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Lightland
When best friends Lottie and Lewis enter the magical world of LightLand, where distant memories become real again, they find themselves caught up in a battle between good and evil.Until now, Lottie Cook and her best friend, Lewis Weaver, have lived fairly normal lives in Iowa. But when Lottie's father carves for her a magical box from an old cherry tree, she and Lewis are transported to LightLand, a fantasy world created by the memories of real-world people. The wicked NightKing rules over LightLand, determined to destroy its citizens by stealing their memories. Soon, Lottie and Lewis are leading the struggle to overcome the NightKing, during which they must confront some painful memories of their own and find the strength to endure the challenge.
240 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 1, 2002
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106 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
November 25, 2021
Lichtland is een prima kinderboekje, heerlijk als tussendoortje. Het is verder niets bijzonders - de cuteness of origininaliteit die je vaak ziet in betere kinderboeken ontbreekt hier, waardoor alleen een solide fantasyverhaaltje achterblijft.
April 16, 2020
This book is fun for children in sixth grade. Although it was a bit childish, I thought it was a great book!
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June 12, 2021This is one of those books that I read as a kid, completely forgot the title, then try to google every 10 years to figure out what it was again. A compelling story that I think would be worth rereading.
September 7, 2013
I don't know anything about the author of this book except that her first name is Heather, and that Scholastic (the U.S. publisher of the Harry Potter series) believes in her. Now that I've read this book, I believe in her too. I hope she will continue to write books as interesting and touching as this.
It begins with two quirky kids, best friends since they were babies, each the only child of a single parent. Lottie Cook lives with her kind, slightly magical, widowed father Eldon in a sprawling, home-made home full of points of interest like a room that spins around until you get dizzy and fall down, and a giant room full of furniture that makes you feel doll-sized. Since the first day of first grade, she has worn pajamas and slippers to school every day, out of protest against having to go to school at all. Lewis Weaver, meanwhile, has never spoken a word to anyone except Lottie—including his mother Lucille, who is still angry at his father for disappearing when Lewis was three years old.
Now the two kids are starting sixth grade, and they have a new teacher named Ms. d'Avignon, who challenges her students to write an essay describing everything they know. Lottie and Lewis are both excited and worried. Both are excited, because for the first time they have a teacher who is at least as clever as themselves. But Lewis is worried because, while he can write factual answers in an exam, the closest he can come to expressing himself in writing is a notebook full of cryptic symbols and abstract images. And Lottie is worried because she used to be the keeper of all her family's memories, but now she can't remember any of them.
Luckily, Lottie's dad made her a special box out of the wood of a lightning-struck cherry tree, a tree loaded with their family's memories. When Lottie opens this long-neglected StoryBox, all her forgotten memories rush out. But then something even more unexpected, more magical, happens. Lottie falls in. Or rather, she falls through the box, into a world made of memory, a world called LightLand. In this world, anything or anyone that is remembered may live, at least for a little while. Some people who live there are quite solid and permanent, as long as they have their own memories. But an evil magician who calls himself the NightKing has been gathering power by stealing the memories of anyone he finds asleep during the night. And once they lose their memory, they cease to exist...
Lottie and Lewis have an important connection to LightLand. It seems to be Lottie's destiny to save this world, where remembering is life and forgetting is death. Why? Because remembering things is her special gift. As for Lewis, his connection to LightLand is much darker and more painful. He shares several eerily distinctive traits with the NightKing, such as only being able to sleep with his eyes open, and never having any dreams. And though the NightKing is rumored to have no memory of his own, he remembers Lewis—and Lottie too—and is expecting them, even before they cotton to the awful truth of who he is.
The magic of this book is greater than the magic it describes. Lottie, Lewis, and other characters in it seem alive and real and strangely familiar, even while their goofy weirdness makes you laugh. The breathing, worrying, hoping truth of them makes their pains and troubles, fears and dangers that much more real to you. The evil they face is shocking. The friends they make are quaint yet noble. The love that unites them is catching. And the way the story toys with the dual idea of memory and forgetfulness creates a texture that lingers, like a well savored memory, some time after the last page is turned.
It begins with two quirky kids, best friends since they were babies, each the only child of a single parent. Lottie Cook lives with her kind, slightly magical, widowed father Eldon in a sprawling, home-made home full of points of interest like a room that spins around until you get dizzy and fall down, and a giant room full of furniture that makes you feel doll-sized. Since the first day of first grade, she has worn pajamas and slippers to school every day, out of protest against having to go to school at all. Lewis Weaver, meanwhile, has never spoken a word to anyone except Lottie—including his mother Lucille, who is still angry at his father for disappearing when Lewis was three years old.
Now the two kids are starting sixth grade, and they have a new teacher named Ms. d'Avignon, who challenges her students to write an essay describing everything they know. Lottie and Lewis are both excited and worried. Both are excited, because for the first time they have a teacher who is at least as clever as themselves. But Lewis is worried because, while he can write factual answers in an exam, the closest he can come to expressing himself in writing is a notebook full of cryptic symbols and abstract images. And Lottie is worried because she used to be the keeper of all her family's memories, but now she can't remember any of them.
Luckily, Lottie's dad made her a special box out of the wood of a lightning-struck cherry tree, a tree loaded with their family's memories. When Lottie opens this long-neglected StoryBox, all her forgotten memories rush out. But then something even more unexpected, more magical, happens. Lottie falls in. Or rather, she falls through the box, into a world made of memory, a world called LightLand. In this world, anything or anyone that is remembered may live, at least for a little while. Some people who live there are quite solid and permanent, as long as they have their own memories. But an evil magician who calls himself the NightKing has been gathering power by stealing the memories of anyone he finds asleep during the night. And once they lose their memory, they cease to exist...
Lottie and Lewis have an important connection to LightLand. It seems to be Lottie's destiny to save this world, where remembering is life and forgetting is death. Why? Because remembering things is her special gift. As for Lewis, his connection to LightLand is much darker and more painful. He shares several eerily distinctive traits with the NightKing, such as only being able to sleep with his eyes open, and never having any dreams. And though the NightKing is rumored to have no memory of his own, he remembers Lewis—and Lottie too—and is expecting them, even before they cotton to the awful truth of who he is.
The magic of this book is greater than the magic it describes. Lottie, Lewis, and other characters in it seem alive and real and strangely familiar, even while their goofy weirdness makes you laugh. The breathing, worrying, hoping truth of them makes their pains and troubles, fears and dangers that much more real to you. The evil they face is shocking. The friends they make are quaint yet noble. The love that unites them is catching. And the way the story toys with the dual idea of memory and forgetfulness creates a texture that lingers, like a well savored memory, some time after the last page is turned.
June 23, 2022
Wow i had this childrens book for the longest time but i never fully read it. But now that i did i really think that little me was dumb because this book is so cool. I have never seen or read this concept anywhere else!
June 2, 2018
This is a magical story about two sixth graders who travel to Lightland using the power of their memories. I enjoyed this story, it is something I would let my children read. This unique story line, centered on magic and friendship combined with some life lessons learned along the way, makes for a well spent afternoon.
September 18, 2018
This is a wonderful book, keeping in mind it's actually for children. It's a fantasy story where you're slowly getting revealed one of the protagonist's family story, but as it's not a very long story, it's really easy to digest. Lovely read considering I've had this book in my shelf for probably 10 years without ever reading it. Great for kids that love adventure.
August 26, 2019
Started out promising but ended up being disappointing. The writing constantly told instead of showed and just seemed to get more and more disjointed towards the end. I liked the idea and the characters, but the execution didn’t work that well for me.
February 12, 2023
3.5/5 stars (rounded up for goodreads). my best friend wanted me to read this so i gave it a shot. it was a bit hard to get into but the story really picks up and the ending was very good. i enjoyed it over all
February 24, 2020
It started out really great, but then got a little too fantastical for me. A fantasy fan would probably love it.
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December 13, 2022This was the book that changed the way I read. I need to find it and read it again.
September 23, 2023
Total schönes aber auch ziemlich verrücktes Kinderbuch. Hat mich geprägt und ist mir über 20 Jahre hinweg im Gedächtnis geblieben.
November 20, 2008
This book is undoubtedly the worst story there ever was. The author did a horrible job of discribing the settings and people, so I had to create them in my head, and not use the setting the author oringinally intended his readers to use.
The characters' personalities were as shallow as a dry streambed, they acted before they thought, and accpected dangerous things waaaay to easliy. This book is fantasy; fantasy means facing the unexpected. I'm afraid the author does just the opiset. He writes the characters' personalities to be laid out like they enconotr TROLLS everyday!
Lottie's father gives her a box for her birthday present. A plain, wooden box.
Box.
Even the word sounds dull!
Lottle opens it the box night in bed, to find it revieals the portal to a place created entirey by humans' imagenations; called Lightland. A bird called "Umber" flies out of the box and insists she must come into Lightland; and the author's writing is so dull, he NEVER explains why. So, as if she's done this every day of her short life, Lottie clims INTO the box; which is about as big as a shoe.
There is an "evil" king who rules Lightland, named the Night King, who likes to catch people, and earse their memories..or just kill them for the joy of it. That is one fact of many I did not like. The bird Umber flies around Lightland with Lottie, talking with her about no apparent subject, never telling her way she is here...she donesn't even WANT to know...
And then Lottie's only friend, Lewis Cook, gets trapped in Lightland..and acts all calm and un-interested, as if he's been there a millon times before.
It turns ot that the Night King was Lewis's father. Acutally, this didn't surprise me or Lewis. Then there is a slow, sloppy, porley-written and discribed "battle" between Lewis and the Night King, and most of it isn't even fighting, its more like Lewis running away and screaming.
Well, I guess I can't go on for ever, but the bottom line is: I didn't like this book at all, the author did a HORRID job writing it, and I'll never pick it up again. You can be sure of that.
The characters' personalities were as shallow as a dry streambed, they acted before they thought, and accpected dangerous things waaaay to easliy. This book is fantasy; fantasy means facing the unexpected. I'm afraid the author does just the opiset. He writes the characters' personalities to be laid out like they enconotr TROLLS everyday!
Lottie's father gives her a box for her birthday present. A plain, wooden box.
Box.
Even the word sounds dull!
Lottle opens it the box night in bed, to find it revieals the portal to a place created entirey by humans' imagenations; called Lightland. A bird called "Umber" flies out of the box and insists she must come into Lightland; and the author's writing is so dull, he NEVER explains why. So, as if she's done this every day of her short life, Lottie clims INTO the box; which is about as big as a shoe.
There is an "evil" king who rules Lightland, named the Night King, who likes to catch people, and earse their memories..or just kill them for the joy of it. That is one fact of many I did not like. The bird Umber flies around Lightland with Lottie, talking with her about no apparent subject, never telling her way she is here...she donesn't even WANT to know...
And then Lottie's only friend, Lewis Cook, gets trapped in Lightland..and acts all calm and un-interested, as if he's been there a millon times before.
It turns ot that the Night King was Lewis's father. Acutally, this didn't surprise me or Lewis. Then there is a slow, sloppy, porley-written and discribed "battle" between Lewis and the Night King, and most of it isn't even fighting, its more like Lewis running away and screaming.
Well, I guess I can't go on for ever, but the bottom line is: I didn't like this book at all, the author did a HORRID job writing it, and I'll never pick it up again. You can be sure of that.
December 23, 2012
This book was about a young girl, whose mother died. She had a friend who literally would not speak to anyone but her. Like, no one even knew what his voice sounded like. So...the girl, Lottie, had this cherry tree in her backyard. After lightning struck it, her father cut the wood and made a special box for her. She saw a cherry seed inside of it and her journey to a land named lightland with her friend began. She relieved the people of lightland of their pain from this guy who took over their soul. And she returned to her own land. My review sounds boring enough, but the actual book is extremely interesting. You won't be able to put it down once you begin to read it. Good Job to H.L. McCutchen!
October 3, 2008
Plucked off the shelf as I looked for a good juvenile read, this turned out to be amazingly good! A girl with the gift of remembering well, and a boy who refuses to talk, confront an evil tyrant in a fantasy world and end up solving their own problems in their home world. Some thoughtful lessons about how to face difficult memories.
Especially enjoyed the awesome sixth grade teacher who saw through their maladaptive games and urged them to think about what is truth! If you were a teacher, you'd want to be like Ms. D'Avignon!
Especially enjoyed the awesome sixth grade teacher who saw through their maladaptive games and urged them to think about what is truth! If you were a teacher, you'd want to be like Ms. D'Avignon!
December 9, 2008
I have read this book a long time ago, and I still love it. My favorite character would be Umber, He is a multcolorered bird who is abit crazy. My least favorite is the coach, because he is mean to kids. The author wrote this to show that it is importent to Remember. I was able to predict the ending because I have read it before. It could be a movie but, it might get missed up. The emotion in this book is really serous moood. I would recommend this book to any one who likes fantisys. I can't really give my favorite line because I forgot, sorry!
April 14, 2013
I read this book a long, long, long time ago. That magical year when my mother bought the ENTIRE Scholastic school catalogue and I lugged home some 20 odd books in two flimsy brown paper packages.
I don't know why the story randomly popped into my head now. I didn't remember the title or the author- I managed to find this page by Googling 'magic cherry wood box story'.
I remember loving this book as a child. I'm glad I read it when I was nine, because I know I would not be able to appreciate this book today the way I did back then. I love the story still, though the writing bothers me now.
I don't know why the story randomly popped into my head now. I didn't remember the title or the author- I managed to find this page by Googling 'magic cherry wood box story'.
I remember loving this book as a child. I'm glad I read it when I was nine, because I know I would not be able to appreciate this book today the way I did back then. I love the story still, though the writing bothers me now.
October 25, 2016
Lottie Cook and Lewis Weaver are best friends. Lottie's father makes a box made from the wood of a cherry tree. Lewis and Lottie get transported to Lightland by the box. In Lightland, they meet the Night King, who tries to destroy people by taking away their memories. Lewis and Lottie struggle to destroy the Night King, and make him stop causing trouble.
This book is the best! It was so interesting that I could hardly stop reading it!
This book is the best! It was so interesting that I could hardly stop reading it!
October 23, 2009
This book I thought was ok because there was some good and bad parts. I don't really like fantasy but it was kind of cool that they could go to a different land and there was a world going on there. They had to save people from getting their memory taken away from the nightking. They ended up saving the people and loved their experience from doing it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 20, 2014
Een verrassend goed kinderboek met heerlijke personages: Lottie is uitzonderlijk koppig (uit protest tegen de leerplicht gaat ze alleen in pyjama naar school), en Lewis praat enkel met Lottie.
'LichtLand' verenigt elementen die aan 'De kronieken van Narnia', 'Alice in Wonderland' en 'Matilda' doen denken, maar vertelt tegelijkertijd een heel eigen verhaal. Ook voor volwassenen leuk om te lezen.
'LichtLand' verenigt elementen die aan 'De kronieken van Narnia', 'Alice in Wonderland' en 'Matilda' doen denken, maar vertelt tegelijkertijd een heel eigen verhaal. Ook voor volwassenen leuk om te lezen.
September 19, 2015
Pretty nice book: short enough to be interesting. Not the typical thick novels anybody can buy but nobody can read.
what i liked about this book is the choice of characters: a girl who wears pajama to school, Charlotte Cook, and a boy who doesn't talk, Lewis Weaver. Nice match.
Also, it's a breather considering the vampire stories that dominate bookshelves today.
what i liked about this book is the choice of characters: a girl who wears pajama to school, Charlotte Cook, and a boy who doesn't talk, Lewis Weaver. Nice match.
Also, it's a breather considering the vampire stories that dominate bookshelves today.
November 19, 2009
This book is good so far it is about a girl named Lottie and her friend Lewis. Lottie's dad made her a box from an old cherry tree. Whenever Lottie and Lewis open the box they are brought to an imaginary land called LightLand.
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February 14, 2011“12-year-old Lottie and her best friend Lewis, who speaks only to her, find themselves in a world called LightLand, where they confront the dreaded NightKing, a dangerous being who experiments with the energies of memory.”
January 8, 2014
Great children's book.
I remember reading this when I was younger and loved the whole story to it. One of those books with fun and crazy adventures with a little danger and risk involved.
Good book overall. If you like fantasy books why not give it a try.
I remember reading this when I was younger and loved the whole story to it. One of those books with fun and crazy adventures with a little danger and risk involved.
Good book overall. If you like fantasy books why not give it a try.
July 9, 2020
It's cute! it's a middle-grade book and I wish i read it in that age frame, I still really liked it and the story is something I hadn't read before. I would recommend it to everyone in middle grade as its very cute, adventurous and just a fun story overall
November 6, 2008
really intriguing, interesting theme
December 16, 2008
I loved this book, it takes you from one world to the next... and that action takes me far in the fun dimention!
April 18, 2009
Upper elementary school fantasy - about friendship and the power of memories. Elements were borrowed from C.S.Lewis, but wrapped in an original package.
September 5, 2010
A little interesting, but it didn't keep my attention very long. It could have been more.
March 3, 2011
I read this when i was not much more then 11. I could relate to characters well, and at the time i thought it was the best book ever written. I still think its great.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews