The Whisper of Glocken

The Minnipins #2

by Carol Kendall, Imero Gobbato (Illustrator)

Carol Kendall's witty, epic tales about the race of people called the Minnipins are now available as Odyssey/Harcourt Young Classics. Now a new generation of readers can thrill to the adventures of the tiny folk who become mighty heroes. The original interior illustrations by Erik Blegvad and Imero Gobbato have been retained, but vibrant new cover art by beloved illustrators Tim and Greg Hildebrandt gives the books a new look for a new audience.

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

305 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1965

About the author

Carol Seeger "Siggy" Kendall was an American writer of children's books. She has received the Newbery Honor, Ohioana award, Parents choice award, and the Mythopoeic Society Aslan award.

Reviews

[Maryam · Rating 5 out of 5]

بهترین عسل را در کوزه‌های معمولی نگاه می‌دارند_۲۲
یادتان باشد در تلخی خوبی هست و در خوبی تلخی_۴۳
تنها جایی که می‌توانم گم و گور شوم توی ذهنم‌ است_۹۸
ماهی بزرگ ماهی کوچک را وسط خمیازه قورت میدهد_۱۱۴
مردن زمزمه‌ی موسیقی است_۱۴۰
یک قهرمان دیده نمی‌شود چون قهرمانان در قلب و فکر زاده می‌شوند و یک قهرمان وقتی که باید دوید محکم سر جایش می‌ایستد، و وقتی که ترجیح می‌دهد ریشه بدواند، فرار می‌کند. یک قهرمان تسلیم نمی‌شود، حتی وقتی همه‌چیز از دست رفته باشد_۱۹۶

[Barb in Maryland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not up to The Gammage Cup, but still a very good sequel.

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever and sweet sequel to 'The Gammage Cup'. Very good book for children, in particular, but older persons will enjoy it too.

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ultimate Reading Challenge 2017. A book you loved as a child.

This is the sequel to The Gammage Cup which was my #1 favorite book as a child. The 5 heroes from that book are in this one as well. However, they have decided there will be 5 new heroes to save the Minnipins this time. The river that runs through this valley has flooded the lower most village and as Minnipins rush to evacuate that village and move up river, they discover the flood has already reached the next village. Now residents of both villages have moved on and in the 3rd village. The previous heroes decide that these new heroes must go outside the valley and discover what has caused the flood.

[Roxana · Rating 1 out of 5]

I adored The Gammage Cup as a child, read it until the cover fell off, then was incredibly excited, several years after first reading The Gammage Cup, to find there was a sequel! ...unfortunately, The Whisper of Glocken was unbearably bad, I cried out my disappointment, and had to go re-read the first another dozen times to get the taste of #2 out of my head.

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much the same as the first installment. An all-new cast goes on an adventure and succeeds in the face of incredible odds. Some more philosophizing, this time on how to help others. Not sure why anyone needs this book after the first. The original five characters appear, but we learn nothing new about them. Illustrations by Gobbato are not nearly as good as the Blegvad ones.

[Qt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sort of a companion to "Gammage Cup," this isn't really a sequel, but a new adventure set in the same land. I thought it had all the things that made the first one fun for me, and felt that it was just as well written.

[Ry Herman · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this is a bit too similar to The Gammage Cup in content, at least it retains much of the charm of the first book, and the important message that even weird, irritating, and annoying people can be heroes -- and in fact, most heroes are probably exactly that.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun adventure with the Minnipins in the Land Between The Mountains with more at stake: http://readingandwritingandmoviesohmy...

[Ashley Lambert-Maberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as special as the first one for me (which could just be the age I'm reading it at), but still great fun to read. The Minnipins have heroisim and bravery thrust upon them, but rise to the challenge. The heroes we came to love in the previous book make more than a cameo appearance, but are not the protagonists: that role has been taken by a new set of Minnipins from a different village.

I think what I like best about these is there's a sort of kindness that pervades this, but it's not all unalloyed goodwill. Gam Lutie's determination to hang on to her treasure in particular occasions quarrels. But the characters do the best they can, in difficult situations, wihtout villifying one another. It's a bit like how I wish politics worked! (More recognizing we all want the same thing, we just differ on the best means to get it).

I'm a bit sad this is the last of the Minnipins series (I'm sad whenever any series I love ends, begin with the heartbreak I felt reading the final Mumfie as a child), but at only two books I think I shall survive it. I see she's written other things, and I like her calm, easy style, so will seek those out. (It helps that I didn't realise there was even this 2nd book until only a few years ago!)

(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.)

[Esther Filbrun · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved reading The Gammage Cup while I was in school, yet somehow it took me years to learn that there’s a sequel to the story! We decided to have it as a family read-aloud recently, and I enjoyed being back in the world of the Minnipins again—such fun!

This book wasn’t as good as its predecessor. I didn’t connect with the characters quite as well, and in some ways, the book felt slightly slower-paced than the last one. Perhaps, too, the novelty of this world has worn off a little bit or something, I don’t know.

Still, it was a fun adventure story, and I enjoyed watching the characters as they tried to sort out what caused such chaos in their world and then set out into the unknown to try to save all the other Minnipins. The Diggers were a definite favorite of our family; we particularly enjoyed the hole scene (if you know, you know). Suffice it to say, that part brought out more than one hoot of laughter as I read it aloud!

If you enjoyed The Gammage Cup, you’ll likely enjoy this book. It isn’t as good, but it’s a fun what-if scenario set just after the exploits of beloved Muggles, Curley Green, and the others.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second written of the three books in Kendall's Minnipin series. When the Watercress River floods, five new heroes must leave the valley to discover the cause.

There were some great adventures, and Kendall did a good job depicting the conflicts of three species with different lifestyles - the Diggers, the Minnipins, and the Hulks. The plot meandered around a bit too long, and the characters of the heroes were not as clearly defined as in the other books - I kept forgetting whose point of view I was getting. The weakest in the series, but still worth reading.

[Shahrzad.roshanfekr · Rating 3 out of 5]

داستان سرگرم کننده ای داشت، از اون کتابهایی که حتما باید توی یکبار نشستن خونده بشه وگرنه خیلی چیزها رو فراموش میکنین و ازش سر در نمیارین. پنج تا قهرمان که هیچ کاری نمیکنن اصلا خاص نیستن اما میدونن که باید جون همدیگه رو نجات بدن و خیلی به سادگی اینکارها رو میکنن .

[Lady Grey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a whimsical and underrated series! The world building is phenomenal and how Carol Kendall wraps it all up is surprisingly beautiful and generous to all the characters/factions!
Read all together during our morning time.

[Child960801 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this out loud to Emmet and we both really liked it. A favourite from my childhood. Five new heroes set out to find out why the Watercress river is flooding.

[Yasser Kazemi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nostalgic

[Isa Mehregan · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best adventures!

[Isa Mehregan · Rating 5 out of 5]

به جرئت یکی از بهترین کتاب های ماجراجویی و هیجانی است.
زبان شیوای کرول کندال بسیار ستودنی است.

[6thbreed · Rating 2 out of 5]

(2.5)

[Frances · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good follow-up to The Gammage Cup. Although a children's book it is well worth the read.

[Pen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely book like a cup of warm tea on a cold day. Cozy and adventurous and classic. And welcome revisit to the Minnipin world. I’m glad I discovered this sequel to a classic childhood favorite.

[Helen Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this book, have had this book since I don't remember when, I can read it over and over again

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another of the most memorable books from my childhood.

[deborah o'carroll (offline during 2026) · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone who knows about The Gammage Cup… this is its sequel. It’s about a new set of Minipin heroes who have to set out to save The Land Between the Mountains. I didn’t love it as much as The Gammage Cup, but of course, there are few books I do… At any rate, it’s quite different but also just really awesome and I just LOVE this book. The characters are so fun and the adventures are original and you won’t see them coming. And the whole Glocken Whisper thing… I just… I love. <3

Hear the whisper, whisper, whisper,
That lost and far-off whisper,
And remember, member, member,
The whisper of Glocken’s . . . bell.

(*chills*)

[Bridget Lane · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Whisper of Glocken is the sequel to Carol Kendall's beloved (to me) book, The Gammage Cup. In this novel, a new cast of characters journeys to save Slipper-on-the-Water from a massive flood.

While this sequel is still full of the quirky Minnipin atmosphere most of us love, I found it to be largely a disappointment. The characters are not as lovable and I found the plot much more dull and predictable. Worth a read but not as much fun as the first book.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This second book about the small folk of the Valley Between the Mountains is even better than the first. A new set of heroes are formed by circumstances and a somewhat reluctant willingness to do what they can to save their home.

[meelad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great intimate book, really funny at times. I used to watch a miniseries based on the book when I was a kid, consisting of still pictures and narration of parts of the book, really opened up the world of the fantasy to me... though I liked The Gammage Cup a little better

[Bryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyable classic children's fantasy, although not as good as the first one in terms of the female characters. It is only a loose sequel; the characters from the previous book make an appearance but the focus is on the adventures of five New Heroes.

[Brynna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is, like many sequels, not quite as good as the first one. The Gammage Cup is better, I think, but I also enjoyed the new characters in this one and the glimpses of the old ones.

[Janemariehunt · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a little slow to get into, but I enjoyed once I did.