The Stolen Child

by Keith Donohue | Literature & Fiction |
ISBN: 9780099490593 Global Overview for this book
Registered by Lisagt of Holsworthy, New South Wales Australia on 1/5/2008
Buy from one of these Booksellers:
Amazon.com | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon DE | Amazon FR | Amazon IT | Bol.com
10 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by Lisagt from Holsworthy, New South Wales Australia on Saturday, January 5, 2008
Sent to me by my Birthday RABCK buddy Xana ~ much appreciated.

Seven year old Henry Day is kidnapped by fairy changelings living in the dark forest near his home - ageless beings whose secret community is threatened by encroaching modern life. They give him a new name ~ Aniday ~ and the gift of agelessness - now and forever. Another changeling is left in his place and he has to adjust to a new way of life as Henry, hiding his true identity from the Day family. But he can't hide an extraordinary talent for the piano and his father begins to suspect that he is an imposter...

Journal Entry 2 by Lisagt from Holsworthy, New South Wales Australia on Saturday, January 26, 2008
I really enjoyed this unusual book. A chapter was written in turn by both the 'changeling' and the child whose place he took as they tried to find their way in their new lives. Especially touching were the scenes between Aniday and his friend Speck. So imaginative and inventive but also haunting!
Thank you for sending this to me Xana!

Journal Entry 3 by Lisagt from Holsworthy, New South Wales Australia on Monday, February 25, 2008
I have decided to share this book with others. The following readers are interested in a bookring.

amberC (NT)
Sally906 (NT)
piemunga (Syd)

back to me then on to ~

katrinat (UK)
KiwiinEngland (Ire)
MsTeddy (Fin)
penelopewanders (Swi)
marko167 (Swi)
Ravenbear (QLD) ~ wants to be last

-> back to me Lisagt

(This order may change if other readers are interested)


Journal Entry 4 by Lisagt from Holsworthy, New South Wales Australia on Friday, March 14, 2008
Finally got this ring started. The stolen child is on its' way to amberC.

Journal Entry 5 by amberC from Darwin, Northern Territory Australia on Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Arrived today. I have another bookring before it.

Journal Entry 6 by amberC from Darwin, Northern Territory Australia on Saturday, March 29, 2008
A very different, lovely story. I enjoyed the chapters alternating between Henry Day and Aniday.

I will pass it along to Sally at our next meet-up.

Journal Entry 7 by sally906 from Toowoomba, Queensland Australia on Friday, April 18, 2008
Picked up at the meet-up this morning - there are a couple of books ahead of it.

Journal Entry 8 by sally906 from Toowoomba, Queensland Australia on Friday, June 13, 2008
I'm not sure I fully understand the ending of The Stolen Child.

Henry Day wanders away from his family home somewhere near chicago and goes missing. His frantic parents join locals in searching for their child in the nearby woods - and are overjoyed when they find him. Only the child they take home is not the real Henry - it is a changeling - and the real Harry is now living in the forest with the other changelings waiting for his turn to take the place of a child and return to the human world.

In normal situation each Henry would forget his past, but in this situation each retain a portion of knowledge about where they came from - and were they want to go - they are just not sure how to do it. So who is the real Henry - the one who is born Henry - or the one who has become Henry the man? Each Henry is aware of the existence of the other, but the changeling doesn't want to go back to the forest, and the original Henry doesn't know how to escape it.

The story is told in turn by the two Henry's leading up to the climax. I say climax but in reality the book doesn't really get exciting at all, it just plods along. Then I kept wondering why the changeling's needed a human to impersonate - why didn't they just pretend to be lost children and start their life like that.

I can't say it was an experience - I kept reading it hoping that something would happen - but it never did. - I have read better modern day fairy tales such as The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly.

Journal Entry 9 by sally906 at on Friday, June 13, 2008

Released 15 yrs ago (6/13/2008 UTC) at

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

mailed off today

Journal Entry 10 by piemunga from Marrickville, New South Wales Australia on Friday, July 25, 2008
sorry it took me so long to record this; it arrived whilst i was overseas! i should be able to begin it next week.

thanks!

Journal Entry 11 by piemunga from Marrickville, New South Wales Australia on Monday, August 11, 2008
i really enjoyed this. it was quite different to anything else i've read, and well written. thanks lisagt!

Journal Entry 12 by piemunga at -- Controlled Release, New South Wales Australia on Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Released 15 yrs ago (8/13/2008 UTC) at -- Controlled Release, New South Wales Australia

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

posted off today

Journal Entry 13 by Lisagt from Holsworthy, New South Wales Australia on Thursday, August 14, 2008
The Aussie leg of the journey is now over for this book. I have contacted katrinat and as soon as I have an address this book will be on its way again. Thanks to all participants so far for their comments and for keeping the ring moving!

Journal Entry 14 by Lisagt at Hammondville, New South Wales Australia on Saturday, August 23, 2008

Released 15 yrs ago (8/22/2008 UTC) at Hammondville, New South Wales Australia

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Posted to katrinat to continue the bookring.

Journal Entry 15 by katrinat from Southend-on-Sea, Essex United Kingdom on Saturday, August 30, 2008
That got here quickly, I have another bookring book to read before this but it shouldn't take long to get too

Journal Entry 16 by katrinat from Southend-on-Sea, Essex United Kingdom on Wednesday, September 24, 2008
I've got behind in my bookrings, sorry. I will have this finished by next week at the latest

Journal Entry 17 by katrinat from Southend-on-Sea, Essex United Kingdom on Friday, October 3, 2008
I really enjoyed this book, although I struggled to get into it at the start. I enjoyed seeing the way the boys lives parralleled each other and their inability to fit in in their new surroundings. Definiatly one I would recommend. Thanks for sharing.

I will post this as soon as I have the next address

Released 15 yrs ago (10/6/2008 UTC) at -- Controlled Release, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- United Kingdom

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Went Saturday, the next person is away at the mo, so it may take a week or so for the book to be JEd as received

Journal Entry 19 by kiwiinengland from Wellington City, Wellington Province New Zealand on Monday, November 3, 2008
Received this when I returned from sunny NZ to cold and dark UK. A pleasant event to occupy the dark evenings.

Thanks to all involved.

Journal Entry 20 by kiwiinengland from Wellington City, Wellington Province New Zealand on Monday, November 10, 2008
I enjoyed the pace and writing style of this book and the premise.

For a lot of the book I thought Henry Day (the changling) was obnoxious, for example his response to the death of his father, and I was unsympathetic to anything he was going through until the end. I also couldn't understand why Aniday didn't try and get home. I suppose as Aniday was seven when taken, by the time he figured out the situation a number of years had gone by which would make it too late to return.

Journal Entry 21 by kiwiinengland at on Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Released 15 yrs ago (11/11/2008 UTC) at

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Posted to MsTeddy this afternoon.

Travel well little book, and I hope you don't find Finland too cold!!!

Journal Entry 22 by MsTeddy from Tampere, Pirkanmaa / Birkaland Finland on Friday, November 14, 2008
Oh, how happy I am I had the day off from school today..=)I was home when the book arrived and I've already started to read it. What a good spot for it to come, 'cause I finished my last book last night..=)

It seems very interesting and I had to force my self to put it down for making this JE.=) It tavelled fast and I'm sure it hasn't got a gold, because there is no snow yet in Finland..;)

Journal Entry 23 by MsTeddy from Tampere, Pirkanmaa / Birkaland Finland on Thursday, November 27, 2008
I really liked the story of this book. It was nice that every other chapter was about the other and vice versa..=)

I'll send the book off to Switzerland later today.

Journal Entry 24 by wingpenelopewanderswing from Saint-Loup-des Vignes, Centre France on Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Arrived safely here in the snowy Alps today - after a week out with the flu I have lots of work piled up, so I'll get to this as soon as possible. Thanks so much for sending and making it available.

Journal Entry 25 by wingpenelopewanderswing from Saint-Loup-des Vignes, Centre France on Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Very strange book... not quite sure why I didn't really enjoy it as much as I thought I would. While I was reading it I was intrigued by the fairy tale for adults aspect, but that isn't what would bother me - if anything I felt it didn't go far enough. The switching between the two characters chapter after chapter was effective, but perhaps due to the amnesia they suffered from, everything seemed to stay very superficial and hazy. Even the dramatic events and discoveries (the abduction, the encounter with Brian, learning about the idiot child, just to name a few) seem remote, as though observed through the wrong end of a set of binoculars. All that is not said between the characters (Aniday and Speck, Harry and Tess) ends up having a very numbing effect, so that by the end the reader (or at least I) felt wrapped in cobweb, ready to be submerged as Harry Day was in the beginning.
I have PMed for the next address, will try to send on as soon as I get it. Thanks for making this available.
Marko167 has asked me to wait until January before sending. So this is sitting pretty in my "to be sent" box for the time being.

Released 15 yrs ago (1/14/2009 UTC) at ☑ 'Controlled Release' > Country > Province > City, .---controlled release---. Switzerland

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

After a longish vacation here in the Alps, a bit of skiing and lots of good food, it's now back to work, even for those of us who live here year round. So this book has finally said its goodbyes and packed its bag and is now on its way down to Basel to continue its job as a ring.
Thanks so much for making it available, and happy 2009 everyone.

Journal Entry 27 by marko167 from Sitges, Barcelona Spain on Thursday, February 5, 2009
Ooops sorry, I thought I had acknowledged receipt, but apparently not apologies!

Anyway, I'm not certain what I thought of this book. I liked the story but for such a short book I found it a bit dull at times and I wasn't altogether comfortable with the implied sexuality of the faeries, bearing in mind they were said to be in child's bodies.

All in all an OK book.

Thanks for sharing.

M.

Journal Entry 28 by lostbookisland on Tuesday, December 8, 2009
This book has washed ashore at the Lost Book Island after not being heard from for many months. This new arrival will be shown to a room and be allowed a bit of rest before being introduced to the many fun things to do here at the island.



All around there are books sipping cool drinks under shady palms while other books participate in a wide variety of beach sports. There is plenty of sand, surf and sun here for all of the lost and wayward books to enjoy.



It is hoped that very soon a new journal entry will come to rescue this book from the island and send it back out into the BookCrossing world so that it may continue on its journey. It is hoped that the new journal entry will tell all the interested parties where this book has been this long time and where it will be traveling to next.

Are you sure you want to delete this item? It cannot be undone.