Goose Girl

Hale, S. (2003). The goose girl. Syracuse, NY: Full Cast Audio.

Genre: Folk Tale
Format: Audio Book
Recommended Age: 8 & Up

It's been several months since I listened to this audio book, but I loved it so much that I simply have to review it. In Shannon Hale's Goose Girl, 16 year-old Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee, Crown Princess of Kildenree, is promised in marriage to the neighboring Prince of Bayern and shipped to Bayern to meet the royal family. However, trouble arises when the Princess's guards and lady-in-waiting betray her, carrying out a scheme to murder her and allow Selia to take on her identity. The princess barely escapes with her life, and spends the remainder of the story disguised as Isi, the goose girl on the Prince's very estate, who ,unbeknownst to everyone, can magically speak to animals as well as the wind. Wrapped in adventure, romance, and imagination, The Goose Girl is a must-read and an even greater listen, as the audio book provides listeners with a full cast of characters.

Were this merely just the printed book, I would recommend an age of at least 10 and up, but because it's an audio book, I think children from even age eight, and maybe younger, can both understand and enjoy the content since it is more of a storytelling or a play than a book. If parents, teachers, or librarians have a desire to introduce children to the world of audiobooks, Goose Girl will be the perfect starting point, and kids will undoubtedly get hooked because of it.

Lombardo, C. (2006, February 1). Goose Girl [A review of the book Goose Girl]. School Library Journal. Retrieved April 1, 2010 from LexisNexis Academic database.

Short and sweet, this review speaks the highest praise of Shannon Hale's retelling of the classic fairy tale, Goose Girl. Providing details of the adventurous plot, as well as the audio cast, which apparently consisted of more than four dozen actors, Lombardo clearly loves both the story and the format it's presented in. I couldn't agree with her opinion any more.