Beauty's room and woke her up, alerting her that vines sprang up around the kingdom, and they need to leave quickly. Sleeping Beauty protested, but the knights led her to one of three carriages. While riding in the carriages, there was a flash of blinding light. Queen Beauty looked around and saw only spinning wheels.
Alex headed home after attending school and found her brother Conner, who was worried because their mother hadn't yet come home from work. He had also found a romantic note to their mother from a surgeon she worked with named Dr. Bob. The twins decided that it was not a good idea to be snooping around in their mother's business, and tried be happy for her.
When Charlotte came home, Alex and Conner asked if Charlotte really had a boyfriend. Their mother told them it was true. She said that she didn't tell them because they already had enough on their plates.
Later on, Bob went to see the twins and told them about his plan to propose to their mother. He showed them the ring, which had two large diamonds on it, one pink and the other blue. When Bob asked the twins for permission about the proposal, Conner and Alex decided that this would make both Bob and their mom happy, so they agreed.
All three decided to surprise Charlotte with a special dinner at the Bailey house. Alex returned home as quickly as she could from a course she was taking at a community college, and Bob told the others at the hospital to keep Charlotte busy so she won't come home early. They all got dressed and ordered takeout for dinner. The twins' mother, Charlotte, didn't show up on time, but another nurse at the hospital said that she had left two hours ago. Then, they heard a mysterious knock at the door and a bunch a fairy tale soldiers barged in. Bob was originally doubtful, but later accepted that The Land of Stories is real. The twins' grandmother, the Fairy Godmother, entered and explained that their mother was kidnapped. While their grandmother attended to her own business, Mother Goose babysat the twins. Later, Alex gave Mother Goose champagne until she became drunk, and Alex asked her for information, which she unknowingly gave.
Alex discovered that her mother was captured by Ezmia, "the Enchantress," and that the Sleeping Kingdom was in devastation. Since she couldn't get to the Land of Stories through the book, she snuck out of the house and went to her Grandmother's house, hoping to find a way to the Land of Stories. The next day, she almost fell off of a bridge. Unexpectedly, Conner saved her, and admitted that he had followed her. They eventually go to their grandmother's house, which had a glowing painting in it. Alex knew this was a portal to the other world. She thinks hard to get there. Suddenly, Alex and Conner found themselves in The Land of Stories. They eventually found Froggy, who was still in frog form as a disguise. All three travel to the Red Riding Hood Kingdom, where the Enchantress seemed to be destroying symbolic historic sights. Alex and Conner then attended a meeting for kings and queens only by persuading Red to wear a dress that they could hide under. At the meeting, the Enchantress captures Alex and Conner's grandmother, revealing that she had captured 'Alex', but instead got Charlotte, their mother, who pretended to be Alex. At Red's castle, Conner learned of something called the Wand of Wonderment, which makes the holder invincible. To create it, one must find the six most valuable things of the six most hated people in the world. To help find all the items, Red asked the villagers to all pitch in to make a flying ship out of all her baskets.
When the ship was complete, Alex, Conner, Red, Froggy, Goldilocks, and Jack fly the ship across The Land of Stories. They obtain the ice scepter of the Snow Queen, the wedding ring of the Cinderella's stepmother, the giant's harp, the glass from the Evil Queen's mirror, and the jewels of the Sea Witch. However, they are unclear what the Enchantress's most prized possession is. After landing in the Troll and Goblin territory, they discover that Trollbella was the new queen, and that Bob traveled to the Land of Stories as well. They followed a ghost to the Sleeping Kingdom. They meet the ghost of Hagatha, who explains that the Enchantress' most prized possession is her pride. The Enchantress used her vines to drag Conner, Red, Froggy, Goldilocks, and Jack to the coliseum.
Alex tried to defeat the Enchantress by subtly stealing her pride, but she was blasted off of the coliseum. Because she was holding the Wand of Wonderment, she was saved. However, when she reached the ground, she fainted.
Alex then had a dream that she was talking to Alice from Wonderland, Lucy from Narnia, Dorothy from Oz, and Wendy from Neverland, who advised her on the situation. Alex woke up and went back up the coliseum using a flying horse. When she got there, she dropped the Wand in front of The Enchantress because she didn't need it. The Enchantress tried to kill Alex with the Wand after Alex stripped her of her powers (until Ezmia got hold of the Wand of Wonderment) but Rumpelstiltskin jumped in front of the blast to save Alex out of guilt for what he has tried to do for Ezmia. Conner destroyed the Wand, so all the magic was taken from her body and she died.
After that, Bob finally proposed to Charlotte and they got married. When it was time to leave, Alex claimed that she was meant to stay in the Land of Stories, and that Conner should share their stories in the real world. The twins then believed that they were separated forever after the fairies decided to seal all portals leading to and from The Land of Stories. Later, Conner shares their stories in the real world.
"The Land of Stories: A Grimm Warning"
In the beginning of the third book, Alex is in the Land of Stories training to be the next fairy godmother. Meanwhile, Conner is at school in the real world.
Conner goes on a school trip to Germany to hear newly discovered stories by the brothers Grimm. The good news for Conner is that the girl he has a crush on (Bree Campbell) is going. The bad news is that four annoying girls called the book huggers are also going.
As for Alex, she keeps messing up casting her spells. She eventually meets her crush too, a farm boy named Rook Robins.
Conner finds out that one of the stories is actually a secret message and a warning for the Land of Stories. He sets out across Italy to crack a 200-year code. With the help of Bree and the directions of Mother Goose, Conner eventually meets Emrich Himselback.
Then, the Alex and Conner realized an army from their world, the world of regular people, was coming to the Fairy-Tale world. The army was led by their late father. When some villagers got attacked by some of the army, Rook (Alex's crush), informs the army of where Alex and the kings and queens were to free his father.
Alex's grandmother, the fairy godmother, eventually defeats the twins' late father's dragon with her fairy magic and dies. Alex is disgusted with Rook, figuring out he was the person who leaked out information.
The Land of Stories: Beyond The Kingdoms
The book begins with the Bailey twins chasing the masked man, who appears to be their late father. Alex was going through mood swings, in which her hair would float above her hair and her eyes would glow. She also would get controlled by her emotions. Alex then was 'un-godmothered' and kicked out of the fairy council for insisting that the masked man was their father. Alex then set the room into flames and flew away. She arrived at the giant's castle which mother goose was staying in. Later on, at Red and Froggy's wedding, Morina the beauty witch claims to be Froggy's first lover (and the one who cursed him to live as a frog). She also threatens to harm Red if he doesn't leave with her. Froggy chose to leave, as Morina is a very powerful witch. Meanwhile, Conner gets beaten up by the masked man in the library, as he attempts to steal books. Conner ripped off his masked, so also believed that the masked man was his father. That night, Alex wishes to speak with her late grandmother, who sends an angelic moth of memories from the stars to tell Alex the true story of the masked man: he was their uncle Llyod. Meanwhile, Conner's old friend Trix had stolen a book from his grandmother's possession. Apparently, Llyod attempted to steal was a portal potion, which could transport anyone into any story. The ingredients to the potion contain a branch from the oldest tree in the woods, A feather from the finest bird in the sky, a lock and key from a lover, two weeks of moonlight and a splash of magic.Alex then confronted that the masked man was their uncle Llyod, Conner said she was crazy. But mother goose said that it was true and it was their grandmother's death wish for her to not tell. The group then have to travel into the literature stories and stop their uncle before he recruits an army of literacy villains. Meanwhile, Alex was trapped in the story King Arthur, who she soon fell in love with. Conner was trapped in Robin hood. Will they come back to their home and save the world in time?
Development
Colfer recorded his audio book using his own voice.[2] The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell has been translated into several languages, including Russian, Italian, French, Hebrew, Greek, Portuguese (Brazil) and Dutch.
Reception
- The book was on the New York Times Bestseller List for five weeks, and reached No. 1 for two of the five.
- The Onion's The A.V. Club gave the book a B[3]
- The book was named one of Barnes & Noble's "Best Books of 2012"[4]
Sequels
The second book in The Land of Stories The Land of Stories: The Enchantress Returns, was released on August 6, 2013.[5]
The third book in The Land of Stories, The Land of Stories: A Grimm Warning was released July 8, 2014
The fourth book in the series, The Land of Stories: Beyond the Kingdoms, was released on July 7, 2015.[6]
A fifth book is titled The Land of Stories: An Author's Odyssey is to released 12 July 2016.[7]
There are also reports of a sixth book to be published in July 2017.[8]
Characters
Alex Bailey- A smart, curious girl, described as having bright blue eyes and short, strawberry-blond hair with a hairband always in it. She is very studious, and pays close attention to every class, getting full marks. She is also considered the teacher's pet. She is a twin to Conner Bailey.
Conner Bailey- A boy looking very much like his twin sister, who sleeps all day, even in class, and is a slacker. He's very social, however, but feels like he is constantly overshadowed by his brainy sister. He holds a deep hatred against his teacher, Mrs. Peters. He is a twin to Alex Bailey.
Froggy- a large, slightly humanoid frog. Formerly Prince Charlie Charming, a curse was placed upon him for being too vain. He is very wise and gives the twins advice and help throughout. He is embarrassed of being a frog, and lives in a sort of house-hole in the dwarf forests.
Red Riding Hood- Red Riding Hood (Red) is a girl in a fairy tale series. But, she is older now. She's a little bit selfish, loves her gigantic outfits but since she has her own kingdom, she's very smart and good with her people. Her lover is Froggy but turns her away in the 4th book to protect her. Red doesn't like gross stuff (but she loves froggy),since she's a lady. Rude Little Bo Peep took over her throne in the 3rd book (A Grimm Warning) but she got her throne back.
Jack is now a grown man with the other Fairy Tale characters, who grew a very famous beanstalk when he was younger.
Goldilocks is a criminal, raiding kingdoms, who got given her first sword to fight with by Hagetha, a kind witch who lives in the dwarf forests. She gets married to Jack in the third book. in the fourth book, she is going to be a mother.
Fairy Godmother is Alex and Conner's grandmother and leads the fairy council through bad times and also is the only one who can create a portal between the fairy-tale world and the other world. She dies in the third book.
Morina is an evil witch that cursed Froggy to look like a frog. Morina looks like a beautiful lady but she has ram's horns on her head.
There are many other Fairy Tale characters as well, all of which you can find in a book of fairy tales or in the land of stories series.
External links
References
- ↑ "The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell: Chris Colfer: 9780316201575: Amazon.com: Books". Amazon.com. 2012-07-17. Retrieved 2013-07-15.
- ↑ "Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2013-07-15.
- ↑ Robinson, Tasha (2012-09-03). "Chris Colfer: The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell". Avclub.com. Retrieved 2013-07-15.
- ↑ "Best Books of 2012 | Barnes & Noble". Barnesandnoble.com. 2013-06-24. Retrieved 2013-07-15.
- ↑ Barrett, Annie (2013-04-01). "'Glee' star Chris Colfer reveals title, date, and cover of second 'Land of Stories' book - EXCLUSIVE | Shelf Life | EW.com". Shelf-life.ew.com. Retrieved 2013-07-15.
- ↑ D'Amico, Jordan (2015-04-11). "Chris Colfer Reveals The Cover & Title For His Fourth "Land Of Stories" Book". RecentlyHeard.com. Retrieved 2015-04-11.
- ↑
- ↑ "Glee actor Colfer to write 'more Land of Stories' books". Retrieved 2015-12-12.