The Golden Acorn

The Adventures of Jack Brenin #1

by Catherine Cooper

When Jack Brenin finds a golden acorn lying in the grass, little does he know that it is the beginning of a thrilling and magical adventure. Just an ordinary boy, Jack has been chosen for a hugely important task, and enters a world he believed only existed in legend. Full of twists and turns and featuring characters such as talking ravens and mischievous Spriggans, The Golden Acorn is a hugely entertaining and exciting tale from a very talented new author.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction, Adventure, Childrens, Ebooks, Middle Grade

372 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Stacey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why is it that some adults can write for children, and create a whole new world for the child to get lost in wonder, and others write as if "child" is synonymous with "stupid?"

The entire time I was reading this, I felt like a Stepford mom was leaning over my shoulder reading, "and then, THIS happened, and then THIS happened, and THEN do you KNOW what that means little girl? Well, I will just have to tell you! Wheeee!"

The story's potential (and it wasn't a bad story,) was suffocated under this apparent assumption that the target reader would be a moderately dull-witted six year old, which is a shame. One of the most important things I look for in a children's book is whether I would enjoy reading it aloud to a child. There are brilliant books for this activity - The Hobbit, The Marvelous Land of Oz books, Dr. Seuss is just good laugh out loud fun, I'll even concede that Harry Potter seems like the read with children sort, even if it's not my personal cuppa. This book, however, in my opinion, would be painful. I'd never make it.

[Sophie Narey (Bookreview- aholic) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published: 20/08/2010 (first published 2009)
Author: Catherine Cooper
Recommended for: children and young adult

I thought that this book was incredibly well written, the descriptions about the characters, the setting, the surroundings really made the book come alive to me. It is aimed at children but I think any age could enjoy it. For children it would be a good book to help stretch their imaginations to new lengths. It does start off a little bit slow at the beginning but the plot soon quickens up. This isn't a book that is action packed it has a little bit of action/adventure, but it has everything in it that a good childrens book needs, good interesting characters that they can relate to. I think it is a good read for people read childrens novels as well.

[Leah (White Sky Project) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a sucker for free Kindle books on Amazon. Every once in a while I check the top 100 free books list and download the ones that seem interesting to me. I download too many of these books, but I have only read a few of them. Some of the ones I read were so-so, but one or two were actually good. The Golden Acorn by Catherine Cooper was one of the nice ones.

It took me a few days to read the book because I only read it in between breaks from work and what not. It is clearly a book for kids and it just served as a nice breather from whatever I was doing at the time. The writing is clear and simple, yet descriptive. It is about a boy named Jack who discovers a world where magic dwells, animals and trees talk, and never-before-heard-of creatures exist. Jack also finds himself the subject of a great prophecy that could affect the very existence of this magical world. The Golden Acorn is the first installment in the Jack Brennin adventures and it adequately set the scene for the series. It's a light read and for some reason reminds me of the Mysterious Benedict Society books, although it is nothing like it. Highly recommended for those who just want something light and magical.

[Merissa (Archaeolibrarian) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is classed as a children's book but I ask the following - at what age do you have to stop reading children's books? This book had everything I ask of a fantasy novel, rich in myth, history, folklore as well as magic, shape-shifters and a whole host of other creatures. We have the typical hero who doubts he is a hero but in this case, he is still a boy. I guess that's why it's a children's book.

This book skips along at a fairly even pace, with action of one form or another on every page; whether it is talking to a hamadryad or learning how to fly. It is filled with lore from days gone by and mentions the Druids of Mona and Samhain, to name just a couple.

This book is not a "heavy" book. It isn't filled with violence and gore. But if you can push aside your adult cynicism and read it with the innocence of a child's eyes, then it is wonderfully enchanting and enriching.

Definitely recommended.

[Janice Marquardt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started out very slow, and I admit I did almost abandon it. But the plot does pick up, and the raven's character Camelin has some subtle humor worth a snort. I did feel the characters were very one-dimensional, including the protagonist, yet he was still very likeable. This was not a page-turning-gotta-find-out-what's-next kind of a read, but a more broad brush view of the world of the faerie from one author's viewpoint. I think the targeted audience of eight- to twelve-year-olds would enjoy this read, and I can tell it is trying to ride the Harry Potter coattails while being a far cry from a Harry Potter.
Bottom Line: I would recommend this one for a preteen voracious reader, but not much beyond that.

[Cat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I really liked the world that the author has set up, I didn't feel like the story progressed in a natural or even interesting way. It was like the story was told with little detail, thus the story was a little dull.

The main character, Jack has a lot to learn and not a lot of time to complete his magical education. Although he has much guidance from Nora, his mysterious older neighbor and her young "niece" it is never explained why his grandfather (who is also Jack's guardian) allows his young grandson over to aforementioned neighbor's place so often. Also - I know Jack is young but he can be so blind sometimes (seriously, how could he have not figured out who Elan is?). I also felt like the situation between Jack and the goalie/other students should have been explained more. I suppose this downfall can be rectified in following books, but honestly in the 3 or so weeks when this book takes place I feel like there should have been more action.

Lastly, during the climax of the book, with everything they had been working for, Jack really screwed things up, which I suppose is believable, but things were just too easy. Similarly, their search for the lost item also ends entirely too easily. Perhaps this is another set up for subsequent books, but it left me feeling unfulfilled in plot.

Okay read, definitely recommend this for upper elementary to middle school kids.

[Sonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up on my Kindle for free (thanks Amazon!), as I thought that my daughter would like it.

However, after I’d finished Arcadia Falls, I was going through a bit of a headachey time, and I knew that the next book I needed to start was Parrot & Olivier in America, which looked quite hard-going…so I took the easy route before starting it by reading this, a children’s book!

I’m glad I did, as it was lovely. Just lovely. My daughter has since read it, and really enjoyed it too.

Jack Brenin is a young lad who has come to live with his grandfather in rural England, having been living in Greece with his father following his mother’s death. Little does he know that his life is about to get fantastical as his very presence is playing out an ancient prophecy.

There are some great new fantasy creatures, some haunting moments and nobody dies…it’s a truly beautiful kids’ book, with just the right mix of fast-paced action, minor peril, great friendships and Enid Blyton style ‘jolly hockeysticks’ food-based capers!

I will definitely be getting the next one for us both to read!

[Valerie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Weak. Not enough whimsy, humor, wonder or originality. It's clearly meant to be the start of a series, but I don't care what happens next and I'm happy to abandon these one-dimensional characters to their own dull company.

[Ada Popi · Rating 5 out of 5]

We loved the series, both my 9 year old son (at the time) and myself.
A saga of summer school vacations in the country, bullies and how to deal with them, grandfatherly love and bonus a lot of magic adventures and how to build your courage. And the druids. We are in love with this set.

[Christine]

I need to reread or skim this, as it's been two years. I remember liking the main character and the pagan/Celtic-influenced fantasy plot, and thinking that this would be a good tween book. I don't remember continuing with the series.

[Sheikh · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is getting more and more interesting and Jacob is getting better at flying as a raven and the team found a baby dragon!

[Rose English · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 15 of my Reading Challenge

I loved this book for younger readers and for those young at heart like myself. It is full of myths and magic a book that I am sure would be enjoyed by boys and girls alike. Especially with the wonderful lead character of Camelin the raven. Who incidently has his own Facebook page. You will probably have to copy and paste the link to check it out.

https://www.facebook.com/Camelin-3185...

The story is about a young boy Jack Brenin who finds a golden acorn that looks like an ordinary brown one to normal folk but then Jack is not what you would call 'normal' for he is 'The One' someone legend foretells will help to save the ancient forests of old, along with many mythical and magical creatures that only someone very special like Jack can see.

The book offers up a whole host of characters and creatures I am sure that there is a favourite amongst them for everyone but you really cannot help but love Camelin.

Check it out for yourselves or share it with the family. Some have complained the book is too long but I never even noticed and it would be fun reading it in bite size pieces with the kids. Lots more to follow. Hope you enjoy it as much as I.

[Bloom · Rating 5 out of 5]

i probably have nostalgia blindness to this, but ive read it a gazillion times and it will always be my favourite book!

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Jack is the chosen one to save the trees before the portal to Anwnn closes and can never be opened again. This book took me 12 days to read. I would get through 5%, put it down, have zero motivation to start again, pick it up, realize I had no memory whatsoever of what had happened, and realize it did not matter one bit. Jack is an uninspiring hero, and the rest of the cast, with the exception of Camelin, is similarly bland. Jack meets EVERY creature of the wood along his journey. Yes, you need dryads and water nymphs in this story. And, sure, some mice and ravens and bats and bogies and spriggans. But did we really need a dragon? C'mon! It should be noted that even the dragon is bland. All of the encounters go something like this: someone is mean to our little group, the little group marches over, Nora does something threatening to them in exchange for their promise to not be mean to our little group. Either a selection of these encounters or greater variety in them would have been lovely. Finally, my J/YA pet peeve - children who run around without families when they have families - was triggered here. I think the author tried really hard and obviously loved all of her characters, but this just doesn't work. I would love to find out more, but honestly, not enough to read the next book. As a side effect, I became ever more impressed with Harry Potter as I read this, as it became clear how unimpressive it typically is to throw together a motley crew with some magic and a mission and hope for the best.

[Dy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Childhood adventures, mysterious legends, hidden worlds, and heroic destinies are such an integral part of young fantasy literature. I love these things for feeding a young boy's imagination. In that spirit, I bought this for the boys. It was disappointing. None of them ever got past the first few chapters.

I had to force myself to finish it, thinking perhaps it would take a while to develop the characters. They never developed. Nor could my mom-side stop twitching over the premise of a child's peer *and* her adult guardian working together to hoodwink the main child's grandfather in their attempts to train him in the ways of his destiny. They put him in jeopardy, deceived his grandfather, suggested lies for the boy to cover his tracks and hide his whereabouts. It's possible this element kept me from feeling sympathetic toward the characters. I'll admit that.

Beyond the ethical considerations, the rest of the story lacked - for me - much else to care about. Even the heroic effort to save the forest spirits was tainted by the self-interest of the neighbor, Aunt Nora. Meh.

[Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

Echoing some of the other reviews on here I usually like young-adult/childrens fiction but a quarter of the way through I wanted it to be over. I couldn't leave it unfinished though so I made it all the way through. I'm not sure if, as a 12 year old me, that I would have liked it any better.

I felt like there was some really good ideas here but there were too many other random things thrown in there that it made the story hard to read and it felt cluttered. I've only just finished reading it this morning and I'm having trouble remembering characters and what they even had to do with the story.

(And maybe it's just me, but I found it incredibley awakward everytime they talk of Jack being naked changing to and from a raven.)

If you're 12 and under you may like this book, but I don't recommend it for anyone older, you'll get bored.

[Marissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Perhaps I should stop reading YA and children's books... I rated the entire Twilight series better than this book (and let me tell you, I know what crappy writing that series was! and also how shamefully addictive it was, as well...) No there was nothing remotely teen lusty that I felt while reading this, but it is meant for a younger audience, I think. That being said- it couldn't keep my attention and I'm usually quite good at keeping my attention focused. There was nothing particularly gripping, or relatable for me. I didn't care for the characters and didn't get wrapped up in the mystery or adventure. Perhaps I need to try again, as I loved the Harry Potter books and I feel like it was being targeted for the same audience. Problem is that there are a million other books to read out there...

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although written for children, this is a story that can be enjoyed by adults who've retained their enjoyment of a simple but entertaining yarn. I admit I downloaded it because it was free, but also because the Amazon reviews (many from adult readers) were generally very positive. The 'chosen one' plotline was fairly cliché and the peril was pretty tame, but it was enlived by a cast of characters who were consistently engaging and well-drawn, even the minor ones.
I would have adored this book when I was a kid - especially the Night Guard rats and the trip back in time to Roman Britain! - and even as a cynical adult reader I still found it a charming and refreshing read. It makes a good opening novel for a series.

[Derek Oberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It struck me how anything new in this genre will never again escape comparisons to Harry Potter (and Lord of the Rings before it, of course). This is no exception. There are some very familiar elements used, but they are arranged in a way that is new and interesting from the start. Added to it is a lot of lore about Druids. I found myself wondering how much of it was taken from actual mythology.

I enjoyed the fact that there is no real antagonist in the story. There's just a problem to solve, and everyone has to put their heads together and figure out the solution based on their individual abilities. It was refreshing.

[Mathematical_cats · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given a Kindle for Christmas, much to my surprise (thank you) and chose a large selection of free books from amazon. The Golden Acorn is the second on I have read. It is what I would describe as 'Light Fantasy', and a great way to start off a younger reader into the genre, and a light book for the fantasy addict. An enjoyable story which (so far) is completely different from other fantasy books I have read. I would recommend this book, it won't suit everyone but I am enjoying it and would happily pass it on to friends and their children, without worrying about the content.

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think the cover art of this book is the best part about it - it offers color, beauty, and draw. The story unfortunately didn't live up to it. It had the potential to be wonderful but the author forgot about the intelligence of children when she wrote; the writing was prosaic. I kept hoping the book would get better because it had so much potential. When I reached the end of the story I was caught off guard. The story didn't feel finished to me; it didn't feel resolved. I truly believe Catherine Cooper could have done better.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good read, meant for a younger audience. It reminded me of how much I loved The House With The Clock In Its Wall growing up, and The Golden Acorn certainly has the kind of magic and adventure that I think kids would be drawn to. I am interested enough to read the next book, so it was definitely worth my time to download the free copy from Amazon. I do want to pick up a print copy simply because the cover is so lovely!

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book for free on my Kindle thinking I could entice my 13 year old reluctant reader to read a book if it was on a fun device but I haven't given him a chance to read it yet. I started previewing it for him but I found it so fun I had to finish it! I see there is a sequel for Kindle and I will be grabbing that one next to find out about Jack's next adventures.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Story for all Fantasy Genre readers! Also a very good reader for kids ages 9 and up! It's written in words for kids but I enjoyed it immensely. I burned through all 3 books in this series in 2 days! It's unique story line, lovable characters, and comedic lines make this a great read for all!

[Carol Ann Hoyt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this to my 7 year old grandson. He absolutely LOVES it! Every day he could hardly wait until I read him the next chapter. He is now eagerly looking forward to my reading the second book in the series to him (Glasruhen Gate). I am looking forward to giving him so much enjoyment.

[Sade · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book and series has alot of promise and potential. Although it started off slow I quite enjoyed the story and imagination involved in writing this book. In my opinion this author will write great and amazing things in the future that I will definitly read.

[Leesa · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Jack Breinin finds a golden acorn on the ground he is told he is "The One". Jack must save Arrana and her forest before they are gone forever. At first her is not sure he wants to help, but he travles back in time to collect The Plates.

I would recomend this book for 6-7 graders.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent young tale of magic and friendship and learning to be the person you want to be.

[Georgi Lyubenov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Давам 5 точки за книгата.Беше много приключенска и хубава.

[Daniela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Без да е изключителна, книгата е много приятна за зажаднели за приключения деца (и родители)