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Hall Family Chronicles #4
The Fledgling
It all started when Georgie, hardly more than a wisp of thistledown, discovered she could jump down twelve steps in two big graceful bounds. Next, to her great delight, she learned that jumping from the porch and floating as high as the rooftop was possible too. So when the mysterious Canada goose came to her window one night it seemed only natural to climb onto his back and go off with him to learn how to really fly.
Jane Langton spins a marvelous fantasy that wild delight all who dream that someday, somehow, we will magically find ourselves aloft and suddenly able to fly!
Jane Langton spins a marvelous fantasy that wild delight all who dream that someday, somehow, we will magically find ourselves aloft and suddenly able to fly!
182 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1980
31 people are currently reading
1301 people want to read
About the author
Jane Langton
71 books127 followersLangton was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She studied astronomy at Wellesley College and the University of Michigan, receiving a bachelor's degree in 1944. She received an M.A. in art history from the University of Michigan in 1945, and another M.A. from Radcliffe College in 1948. She studied at the Boston Museum School from 1958 to 1959.
In 1961 Langton wrote and illustrated her first book for children, The Majesty of Grace, a story about a young girl during the Depression who is certain she will some day be Queen of England. Langton has since written a children's series, The Hall Family Chronicles, and the Homer Kelly murder mystery novels. She has also written several stand-alone novels and picture books.
Langton's novel The Fledgling is a Newbery Honor book. Her novel Emily Dickinson is Dead was nominated for an Edgar Award and received a Nero Award. The Face on the Wall was an editors' choice selection by The Drood Review of Mystery for 1998.
Langton lives in Lincoln, Massachusetts, near the town of Concord, the setting of many of her novels. Her husband, Bill, died in 1997. Langton has three adult sons: Chris, David and Andy.
Series:
* Hall Family
* Homer Kelly Mystery
In 1961 Langton wrote and illustrated her first book for children, The Majesty of Grace, a story about a young girl during the Depression who is certain she will some day be Queen of England. Langton has since written a children's series, The Hall Family Chronicles, and the Homer Kelly murder mystery novels. She has also written several stand-alone novels and picture books.
Langton's novel The Fledgling is a Newbery Honor book. Her novel Emily Dickinson is Dead was nominated for an Edgar Award and received a Nero Award. The Face on the Wall was an editors' choice selection by The Drood Review of Mystery for 1998.
Langton lives in Lincoln, Massachusetts, near the town of Concord, the setting of many of her novels. Her husband, Bill, died in 1997. Langton has three adult sons: Chris, David and Andy.
Series:
* Hall Family
* Homer Kelly Mystery
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 236 reviews
June 29, 2008
The Fledgling was one of my favorite books as a youth. My copy of this book is falling apart and had to be taped back together. I enjoy reading well loved books. I really connected with Georgie, who has a hideout, vivid imagination and thinks she can fly. Her family is concerned with her fascination and belief that she can fly; they worry that she will get hurt.
"Poor Georgie...She is too young to know the limits of human possibility. For Georgie, anything is possible! She lives entirely in the pure ideal. And, after all, why should she not have been born with wings?...It's too bad! What a terrible cosmic mistake?"
This is a cute story that shows that anything is possible. There are a couple of crazy characters Madeline Prawn and Mr. Preek who are concerned about "the child" and her association with the geese that live on Walden pond. I recommend this book to anyone who has wanted to do the impossible.
"Poor Georgie...She is too young to know the limits of human possibility. For Georgie, anything is possible! She lives entirely in the pure ideal. And, after all, why should she not have been born with wings?...It's too bad! What a terrible cosmic mistake?"
This is a cute story that shows that anything is possible. There are a couple of crazy characters Madeline Prawn and Mr. Preek who are concerned about "the child" and her association with the geese that live on Walden pond. I recommend this book to anyone who has wanted to do the impossible.
June 20, 2024
A library challenge prompted me to reread a favorite book from my childhood, and The Fledgling was kind of a formative influence. I think about this passage all the time:
Georgie is different from Eleanor all the way through, from the inside out. Why, look at her, right now. She doesn’t even know that she exists. She’s just eyes and ears, that’s all she is, just looking and listening. She doesn't think about herself at all. The world outside her rushes into her, and that's what she becomes. She doesn't think to herself, "This is me, Georgie." Instead she pulses with the sunrise and the rain and the geese flying over the house. She's in them, not outside them. She's more like a bird or a flower than a girl named Georgie.
Whereas, Eleanor! Oh, Eleanor! Just look at Eleanor! Eleanor is all Eleanor! And everything outside Eleanor becomes Eleanor too—sisters, brothers, uncles, aunts! She sucks us all in! There isn't anything else but Eleanor in all the world!
Georgie is different from Eleanor all the way through, from the inside out. Why, look at her, right now. She doesn’t even know that she exists. She’s just eyes and ears, that’s all she is, just looking and listening. She doesn't think about herself at all. The world outside her rushes into her, and that's what she becomes. She doesn't think to herself, "This is me, Georgie." Instead she pulses with the sunrise and the rain and the geese flying over the house. She's in them, not outside them. She's more like a bird or a flower than a girl named Georgie.
Whereas, Eleanor! Oh, Eleanor! Just look at Eleanor! Eleanor is all Eleanor! And everything outside Eleanor becomes Eleanor too—sisters, brothers, uncles, aunts! She sucks us all in! There isn't anything else but Eleanor in all the world!
June 16, 2015
I read this when I was a kid and it's one of the first books I remember LOVING. The idea of flying has always been magical to me and I thought that the premise of the Goose Prince at the magical late-night flights were thrilling. I decided to give this old favorite another go as an adult reader, and I'm sorry to say I just didn't love it. Precocious, introverted Georgie lives with her mother, stepfather and two older cousins in a house near Walden Pond, in the constant shadow of Thoreau's memory. She's an unusual child, much to the dismay of her (also unusual) family, but she's convinced she knows how to fly. One fall day she notices a flock of Canada geese flying by, and one of them notices her too. Georgie and her Goose Prince soon take to midnight flights through the chilly air over Walden Pond, but the nosy, sanctimonious neighbors think the goose is dangerous and has ill intentions toward the child, and plan to take matters into their own hands. Meanwhile, the Goose Prince is preparing a present to bestow upon Georgie before she grows up and he moves on for the winter.
So, I think the writing in this book is pretty good--not fantastic, but pretty engaging and with some really nice treatment of the Concord wilderness and a few memorable characterizations. For the most part, the story is all right too, though it plods along at times. One of my biggest problems was the characters themselves. Georgie is sweet, but bland, a wispy, sickly girl, and I had a hard time REALLY caring about her as a protagonist. (When she was in her element with the Goose Prince she was an entirely different character, and THAT'S when I cared about her, but it seemed such a huge shift that it was hard to buy.) Cousins Eddy and Eleanor were inconsistent and less interesting, and Aunt Alex and Uncle Freddy leaned at times toward the kind of Bohemian, free-spirit parents that kind of vex me. Madeline Prawn and Ralph Preek, the town busybodies and, in essence, the villains of the piece, are the most interesting characters, but even they are kind of one-dimensional. The Goose Prince had barely any character at all, and he still stood out compared to his human counterparts. While reading this book, the overall feeling I kept having was that it was just kind of overly earnest, and evidently very aware of it, which made it feel kind of pretentious and unnecessarily artsy. As far as the story goes, there were a couple of surprises that kept it interesting, but it seemed like it was lacking something(s). Maybe it was that the "villains" never seemed incredibly threatening or scary, or maybe I just wasn't invested in Georgie's plight. I also had issues with some of the themes. There were some political undertones regarding hunting the entire time, but they were pretty subtle and understandable in a story like this. The real problem came at the very end of the book, when it took a dramatic and bizarrely existential turn to ultra-environmentalism. It seems like this book was written right when environmentalism became especially chic, so that shouldn't really surprise me, but this odd tag seemed out of place, and it made the entire thing suddenly seem REALLY heavy-handed and preachy.
This book has a few redeeming factors (some nice writing and occasional memorable character moments), but overall it's not the exceptional story and magical journey I remember reading in my youth, and its heavily political epilogue undid most of the charm it had built up along the way.
So, I think the writing in this book is pretty good--not fantastic, but pretty engaging and with some really nice treatment of the Concord wilderness and a few memorable characterizations. For the most part, the story is all right too, though it plods along at times. One of my biggest problems was the characters themselves. Georgie is sweet, but bland, a wispy, sickly girl, and I had a hard time REALLY caring about her as a protagonist. (When she was in her element with the Goose Prince she was an entirely different character, and THAT'S when I cared about her, but it seemed such a huge shift that it was hard to buy.) Cousins Eddy and Eleanor were inconsistent and less interesting, and Aunt Alex and Uncle Freddy leaned at times toward the kind of Bohemian, free-spirit parents that kind of vex me. Madeline Prawn and Ralph Preek, the town busybodies and, in essence, the villains of the piece, are the most interesting characters, but even they are kind of one-dimensional. The Goose Prince had barely any character at all, and he still stood out compared to his human counterparts. While reading this book, the overall feeling I kept having was that it was just kind of overly earnest, and evidently very aware of it, which made it feel kind of pretentious and unnecessarily artsy. As far as the story goes, there were a couple of surprises that kept it interesting, but it seemed like it was lacking something(s). Maybe it was that the "villains" never seemed incredibly threatening or scary, or maybe I just wasn't invested in Georgie's plight. I also had issues with some of the themes. There were some political undertones regarding hunting the entire time, but they were pretty subtle and understandable in a story like this. The real problem came at the very end of the book, when it took a dramatic and bizarrely existential turn to ultra-environmentalism. It seems like this book was written right when environmentalism became especially chic, so that shouldn't really surprise me, but this odd tag seemed out of place, and it made the entire thing suddenly seem REALLY heavy-handed and preachy.
This book has a few redeeming factors (some nice writing and occasional memorable character moments), but overall it's not the exceptional story and magical journey I remember reading in my youth, and its heavily political epilogue undid most of the charm it had built up along the way.
August 17, 2018
Very odd book- still not sure if the author intention was to portray Georgie as just a child with a wild imagination, if supernatural things were really happening, or if Georgie was a child with special needs? I wanted to give up on this book so badly but kept going and found some deep and well written paragraphs later in the book. Still finished this book just feeling lost and not understanding the authors thinking for the book.
It’s definitely an out- dated book, with a few sentences calling Georgie retarded, and with a slight white supremacy- toned statement claiming - “because the child looked the way children were supposed to look, plump and pink with a rosebud mouth and yellow curly hair” Definitely will be talking about that with my boys who also read the book.
I did love this part though-
pg 117-118
How different they are, thought Aunt Alex, Eleanor and Georgie. Altogether different. And isn’t it just that Georgie is younger. Georgie is different from Eleanor all the way through, from the inside out. Why, look at her, right now. She doesn’t even know that she exists. She’s just eyes and ears, that’s all she is, just looking and listening. She doesn’t think about herself at all. The world outside her rushes into her, and that’s what she becomes. She doesn’t think to herself, “This is me, Georgie.” Instead she passes with the sunrise and the rain and the geese flying over the house. She’s in them, not outside them. She’s more like a bird or a flower than a girl named Georgie. Whereas, Eleanor! Oh, Eleanor! Just look at Eleanor! Eleanor is all Eleanor! And everything outside Eleanor becomes Eleanor too-sisters, brothers, uncles, aunts! She sucks us all in! There isn’t anything else but Eleanor in all the world!
It’s definitely an out- dated book, with a few sentences calling Georgie retarded, and with a slight white supremacy- toned statement claiming - “because the child looked the way children were supposed to look, plump and pink with a rosebud mouth and yellow curly hair” Definitely will be talking about that with my boys who also read the book.
I did love this part though-
pg 117-118
How different they are, thought Aunt Alex, Eleanor and Georgie. Altogether different. And isn’t it just that Georgie is younger. Georgie is different from Eleanor all the way through, from the inside out. Why, look at her, right now. She doesn’t even know that she exists. She’s just eyes and ears, that’s all she is, just looking and listening. She doesn’t think about herself at all. The world outside her rushes into her, and that’s what she becomes. She doesn’t think to herself, “This is me, Georgie.” Instead she passes with the sunrise and the rain and the geese flying over the house. She’s in them, not outside them. She’s more like a bird or a flower than a girl named Georgie. Whereas, Eleanor! Oh, Eleanor! Just look at Eleanor! Eleanor is all Eleanor! And everything outside Eleanor becomes Eleanor too-sisters, brothers, uncles, aunts! She sucks us all in! There isn’t anything else but Eleanor in all the world!
March 18, 2017
This one did absolutely nothing for me.
December 20, 2025
Love, love, love this book.
May 27, 2017
This review also appears on my blog, Read-at-Home Mom.
Georgie is pretty sure she can fly. She thinks she’s done it before, and she keeps making attempts to do it again. Her mother and uncle are concerned for her safety, as are her cousins, but this doesn’t stop Georgie from developing a relationship with The Goose Prince, a mysterious bird who comes to Georgie’s bedroom window at night to take her flying. Unfortunately, two of the neighbors - Miss Prawn and Mr. Preek - have also noticed the bird, and they are not pleased to have it around. Miss Prawn is convinced the bird’s presence means Georgie is a fairy child whose fate will be determined at the full moon. Mr. Preek simply sees the bird as a menace and seeks to destroy it the moment hunting season begins.
I picked up The Fledgling because of the Newbery Honor sticker on the front cover, and I read the entire thing before I found out that it is the fourth book in a series, the Hall family chronicles. To the author’s credit, this book really stands on its own, and there is nothing missing from any part of the story that would indicate other installments have gone before. In fact, the characters seem so new in this book that I am actually having trouble imagining that there were previous episodes prior to this one, and I really wonder how interconnected the other titles are. In any case, this story works quite well on its own, and despite the fact that it is a fantasy story, I didn’t have any trouble losing myself in its unusual, ethereal tone.
This story works on at least two levels, and I suspect I have not picked up on everything I am meant to take away from it. Georgie and her family live in Concord, Massachusetts, not far from Walden Pond, and her mother and uncle run a transcendentalist school. References to Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau run through the story, and busts of both men are on proud display in the family’s home. I doubt kids would have any more knowledge of transcendentalists than I do, and I don’t think lacking this knowledge ruins the book. Rather, I think the inclusion of transcendentalist ideals in the story’s subtext makes it the kind of book kids will be able to return to as teens and adults, as they do become familiar with these concepts. This is a more complicated book than meets the eye, and readers who recognize that fact may be richly rewarded.
I also think the story lends itself to many possible metaphorical interpretations regarding the end of childhood and the entry into adulthood. This is not an allegory where each character and plot point represent something specific in the real world, but I do feel as though the Goose Prince serves as a catalyst for Georgie to begin developing a more adult and less fanciful way of viewing the world. I think a closer reading of the entire book would probably bring out a significant number of details to support such an argument. In fact, every detail in this story seems important, and I think the author is great at selecting just the right description or action to define a given character. This is especially true of the villains. I thought it was perfect that Miss Prawn, for example, who is chiefly concerned with appearances, plants plastic flowers in her garden so that she doesn’t have to tend to them, and then later pulls them up when they are out of season so as not to appear out of step. Nothing else in the book gives the reader a better sense of Miss Prawn’s true colors.
A few things about the story puzzled me. I didn’t like that the Goose Prince spoke to Georgie, because I couldn’t imagine what he sounded like, and his dialogue pulled me out of the otherwise dreamlike sense of the story. There is much more narration than dialogue in this book to begin with, and to have a talking animal speaking any of the few lines of speech just felt out of place. I also didn’t really care for the ending, which seems completely incongruous with the rest of the story. The quality of the writing almost seems to save it, but I had the sense that I had missed something, or that perhaps I was misreading the author’s intentions. It might be that this book is better appreciated after multiple readings, and maybe there is a metaphorical significance I have yet to uncover, but I was not fully satisfied, and I don’t know that kids would be either.
The Fledgling is a sophisticated book, and I would recommend it to readers who are already very familiar with fairy tales and fantasy, and who don’t necessarily mind a challenging, unsettling story. Interestingly, it compares well with A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L’Engle, which was the other Newbery Honor book in 1981. Both books deal with uncanny communication between animals and humans, and both strike a specific chord in the imagination that is hard to explain but very easily recognized. A contemporary children’s novel that also came to mind as I was reading is The Hop by Sharelle Byars Moranville. The Hop is a bit more mainstream, and much more straightforward, but it shares the same theme of interconnectedness between humans and the natural world.
They seem to be somewhat hard to find, so it might be a while before I have a chance to read them, but the rest of the Hall Family Chronicles books are: The Diamond in the Window (1962), The Swing in the Summerhouse (1967), The Astonishing Stereoscope (1971), The Fragile Flag (1984), The Time Bike (2000), The Mysterious Circus (2005), and The Dragon Tree (2008).
Georgie is pretty sure she can fly. She thinks she’s done it before, and she keeps making attempts to do it again. Her mother and uncle are concerned for her safety, as are her cousins, but this doesn’t stop Georgie from developing a relationship with The Goose Prince, a mysterious bird who comes to Georgie’s bedroom window at night to take her flying. Unfortunately, two of the neighbors - Miss Prawn and Mr. Preek - have also noticed the bird, and they are not pleased to have it around. Miss Prawn is convinced the bird’s presence means Georgie is a fairy child whose fate will be determined at the full moon. Mr. Preek simply sees the bird as a menace and seeks to destroy it the moment hunting season begins.
I picked up The Fledgling because of the Newbery Honor sticker on the front cover, and I read the entire thing before I found out that it is the fourth book in a series, the Hall family chronicles. To the author’s credit, this book really stands on its own, and there is nothing missing from any part of the story that would indicate other installments have gone before. In fact, the characters seem so new in this book that I am actually having trouble imagining that there were previous episodes prior to this one, and I really wonder how interconnected the other titles are. In any case, this story works quite well on its own, and despite the fact that it is a fantasy story, I didn’t have any trouble losing myself in its unusual, ethereal tone.
This story works on at least two levels, and I suspect I have not picked up on everything I am meant to take away from it. Georgie and her family live in Concord, Massachusetts, not far from Walden Pond, and her mother and uncle run a transcendentalist school. References to Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau run through the story, and busts of both men are on proud display in the family’s home. I doubt kids would have any more knowledge of transcendentalists than I do, and I don’t think lacking this knowledge ruins the book. Rather, I think the inclusion of transcendentalist ideals in the story’s subtext makes it the kind of book kids will be able to return to as teens and adults, as they do become familiar with these concepts. This is a more complicated book than meets the eye, and readers who recognize that fact may be richly rewarded.
I also think the story lends itself to many possible metaphorical interpretations regarding the end of childhood and the entry into adulthood. This is not an allegory where each character and plot point represent something specific in the real world, but I do feel as though the Goose Prince serves as a catalyst for Georgie to begin developing a more adult and less fanciful way of viewing the world. I think a closer reading of the entire book would probably bring out a significant number of details to support such an argument. In fact, every detail in this story seems important, and I think the author is great at selecting just the right description or action to define a given character. This is especially true of the villains. I thought it was perfect that Miss Prawn, for example, who is chiefly concerned with appearances, plants plastic flowers in her garden so that she doesn’t have to tend to them, and then later pulls them up when they are out of season so as not to appear out of step. Nothing else in the book gives the reader a better sense of Miss Prawn’s true colors.
A few things about the story puzzled me. I didn’t like that the Goose Prince spoke to Georgie, because I couldn’t imagine what he sounded like, and his dialogue pulled me out of the otherwise dreamlike sense of the story. There is much more narration than dialogue in this book to begin with, and to have a talking animal speaking any of the few lines of speech just felt out of place. I also didn’t really care for the ending, which seems completely incongruous with the rest of the story. The quality of the writing almost seems to save it, but I had the sense that I had missed something, or that perhaps I was misreading the author’s intentions. It might be that this book is better appreciated after multiple readings, and maybe there is a metaphorical significance I have yet to uncover, but I was not fully satisfied, and I don’t know that kids would be either.
The Fledgling is a sophisticated book, and I would recommend it to readers who are already very familiar with fairy tales and fantasy, and who don’t necessarily mind a challenging, unsettling story. Interestingly, it compares well with A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L’Engle, which was the other Newbery Honor book in 1981. Both books deal with uncanny communication between animals and humans, and both strike a specific chord in the imagination that is hard to explain but very easily recognized. A contemporary children’s novel that also came to mind as I was reading is The Hop by Sharelle Byars Moranville. The Hop is a bit more mainstream, and much more straightforward, but it shares the same theme of interconnectedness between humans and the natural world.
They seem to be somewhat hard to find, so it might be a while before I have a chance to read them, but the rest of the Hall Family Chronicles books are: The Diamond in the Window (1962), The Swing in the Summerhouse (1967), The Astonishing Stereoscope (1971), The Fragile Flag (1984), The Time Bike (2000), The Mysterious Circus (2005), and The Dragon Tree (2008).
October 22, 2023
I'm now officially over the Hall Family Chronicles, despite adoring the first one, and enjoying the second. The third wasn't so great, and this fourth one, yecch.
Among the many things that annoyed me:
1. It's essentially from Georgie's perspective as much as anyone, so calling her mother "Aunt Alex" is weird and off-putting. Yes, I know she was Aunt Alex in the prior books as seen from Eddie and Eleanor's perspective, but so what?
2. The fantasy element comes out of nowhere, for no reason, is uninteresting, and unbelievable. I could have accepted it if it weren't true (Georgie's just a crazy/imaginative little girl), but apparently the adults witness it, so it must be real.
3. The adults behave in an unbelievable manner. Both the villains and the protagonist's parents seem to have dropped several IQ points from prior books. The book expects me to believe that Miss Praun could decide Georgie was a fairy, that Mr. Preek (I think these are their names, it was an Audio book and I can't quite remember from prior books) can't tell a duck from a goose, and that Georgie's parents wouldn't particularly feel called to action when their daughter persists in flying out a window with a goose, or even when she gets shot. Peter Pan was a bastion of narrative realism compared to this.
4. I didn't get the point of it. Why was any of this happening, what was the consequence, what did anyone gain, learn, lose, etc. It was just sequence of events: no plot. The king died, and then the queen died, as opposed to the king died, then the queen died of grief.
I did like the final page, but too little too late.
(Note: I'm a writer, so I suffer when I offer fewer than five stars. But these aren't ratings of quality, they're a subjective account of how much I liked the book: 5* = an unalloyed pleasure from start to finish, 4* = really enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = disappointing, and 1* = hated it.)
Among the many things that annoyed me:
1. It's essentially from Georgie's perspective as much as anyone, so calling her mother "Aunt Alex" is weird and off-putting. Yes, I know she was Aunt Alex in the prior books as seen from Eddie and Eleanor's perspective, but so what?
2. The fantasy element comes out of nowhere, for no reason, is uninteresting, and unbelievable. I could have accepted it if it weren't true (Georgie's just a crazy/imaginative little girl), but apparently the adults witness it, so it must be real.
3. The adults behave in an unbelievable manner. Both the villains and the protagonist's parents seem to have dropped several IQ points from prior books. The book expects me to believe that Miss Praun could decide Georgie was a fairy, that Mr. Preek (I think these are their names, it was an Audio book and I can't quite remember from prior books) can't tell a duck from a goose, and that Georgie's parents wouldn't particularly feel called to action when their daughter persists in flying out a window with a goose, or even when she gets shot. Peter Pan was a bastion of narrative realism compared to this.
4. I didn't get the point of it. Why was any of this happening, what was the consequence, what did anyone gain, learn, lose, etc. It was just sequence of events: no plot. The king died, and then the queen died, as opposed to the king died, then the queen died of grief.
I did like the final page, but too little too late.
(Note: I'm a writer, so I suffer when I offer fewer than five stars. But these aren't ratings of quality, they're a subjective account of how much I liked the book: 5* = an unalloyed pleasure from start to finish, 4* = really enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = disappointing, and 1* = hated it.)
October 17, 2019
There was a book I read back in elementary school called The Diamond in the Window. It was an incredibly imaginative book that gripped me immediately, and it took me years as an adult to find another copy of it since it was discontinued.
There was another book I’ve had in my possession since childhood that inspired some very whimsical dreams. For years after I dreamed of flying with birds. When I rediscovered this one in my boxes, I was astounded.
Lo and behold, it’s the same author! Both books that managed to ensnare me so fully were written by the same author—in the same series no less—and I had no idea for twenty years.
Reading them as an adult brought all those memories back. It’s a simple book but it holds a lot of heart. I can’t wait to hold onto these a little longer so my kids can read them too.
There was another book I’ve had in my possession since childhood that inspired some very whimsical dreams. For years after I dreamed of flying with birds. When I rediscovered this one in my boxes, I was astounded.
Lo and behold, it’s the same author! Both books that managed to ensnare me so fully were written by the same author—in the same series no less—and I had no idea for twenty years.
Reading them as an adult brought all those memories back. It’s a simple book but it holds a lot of heart. I can’t wait to hold onto these a little longer so my kids can read them too.
November 27, 2023
Oh wow, I did not like that.
I hate being harsh but this book was just dumb. I tried to find some redeeming qualities but there were none for me. I read through the 5-star reviews and I can see some people really love this book, but I did not understand what they loved at all.
There's a family that runs some transcendentalism school. (I hated my favorite Thoreau being used in this stupid book.) I never understood how they actually made money with this weird endeavor or why anyone would think this was a real "college."
There are also some cray-cray neighbors that hate children and love children and shoot guns at birds near children and try to get purified water from children....lots of nutsy stuff.
It was a massive struggle getting through this. I do not recommend it to anyone.
I hate being harsh but this book was just dumb. I tried to find some redeeming qualities but there were none for me. I read through the 5-star reviews and I can see some people really love this book, but I did not understand what they loved at all.
There's a family that runs some transcendentalism school. (I hated my favorite Thoreau being used in this stupid book.) I never understood how they actually made money with this weird endeavor or why anyone would think this was a real "college."
There are also some cray-cray neighbors that hate children and love children and shoot guns at birds near children and try to get purified water from children....lots of nutsy stuff.
It was a massive struggle getting through this. I do not recommend it to anyone.
May 15, 2015
This book so amazing and awesome. I read it over and over again. I tried to fly. And I cried
May 11, 2012
Although I remember hugely enjoying The Diamond in the Window as a child, and some years back re-reading it and reading The Swing in the Summerhouse with pleasure, I found The Fledgling disappointing.
How can a story about a little girl flying with wild geese be disappointing? Well, the flying sequences were good. On the earth, it was interesting to see Eleanor and Eddy from the outside, and to see Georgie develop as a character and person.
Where it fell down for me was the villains. Miss Prawn comes across as a flat-out nutcase, and I didn't remember her being that insane before. Here she's planting a whole garden of plastic flowers and writing letters to her neighbours about angels and fairies. One of the points of Diamond was Uncle Freddie representing gentle insightful madness against blinkered earthbound reason, I thought. Was Miss Prawn that crazy before? What's the point of having her not only a nosy meddler but a delusional nosy meddler? Is Langton pointing up that some sorts of madness are more admirable than others, and that Prawn's madness is shallow and sentimental while Uncle Freddie's is noble and inspired by the classics?
The banker villain (Preek?) came across as laboured satire, as if Langton couldn't decide whether to have him be a real threat to Georgie, or one of the Keystone Cops. In the first book, he was evil in a bankerish way, which gave him a function. Here he seems pushed in to add tension, and half-heartedly at that. Why set him up as a villain and send him obsessively waiting all night to shoot the goose (and Georgie) and then let him just wander off unscathed at the end?
I'm going to chalk it up to my adult reader side that I was bothered by Georgie being hit by birdshot and this never being reported, especially when her mother at least knew it was Preek. Way to protect your kid, mom. As a child I probably wouldn't have minded this secrecy.
But I think I still would have found the story unresolved in several ways. Miss Prawn is pretty much there only to be sneered at, and the cute, blonde child Dorothea Broome is only there as some sort of contrast to Georgie, but nothing much is done with the contrast. And Preek's purpose is to make sure that a Symbolic Animal Dies and Loss Happens so that Georgie can Come of Age.
I know other people love this book. I don't know what I'm missing that they found. I'm now worried that if I go back to Diamond or Summerhouse they'll seem clunky and loose-ended as well.
How can a story about a little girl flying with wild geese be disappointing? Well, the flying sequences were good. On the earth, it was interesting to see Eleanor and Eddy from the outside, and to see Georgie develop as a character and person.
Where it fell down for me was the villains. Miss Prawn comes across as a flat-out nutcase, and I didn't remember her being that insane before. Here she's planting a whole garden of plastic flowers and writing letters to her neighbours about angels and fairies. One of the points of Diamond was Uncle Freddie representing gentle insightful madness against blinkered earthbound reason, I thought. Was Miss Prawn that crazy before? What's the point of having her not only a nosy meddler but a delusional nosy meddler? Is Langton pointing up that some sorts of madness are more admirable than others, and that Prawn's madness is shallow and sentimental while Uncle Freddie's is noble and inspired by the classics?
The banker villain (Preek?) came across as laboured satire, as if Langton couldn't decide whether to have him be a real threat to Georgie, or one of the Keystone Cops. In the first book, he was evil in a bankerish way, which gave him a function. Here he seems pushed in to add tension, and half-heartedly at that. Why set him up as a villain and send him obsessively waiting all night to shoot the goose (and Georgie) and then let him just wander off unscathed at the end?
I'm going to chalk it up to my adult reader side that I was bothered by Georgie being hit by birdshot and this never being reported, especially when her mother at least knew it was Preek. Way to protect your kid, mom. As a child I probably wouldn't have minded this secrecy.
But I think I still would have found the story unresolved in several ways. Miss Prawn is pretty much there only to be sneered at, and the cute, blonde child Dorothea Broome is only there as some sort of contrast to Georgie, but nothing much is done with the contrast. And Preek's purpose is to make sure that a Symbolic Animal Dies and Loss Happens so that Georgie can Come of Age.
I know other people love this book. I don't know what I'm missing that they found. I'm now worried that if I go back to Diamond or Summerhouse they'll seem clunky and loose-ended as well.
May 22, 2013
TO FLY: FAIRY, SPRITE OR SAINT?
Chalk up yet another book in the Kid and Bird category! Eight-year-old Georgie is small and spindly for her age; she looks much younger and even insists that she can fly! Her attempts using the stairs to launch her slender frame into space cause her family (mother, step-father and half siblings) great concern--enough to lead the teenagers to privately form the Georgie Protection Society.
When a flock of migrating Canadian geese takes up temporary residence at Walden Pond, she feels an unexplained but special affinity with an old, single gander. The proud loner spots her red hair and tries to make friendly contact with one of humankind's most receptive ambassadors. In her own childish mind she names him the Goose Prince.
But other eyes and spying and prying into their private dream world: the snooty new neighbor, Miss Madeline Prawan, who plants plastic roses in her garden! Her boss at the bank, Mr. Ralph Preek, is even worse; he wages an unreasonable but deadly vendetta against the old goose, who is not only harmless, but seems to want to bestow a special gift upon this unqiue child.
Can the GPS foil the cruel intentions of enemies of the Goose Prince? Will this little girl really be able to fly, or is it just a a hallucination: if she has lost touch with reality, how about the adults who savor the hunting season? Can profit be made if she turns out to be some kind of levitating saint? And just what is the unique present which the old goose finds, to later share with his flying companion? A curious fantasy for young readers, who will actually learn something about Henry David Thoreau, who immortalized Concord's Walden Pond.
(Feburary 1, 2013. I welcome dialogue with teachers.)
Chalk up yet another book in the Kid and Bird category! Eight-year-old Georgie is small and spindly for her age; she looks much younger and even insists that she can fly! Her attempts using the stairs to launch her slender frame into space cause her family (mother, step-father and half siblings) great concern--enough to lead the teenagers to privately form the Georgie Protection Society.
When a flock of migrating Canadian geese takes up temporary residence at Walden Pond, she feels an unexplained but special affinity with an old, single gander. The proud loner spots her red hair and tries to make friendly contact with one of humankind's most receptive ambassadors. In her own childish mind she names him the Goose Prince.
But other eyes and spying and prying into their private dream world: the snooty new neighbor, Miss Madeline Prawan, who plants plastic roses in her garden! Her boss at the bank, Mr. Ralph Preek, is even worse; he wages an unreasonable but deadly vendetta against the old goose, who is not only harmless, but seems to want to bestow a special gift upon this unqiue child.
Can the GPS foil the cruel intentions of enemies of the Goose Prince? Will this little girl really be able to fly, or is it just a a hallucination: if she has lost touch with reality, how about the adults who savor the hunting season? Can profit be made if she turns out to be some kind of levitating saint? And just what is the unique present which the old goose finds, to later share with his flying companion? A curious fantasy for young readers, who will actually learn something about Henry David Thoreau, who immortalized Concord's Walden Pond.
(Feburary 1, 2013. I welcome dialogue with teachers.)
August 10, 2014
“The Fledgling” is a beautiful little gem of a book – at times comical, heartwarming, and sad. I think a great deal of my appreciation for it also stems from the fact that it came at the perfect time. Having just stayed in Concord, MA, visited Thoreau’s gravesite, and learned about the philosophy of transcendentalism, this story felt very familiar and alive.
However, it is more than the setting and atmosphere of the book alone which lent this book such beauty and wild grace. And although the plot kept me turning the pages, it was the characters that made me wish the pages would stop turning so the book wouldn’t end. Georgie – so quiet, kind, and innocent – reminds me of Lucy Pevensie from “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”. Each of the other characters, too, are skillfully drawn: Eddy is generous and full of brotherly protection. Eleanor is the perfect balance of vain egocentricity and kindly concern. Uncle Freddy is amiable and eccentric. Aunt Alex is wise, kind, and sees everything. And all are fierce in their loyalty to each other.
Some stories, in focusing on a child as the main character of the story, too often either move the parents off the scene of action or dumb all the adults down to oblivious unintelligence. However, it is precisely the attentiveness and involvement of the people close to Georgie which make for such a good story – so that every dialogue and interaction reveals a homely, loyal, and close-knit family.
The one time I became skeptical was when the Goose Prince started talking and Georgie could understand and talk back. Yet, I found even that perfectly handled, done so simply and naturally I soon stopped even questioning it. Their friendship was beautiful and caused the ending of the book to be both poignant and inspiring.
However, it is more than the setting and atmosphere of the book alone which lent this book such beauty and wild grace. And although the plot kept me turning the pages, it was the characters that made me wish the pages would stop turning so the book wouldn’t end. Georgie – so quiet, kind, and innocent – reminds me of Lucy Pevensie from “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”. Each of the other characters, too, are skillfully drawn: Eddy is generous and full of brotherly protection. Eleanor is the perfect balance of vain egocentricity and kindly concern. Uncle Freddy is amiable and eccentric. Aunt Alex is wise, kind, and sees everything. And all are fierce in their loyalty to each other.
Some stories, in focusing on a child as the main character of the story, too often either move the parents off the scene of action or dumb all the adults down to oblivious unintelligence. However, it is precisely the attentiveness and involvement of the people close to Georgie which make for such a good story – so that every dialogue and interaction reveals a homely, loyal, and close-knit family.
The one time I became skeptical was when the Goose Prince started talking and Georgie could understand and talk back. Yet, I found even that perfectly handled, done so simply and naturally I soon stopped even questioning it. Their friendship was beautiful and caused the ending of the book to be both poignant and inspiring.
June 19, 2014
I think this was not the book for me. Why? Because I'm not a 6 year old girl who thinks they can fly. Also, I agree that what they had was not a legitimate college and was a waste of time for those poor 'students' who should either be in real school or getting a job. Oh, well. Also, I was seriously disappointed with what the present ended up being. The author tried way too hard to be deep, with the ending but also throughout the entire book, but it just was really lame. Also, there was some foreshadowing that I think the author forgot about before the ending, about it being illegal to shoot after dark or too close to Walden Pond. The author also failed to mention it being illegal to shoot a shotgun within city limits right over the head of a little girl. I also think that the character development was quite poor. You never really end up liking or hating or anything any of the characters.
June 19, 2009
The way this book is written makes it seems to be realistic fiction. The events in the story make it seem to be pure fiction. But the point of the book is not to be pure fiction. At least it seemed to me that the point was to remind us what it was like to be a child. This book brings back the vaguest and most distant memories from childhood - the ones where we had experiences like Georgie does in the book.
I quite enjoyed the characters of Uncle Freddy (poor guy... though he studies Thoreau he can't quite see like Georgie does) and Miss Prawn (loved the plastic flowers).
The story was straightforward and it is an easy read, but it still felt surreal the whole time, kind of like a distant memory.
I would recommend this book.
I quite enjoyed the characters of Uncle Freddy (poor guy... though he studies Thoreau he can't quite see like Georgie does) and Miss Prawn (loved the plastic flowers).
The story was straightforward and it is an easy read, but it still felt surreal the whole time, kind of like a distant memory.
I would recommend this book.
Read
January 14, 2018Took advantage of an opportunity to read this now, years before the Newbery club gets to it. Maybe this read will serve to 'warm me up to' the read with the group. Maybe not.
It just didn't do anything for me. I mean, who doesn't want to fly? But somehow it doesn't seem all that interesting the way Georgie does it. And what purpose do the adult 'villains' serve? Nutso.
The only interesting bit, imo, was Eleanor's reaction to the invasion of the tea-party, and that was only interesting while I thought her objections sincere. Oh, and Georgie's mother's reaction could have been interesting, if I could have managed to understand it at all.
It just didn't do anything for me. I mean, who doesn't want to fly? But somehow it doesn't seem all that interesting the way Georgie does it. And what purpose do the adult 'villains' serve? Nutso.
The only interesting bit, imo, was Eleanor's reaction to the invasion of the tea-party, and that was only interesting while I thought her objections sincere. Oh, and Georgie's mother's reaction could have been interesting, if I could have managed to understand it at all.
July 14, 2010
I have to say, the ending was VERY disappointing. It honestly, seemed like the author thought of the end first, thought it would be like, amazing or whatever, then made up a random story just to tie the ending into it, that ended up have NOTHING to do with anything that happened in the story. ARG!!!!! oh well. I'm over it now.
December 29, 2019
Pretty terrible book. I honestly wouldn't have finished but I was reading it with my son. At the end, I asked him what he thought and he said "um, that was sad. And weird." That pretty much sums it up. No character development. Horrible plot. And strange, sad ending. I'm mostly at awe that it won a Newberry award.
June 1, 2019
the only Newbery i've been unable to finish.
June 10, 2025
So sweet and sad.
November 10, 2025
strange, almost but not quite to the point that I didn't much like it. Possibly I was not as thrilled by it as I might have been before I stopped liking Canada geese very much.
December 24, 2025
Lowk most of the book was so boring but the ending made it waaay better
May 25, 2025
Remember wishing for magical powers as a child? I was enamored with being invisible and flying. The possibilities, the thrill! The Fledgling sparks the feeling of infinite freedom and specialness. It features a cobbled together,benign family with a little girl who knows that when she jumps down the stairs that she really is floating almost flying. Soon enough in the night a wise old Canada goose taps on her window.He has a world of discovery for her and teaches the little girl to soar. A misguided self important bank manager and his old maid busy body secretary see trouble and feel the need to interfere . Somehow , a parable for perseverance and forgiveness, sacrifice and believing in one's self is all packed into this children's book making for a sweet flight of imagination.
May 25, 2010
I read this because my daughter recommended it to me. It's about a girl named Georgie who is obsessed with flying. She befriends a Canada goose, whom she calls the goose prince, who teaches her how to fly.
I love the idea of flying as much as anybody, but this book was only so-so for several reasons. For one, I didn't like many of the characters. The bad characters, Miss Prawn and Mr. Preek, were of course unlikeable for a reason, but I also didn't really fall in love with the rest of Georgie's family either. They run some kind of a hippie school (I didn't quite get how that worked) out of their house, and their interior thoughts (of which there are a surfiet) center around Georgie. Even the Goose Prince goes out of his way and risks his life for her, and I didn't get his motivation. Yes, I'm such a picky reader that I think a goose needs motivation too.
It was written in 1980, but it felt very old to me. Georgie's cousins act rather stereotypcially 50's to me, and the few mentions of technology (like a telephone) felt jarring and out of place. The book also concerns Thoreau more than obliquely. A busk of Henry Thoreau acts as almost a character in the book, and it's peppered with quotes from him. Since I never read (nor visited) Walden Pond, it felt like hanging around with people who continually quote from a movie I haven't seen.
Not a bad book to recommend for your kids, especially if they are good readers who like a more literary style. It wasn't to my taste (I like clear prose, heavy plot, and a central point of view) but just because I didn't like it doesn't mean it was terrible. It did win a Newberry, after all.
I love the idea of flying as much as anybody, but this book was only so-so for several reasons. For one, I didn't like many of the characters. The bad characters, Miss Prawn and Mr. Preek, were of course unlikeable for a reason, but I also didn't really fall in love with the rest of Georgie's family either. They run some kind of a hippie school (I didn't quite get how that worked) out of their house, and their interior thoughts (of which there are a surfiet) center around Georgie. Even the Goose Prince goes out of his way and risks his life for her, and I didn't get his motivation. Yes, I'm such a picky reader that I think a goose needs motivation too.
It was written in 1980, but it felt very old to me. Georgie's cousins act rather stereotypcially 50's to me, and the few mentions of technology (like a telephone) felt jarring and out of place. The book also concerns Thoreau more than obliquely. A busk of Henry Thoreau acts as almost a character in the book, and it's peppered with quotes from him. Since I never read (nor visited) Walden Pond, it felt like hanging around with people who continually quote from a movie I haven't seen.
Not a bad book to recommend for your kids, especially if they are good readers who like a more literary style. It wasn't to my taste (I like clear prose, heavy plot, and a central point of view) but just because I didn't like it doesn't mean it was terrible. It did win a Newberry, after all.
August 14, 2017
The Fledgling is a fairy tale for modern children. The story is fairly simple - an outcast little girl meets a magical goose who teaches her how to fly. It manages to be cute, but not cutesy.
Jane Langton did not try to dumb down this story for younger readers, either. There are some very mature themes woven in here, like the sadness of growing up and the reality of feeling disconnected from friends and family. The writing is very well-done and beautiful at times.
The characters were introduced in previous books I had not read, but this book stands on it's own very easily. The villains of the book did seem a bit ridiculous in the lengths they were willing to go to, but their actions were based on character flaws that were introduced at the beginning of the book. Their wackiness contrasted heavily with the mythical serenity of the rest of the book, but it was nothing too problematic.
The setting of Walden Pond will probably resonate a little better if the reader understands the story of Henry David Thoreau, but it's not totally necessary.
The relationship of the girl, Georgie, and the goose is sweet, almost Disney-like in nature. The ending showcases how Georgie has grown as a person and is probably a good setup for the rest of this series.
All in all, this is one of those books that transcends it's category. It's really a great little story for anyone. Kids will appreciate the flying and relate to the young main character, while adults can recognize the cultural significance of Thoreau's legacy and be enchanted by a magical little tale that manages to balance it's sweetness with a good dose of reality.
Jane Langton did not try to dumb down this story for younger readers, either. There are some very mature themes woven in here, like the sadness of growing up and the reality of feeling disconnected from friends and family. The writing is very well-done and beautiful at times.
The characters were introduced in previous books I had not read, but this book stands on it's own very easily. The villains of the book did seem a bit ridiculous in the lengths they were willing to go to, but their actions were based on character flaws that were introduced at the beginning of the book. Their wackiness contrasted heavily with the mythical serenity of the rest of the book, but it was nothing too problematic.
The setting of Walden Pond will probably resonate a little better if the reader understands the story of Henry David Thoreau, but it's not totally necessary.
The relationship of the girl, Georgie, and the goose is sweet, almost Disney-like in nature. The ending showcases how Georgie has grown as a person and is probably a good setup for the rest of this series.
All in all, this is one of those books that transcends it's category. It's really a great little story for anyone. Kids will appreciate the flying and relate to the young main character, while adults can recognize the cultural significance of Thoreau's legacy and be enchanted by a magical little tale that manages to balance it's sweetness with a good dose of reality.
August 2, 2009
I just don't understand why this book has gotten so many five and four stars by people. I just dn't get it. For me, this book was pointless. Absolutly pointless!
Okay, first of all the 'present' wasn't even important to the plot, and "Georgie"--is that her nickname or something?! Who in thier right mind who name a girl Georgie? When I picked up this book at my library three days ago, on July 29 of 2009, I thought, Wow, this book sounds great! I'd love to fly!
Really, I would. I'm in LOVE with J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan and all the movies surrounding that book.
In the back cover of The Fledgling, it said, 'For anyone who wishes they could flyyyyy!'
I definatly do. But I was deeply dissapointed with this book.
I'm also shocked to see only one more person has rated this book one star!
Okay, first of all the 'present' wasn't even important to the plot, and "Georgie"--is that her nickname or something?! Who in thier right mind who name a girl Georgie? When I picked up this book at my library three days ago, on July 29 of 2009, I thought, Wow, this book sounds great! I'd love to fly!
Really, I would. I'm in LOVE with J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan and all the movies surrounding that book.
In the back cover of The Fledgling, it said, 'For anyone who wishes they could flyyyyy!'
I definatly do. But I was deeply dissapointed with this book.
I'm also shocked to see only one more person has rated this book one star!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 13, 2018
This is one of Jane Langton’s most beloved children’s books, which somewhat mystifies me. The relationship between Georgie Hall and her Goose Prince is beautiful and it gives the book its heart, but what surrounds that heart isn’t so satisfying. Georgie’s family either doesn’t understand her, patronizes her, or tries to push her into being like other children. The horrible next door neighbor, Miss Prism, mistakes her for a saint and nearly gets her killed. She does get the Goose Prince killed. Most of the adult characters in this book are one or another type of comic/harmless or comic/unpleasant stereotype. Their awkwardness creaks around the shining fantasy passages in which Georgie tries to fly on her own and in which she does fly on gooseback. Too bad that this book has not worn well.
April 26, 2015
1981 Newbery Honor Book
I found nothing redeeming about this book. I only read it because it was on my list of Newbery books to read. I thought maybe it would be like The Trumpet of the Swan but it was nowhere near that quality. I have a feeling that there's supposed to be elements of transcendental philosophy in the writing but books that are overly philosophical tend to be horrible anyway.
Georgie is an 8 year old girl who is convinced she can fly. She lives with her mother and stepfather and two stepcousins at a Transcendental college in Concord. She is visited by a Goose Prince who teaches her how to fly.
I found nothing redeeming about this book. I only read it because it was on my list of Newbery books to read. I thought maybe it would be like The Trumpet of the Swan but it was nowhere near that quality. I have a feeling that there's supposed to be elements of transcendental philosophy in the writing but books that are overly philosophical tend to be horrible anyway.
Georgie is an 8 year old girl who is convinced she can fly. She lives with her mother and stepfather and two stepcousins at a Transcendental college in Concord. She is visited by a Goose Prince who teaches her how to fly.
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