What do you think?
Rate this book
The Castle Corona
Long ago and far away . . . There was a castle. But not just any castle. This was a castle that glittered and sparkled and rose majestically above the banks of the winding Winono the Castle Corona. And in this castle lived a family. But not just any family. This was the family of King rich and royal and . . . spoiled. And King Guido was so spoiled that neither jewels nor gold nor splendid finery could please him, for what he longed for most was . . . a nap and a gown that didn't itch. Far below this grand, glittering castle lived two peasants. But not just any peasants. These peasants, though poor and pitiful, were plucky and proud. And in possession of a stolen pouch. But not just any pouch. A pouch whose very contents had the power to unlock secrets and transform lives . . . And oh, there is an author. But not just any author. Sharon Creech is a Newbery Medal-winning author whose tantalizing tale will not only dazzle and delight but also entertain and excite.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
63 people are currently reading
1118 people want to read
About the author
Sharon Creech
70 books3,286 followersI was born in South Euclid, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, and grew up there with my noisy and rowdy family: my parents (Ann and Arvel), my sister (Sandy), and my three brothers (Dennis, Doug and Tom).
For a fictional view of what it was like growing up in my family, see Absolutely Normal Chaos. (In that book, the brothers even have the same names as my own brothers.) Our house was not only full of us Creeches, but also full of friends and visiting relatives.
In the summer, we usually took a trip, all of us piled in a car and heading out to Wisconsin or Michigan or, once, to Idaho. We must have been a very noisy bunch, and I'm not sure how our parents put up with being cooped up with us in the car for those trips. The five-day trip out to Idaho when I was twelve had a powerful effect on me: what a huge and amazing country! I had no idea then that thirty-some years later, I would recreate that trip in a book called Walk Two Moons.
One other place we often visited was Quincy, Kentucky, where my cousins lived (and still live) on a beautiful farm, with hills and trees and swimming hole and barn and hayloft. We were outside running in those hills all day long, and at night we'd gather on the porch where more stories would be told. I loved Quincy so much that it has found its way into many of my books—transformed into Bybanks, Kentucky. Bybanks appears in Walk Two Moons, Chasing Redbird, and Bloomability. Bybanks also makes a brief appearance (by reference, but not by name) in The Wanderer.
When I was young, I wanted to be many things when I grew up: a painter, an ice skater, a singer, a teacher, and a reporter. It soon became apparent that I had little drawing talent, very limited tolerance for falling on ice, and absolutely no ability to stay on key while singing. I also soon learned that I would make a terrible reporter because when I didn't like the facts, I changed them. It was in college, when I took literature and writing courses, that I became intrigued by story-telling. Later, I was a teacher (high school English and writing) in England and in Switzerland. While teaching great literature, I learned so much about writing: about what makes a story interesting and about techniques of plot and characterization and point of view. I started out writing novels for adults (published as Sharon Rigg): The Recital and Nickel Malley were both written and published while I was living in England (these books were published in England only and are now out of print.) But the next book was Absolutely Normal Chaos, and ever since that book I have written mainly about young people. Walk Two Moons was the first of my books to be published in America. When it received the Newbery Medal, no one was more surprised than I was. I'm still a little bit in shock.
After Walk Two Moons came Chasing Redbird, Pleasing the Ghost, Bloomability, The Wanderer, and Fishing in the Air. I hope to be writing stories for a long, long time.
I am married to Lyle Rigg, who is the headmaster of The Pennington School in Pennington, New Jersey, and have two grown children, Rob and Karin. Being with my family is what I enjoy most. The next-best thing is writing stories.
© Sharon Creech
For a fictional view of what it was like growing up in my family, see Absolutely Normal Chaos. (In that book, the brothers even have the same names as my own brothers.) Our house was not only full of us Creeches, but also full of friends and visiting relatives.
In the summer, we usually took a trip, all of us piled in a car and heading out to Wisconsin or Michigan or, once, to Idaho. We must have been a very noisy bunch, and I'm not sure how our parents put up with being cooped up with us in the car for those trips. The five-day trip out to Idaho when I was twelve had a powerful effect on me: what a huge and amazing country! I had no idea then that thirty-some years later, I would recreate that trip in a book called Walk Two Moons.
One other place we often visited was Quincy, Kentucky, where my cousins lived (and still live) on a beautiful farm, with hills and trees and swimming hole and barn and hayloft. We were outside running in those hills all day long, and at night we'd gather on the porch where more stories would be told. I loved Quincy so much that it has found its way into many of my books—transformed into Bybanks, Kentucky. Bybanks appears in Walk Two Moons, Chasing Redbird, and Bloomability. Bybanks also makes a brief appearance (by reference, but not by name) in The Wanderer.
When I was young, I wanted to be many things when I grew up: a painter, an ice skater, a singer, a teacher, and a reporter. It soon became apparent that I had little drawing talent, very limited tolerance for falling on ice, and absolutely no ability to stay on key while singing. I also soon learned that I would make a terrible reporter because when I didn't like the facts, I changed them. It was in college, when I took literature and writing courses, that I became intrigued by story-telling. Later, I was a teacher (high school English and writing) in England and in Switzerland. While teaching great literature, I learned so much about writing: about what makes a story interesting and about techniques of plot and characterization and point of view. I started out writing novels for adults (published as Sharon Rigg): The Recital and Nickel Malley were both written and published while I was living in England (these books were published in England only and are now out of print.) But the next book was Absolutely Normal Chaos, and ever since that book I have written mainly about young people. Walk Two Moons was the first of my books to be published in America. When it received the Newbery Medal, no one was more surprised than I was. I'm still a little bit in shock.
After Walk Two Moons came Chasing Redbird, Pleasing the Ghost, Bloomability, The Wanderer, and Fishing in the Air. I hope to be writing stories for a long, long time.
I am married to Lyle Rigg, who is the headmaster of The Pennington School in Pennington, New Jersey, and have two grown children, Rob and Karin. Being with my family is what I enjoy most. The next-best thing is writing stories.
© Sharon Creech
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 452 reviews
August 5, 2008
I enjoyed this a lot, but even so, I found it undercooked at several points. I don't think Creech was attempting a radical overhaul of the fairy tale genre, or a "fractured" fairy tale approach--the giveaway there for me was the introduction of Princess Fabrizia:
"It would be wonderful to say that Princess Fabrizia was the strongest, wisest, bravest and kindest of all the King's children, but alas she was frail and foolish and, above all else, afraid of every little thing".
So, not overt feminist revisioning here, and that's fine--there's plenty of them out there! That said, the characterisation generally is a little unsatisfying, and I wish Creech had explored some of the things she sets up more--especially the idea, introduced late in the piece, that the Castle itself is alive. Disappointingly, she doesn't exploit or explore this concept in any meaningful way. and the ending is a bit lame.
And yet, and yet, I still enjoyed it for all these flaws.
"It would be wonderful to say that Princess Fabrizia was the strongest, wisest, bravest and kindest of all the King's children, but alas she was frail and foolish and, above all else, afraid of every little thing".
So, not overt feminist revisioning here, and that's fine--there's plenty of them out there! That said, the characterisation generally is a little unsatisfying, and I wish Creech had explored some of the things she sets up more--especially the idea, introduced late in the piece, that the Castle itself is alive. Disappointingly, she doesn't exploit or explore this concept in any meaningful way. and the ending is a bit lame.
And yet, and yet, I still enjoyed it for all these flaws.
November 3, 2009
Creech sets the stage well enough: there is a castle, with a royal family of five useless, discontent, and rather stupid individuals. In a nearby village there are a poor, orphaned brother and sister. And there are a couple of hermits. The problem is that nothing happens. The book is like a "fairy tale twist" short story that was somehow dragged out from 35 pages to 300, but without any additional action or character development. The whole thing was just... boring. Even the illustrations, which were pretty enough to start, quickly became boring as they were reproduced over and over instead of adding new ones.
June 10, 2008
When I saw this I thought, holy crap! Sharon Creech wrote a fairy tale! Yay!
Alas, it started well, but fizzled. :( It's like she wrote it on the toilet but then finished shitting just when it was getting good.
Alas, it started well, but fizzled. :( It's like she wrote it on the toilet but then finished shitting just when it was getting good.
August 18, 2009
In the Castle Corona lives the discontented royal family. In the village live the discontented orphans Pia and Enzio. Eventually their paths cross.
I completely didn’t get the point of this book. Virtually nothing happened. The characters changed somewhat, but not a lot, and I guess it was just too subtle for me. It reminded me of 'Criss Cross,' which won the Newbery, and I completely didn’t get that, either. I tend to like books in which nothing happens, but the nothing books I love always have a point--a wonderful world to explore, interesting characters, etc.—-but I didn’t get the point of this one at all.
I completely didn’t get the point of this book. Virtually nothing happened. The characters changed somewhat, but not a lot, and I guess it was just too subtle for me. It reminded me of 'Criss Cross,' which won the Newbery, and I completely didn’t get that, either. I tend to like books in which nothing happens, but the nothing books I love always have a point--a wonderful world to explore, interesting characters, etc.—-but I didn’t get the point of this one at all.
January 13, 2018
A cute little story with lavish and unusual illustrations and formatting that made it a treat. The deliberately stilted style and dreamy voice was very reminiscent of Gail Carson Levine. I did think the ending rather unsatisfying but overall it was fun.
April 9, 2020
In einem Königreich lebt Pia und ihr Bruder Enzio bei dem mürrischen Meister Pangini. Eines Tages beobachten die Kinder einen Dieb, der von den Männern des Königs verfolgt wird. Der Dieb lässt einen Beutel ins Laub fallen, den die Kinder verstecken.
Ich muss gestehen, dass ich ab einem bestimmten Moment keine Lust mehr hatte, der Geschichte konzentriert zu folgen. Obwohl die Geschichte einen märchenhaften Charakter hat, konnte sie mich nicht begeistern.
Ich muss gestehen, dass ich ab einem bestimmten Moment keine Lust mehr hatte, der Geschichte konzentriert zu folgen. Obwohl die Geschichte einen märchenhaften Charakter hat, konnte sie mich nicht begeistern.
October 27, 2019
When I first started really reading on my own as kid, I'd go to the online public library catalog, plug in random words I liked to the search field (like "castle" or "princess") and then push the "place a hold" button on every single title that seemed remotely interesting. Every time I went to the library to pick up my holds, I'd come back with at about 20 books.
This is how I ended up discovering this book, or rather this audiobook (since I've never even seen the physical book itself). As a child, I loved the story (castles and queens and stories! How could I not?), but later I realized what I really loved was how soothing the imagery is, especially how the audiobook narrator delivers it.
Now, after having relistened, I'm happy to say it withstands the test of time. The story is certainly not for everyone - there is very little substance in terms of plot, and I don't think I would even enjoy it that much in book form, but it's just so peaceful and calming to listen to before bed (especially when you're sick!)
This is how I ended up discovering this book, or rather this audiobook (since I've never even seen the physical book itself). As a child, I loved the story (castles and queens and stories! How could I not?), but later I realized what I really loved was how soothing the imagery is, especially how the audiobook narrator delivers it.
Now, after having relistened, I'm happy to say it withstands the test of time. The story is certainly not for everyone - there is very little substance in terms of plot, and I don't think I would even enjoy it that much in book form, but it's just so peaceful and calming to listen to before bed (especially when you're sick!)
August 15, 2008
I have loved almost everything Creech has ever written. No one can capture the inner lives of her characters like Sharon Creech. She writes with such tenderness for all her characters the reader can't help but feel the same. Set in medieval times, Castle Corona tells parallel stories of the people that live within and outside the castle walls. My favorite character was the Wordsmith, who occasionally entertains the court with the power of his stories. Fans of Creech will not be disappointed with this one.
May 20, 2023
I’ve held onto this book for YEARS because I remembered loving it as a child. Last week I decided to re-read to see if it was worth keeping. Conclusion: I see why my kid-brain liked it, but there’s not much here for adults. Just a cute little story.
April 13, 2021
This book is very cute. It was a very fast read with fun twists and turns. I would recommend if you are looking for a light feel good story. Even though it was a lighter read I still felt drawn to the story and I did not want to put it down.
April 12, 2018
💛
“Another day, another sky.”
So cute.
“Another day, another sky.”
So cute.
September 24, 2018
I don't think this is one of Sharon Creech's best books. It is, however, a gently-unfolding modern fairy tale, which still makes it well-worth reading.
July 18, 2025
che final tan pedorro
May 14, 2018
I went a little out of my way for this book. I don't really like fantasy books that much. But this book made me want to read more fantasy and more of Sharon Creech. It was a little hard to read at first,but then I got used to it. The story was also confusing. I started to get the hang of it towards the middle of the book. It as very hard to put down because so many things were happening at once and I just had to keep reading. For all those fantasy readers I would recommend this.
June 19, 2024
Felt like a magical bedtime story! Cozy, comforting, and wise, The Castle Corona is another success from my favorite author, Sharon Creech.
Edit: I decided that in reality, this book is more of a 4.5-star read, but it was still above average and awesome.
Edit: I decided that in reality, this book is more of a 4.5-star read, but it was still above average and awesome.
January 2, 2012
The Castle Corona by Sharon Creech
Summary:
Long ago and far away . . .
There was a castle. But not just any castle. This was a castle that glittered and sparkled and rose majestically above the banks of the winding Winono River: the Castle Corona.
And in this castle lived a family. But not just any family. This was the family of King Guido: rich and royal and . . . spoiled. And King Guido was so spoiled that neither jewels nor gold nor splendid finery could please him, for what he longed for most was . . . a nap and a gown that didn't itch.
Far below this grand, glittering castle lived two peasants. But not just any peasants. These peasants, though poor and pitiful, were plucky and proud. And in possession of a stolen pouch. But not just any pouch. A pouch whose very contents had the power to unlock secrets and transform lives . . .
What I liked about the book: I'm very disappointed to say that I really didn't like this book. I was very surprised because I have always enjoyed Sharon Creech's books in the past.
What I didn't like about the book: It was too disjointed. It started off slow and the story just sort of wandered around. I also didn't like any of the characters. You don't have to like the characters in a book to enjoy reading it, but you do need to be interested in their story. I didn't find any of these characters interesting.
AR Level: 5.5
Mrs. Archer's rating 1 of 5.
Summary:
Long ago and far away . . .
There was a castle. But not just any castle. This was a castle that glittered and sparkled and rose majestically above the banks of the winding Winono River: the Castle Corona.
And in this castle lived a family. But not just any family. This was the family of King Guido: rich and royal and . . . spoiled. And King Guido was so spoiled that neither jewels nor gold nor splendid finery could please him, for what he longed for most was . . . a nap and a gown that didn't itch.
Far below this grand, glittering castle lived two peasants. But not just any peasants. These peasants, though poor and pitiful, were plucky and proud. And in possession of a stolen pouch. But not just any pouch. A pouch whose very contents had the power to unlock secrets and transform lives . . .
What I liked about the book: I'm very disappointed to say that I really didn't like this book. I was very surprised because I have always enjoyed Sharon Creech's books in the past.
What I didn't like about the book: It was too disjointed. It started off slow and the story just sort of wandered around. I also didn't like any of the characters. You don't have to like the characters in a book to enjoy reading it, but you do need to be interested in their story. I didn't find any of these characters interesting.
AR Level: 5.5
Mrs. Archer's rating 1 of 5.
August 9, 2016
This book was a disappointment for me. Sharon Creech's writing style brought me nowhere. Maybe my expectations were to high for this one, but truly I believe it was just dry. The main characters are like marionettes on strings and there is info dumping everywhere. The culture in this novel is absolutely tasteless and every person in here too. I grew bored at the second chapter and my mind quickly wandered.
The facts in this novel were repeated over and over and over and OVER again. Can't you tell that I can remember just fine? This dry fairytale like book makes me bored and sleepy. The ending terrible and made me just all and all unhappy. The two main characters that are children act like Hansel and Gretel, completely mindless children who make mistakes.
The good thing about the characters are that Sharon made them classic. You could literally easily fit one word to describe each and every character. I was hoping for something to surprise me, but nothing did, NOTHING. Dry, plain, overly predictable and certainly boring, take a try on this.
The facts in this novel were repeated over and over and over and OVER again. Can't you tell that I can remember just fine? This dry fairytale like book makes me bored and sleepy. The ending terrible and made me just all and all unhappy. The two main characters that are children act like Hansel and Gretel, completely mindless children who make mistakes.
The good thing about the characters are that Sharon made them classic. You could literally easily fit one word to describe each and every character. I was hoping for something to surprise me, but nothing did, NOTHING. Dry, plain, overly predictable and certainly boring, take a try on this.
Read
March 13, 2022This book suddenly emerged from the depths of my memory and I feel obliged to add it here.
When I was in elementary school, I went to an afterschool that had a small bookshelf. Either all the books were crappy or Rainbow Magic or I didn't want to read new stuff, but whenever I had time and no book in my backpack, I would grab this book to read. In all honesty I don't remember much of what happens -- I haven't thought of this book in like. Several years probably. What I do remember is that the king got a hermit, who suggested that he get two tasters because "two is better than one," and then the queen decided to copy the king and get her own hermit, but she was worried about how to properly furnish a hermit's living space. I guess the imagery in this book was nice too.
Also realized this is by Sharon Creech and I discovered that a lot of nostalgia books for me are by her (didn't pay much attention to authors back then. I only remember her having written Walk Two Moons.) Might go and add more books for nostalgia's sake.
When I was in elementary school, I went to an afterschool that had a small bookshelf. Either all the books were crappy or Rainbow Magic or I didn't want to read new stuff, but whenever I had time and no book in my backpack, I would grab this book to read. In all honesty I don't remember much of what happens -- I haven't thought of this book in like. Several years probably. What I do remember is that the king got a hermit, who suggested that he get two tasters because "two is better than one," and then the queen decided to copy the king and get her own hermit, but she was worried about how to properly furnish a hermit's living space. I guess the imagery in this book was nice too.
Also realized this is by Sharon Creech and I discovered that a lot of nostalgia books for me are by her (didn't pay much attention to authors back then. I only remember her having written Walk Two Moons.) Might go and add more books for nostalgia's sake.
May 8, 2021
P. 90 thinking of putting it down. I don't care about the characters and nothing is really happening, not even with the peasants. I guess I could laugh at the gentle parody of the court (47 different Ministers of Inventory!) but Milne, Kaye, Wilde, Thurber, and others have done it more engagingly.
But the reading of others' very mixed reviews tells me to persist, as interesting stuff is supposed to happen near the end....
Maybe we can all agree that the middle should have been more concise.
We'll see.
---
Well. Um. Yeah. Ok, so now that I know where Creech was going with this, I can see the value of it. It is well written, yes. It is rich and resonant, in its own way, yes. Certain careful readers will be rewarded. But hm. A little too much for me right now. In some ways... and a little too little in others... Ack, I dunno. I *think* I would have liked it a lot when I was 11.
But the reading of others' very mixed reviews tells me to persist, as interesting stuff is supposed to happen near the end....
Maybe we can all agree that the middle should have been more concise.
We'll see.
---
Well. Um. Yeah. Ok, so now that I know where Creech was going with this, I can see the value of it. It is well written, yes. It is rich and resonant, in its own way, yes. Certain careful readers will be rewarded. But hm. A little too much for me right now. In some ways... and a little too little in others... Ack, I dunno. I *think* I would have liked it a lot when I was 11.
November 5, 2011
I picked up this book because my friend and I really liked Sharon Creech, although after I finished this book, I felt like this book is a bit of a let down from Sharon. This book is worse than her oter books, although I still think it is very good. I liked the story a lot. It's just that Sharon put a lot of things in the story, but didn't explain them all. It gives me a headache when I think and wonder about too many things.
This book had many great parts in it. I loved it. I really really did. But when I got to the end of the book, the last page, I though, "Wow, was she really in such a hurry to inish this book?" I think Sharon should've dragged the end along a little bit. I was so convinced the story was still going that I didn't notice that the last page was near! I thought there was still a lot to say from Sharon.
I liked this book a lot, but the ending wasn't very good. :)
This book had many great parts in it. I loved it. I really really did. But when I got to the end of the book, the last page, I though, "Wow, was she really in such a hurry to inish this book?" I think Sharon should've dragged the end along a little bit. I was so convinced the story was still going that I didn't notice that the last page was near! I thought there was still a lot to say from Sharon.
I liked this book a lot, but the ending wasn't very good. :)
September 7, 2010
I like Sharon Creech, even though all her books are a little quirky. What I think is cool is that each book is quirky in its own way--and she has written a lot of books. How does she come up with so many completely unique ideas? (The only ones that sort of have related quirkiness are Love That Dog and Hate That Cat, but they are obviously companion books.) So this book was strange in a way, but that is just Sharon Creech. It was satirizing fairy tales which had me chuckling throughout, but was really not meaty enough when it came to the plot. I enjoyed it as a simple, happy story. (And I so needed some happily-ever-after after reading Mockingjay--BAWH!!!)
October 6, 2008
This book was disappointing, in that it could have been so much better than it was. It had all the ingredients to be a pseudo-fairy tale as beautiful as anything by Jane Yolen - lovely little archetypal characters carefully created to parallel one another subtly, a promising begin, and a gorgeous design, with beautiful illustrations and illuminated letters - but in the end it fell apart. The characters, with a few exceptions, were bland and lifeless, the ending was painfully anti-climactic, and the 'morality play' tone throughout rings false in a modern day novel.
September 22, 2008
I gave this book an extra star because of the beautiful illuminations by David Diaz. The story itself for me was worth three stars. It was good, but not spectacular. The characters were somewhat flat and just played the typical role of "king" or "queen" or "princess" until almost the end. Which isn't necessarily bad, but I enjoyed the book a lot more once they became individuals with personalities. I did really like the two peasant children and the hermits.
January 20, 2011
The book was okay and I ejoyed reading it.It makes you think, if you lived in a place with kings and queens how would you feel?It also makes you think about if you were the king and queen,would you feel like you did the same thing every day, and it was becoming boring?What if you were the princess, would you be stuck up or humble?It was not, however, a book that I could not put down.
December 8, 2017
I read Walk Two Moons probably fifteen years ago, and I liked it enough that I considered myself a Sharon Creech fan. But despite my intentions to read more of her work, here I am fifteen years later reading my second book out loud to my nine-year-old son.
Castle Corona was a title I found on third grade reading lists, so I thought it would be a good one to read at bedtime. Ehn. That’s what I thought. That’s what my son thought.
For my son, I think the issue was topic. He really isn’t in to castles and princes and horseback and all that. For me, the issue was much subtler, and, as I said to a friend, “Creech never let me forget that I was reading a story.”
I feel hypocritical writing this, because I think my own Medieval fantasy might have similar problems. Then again, I have to call it as I see it. This is, after all, a blog filled with my reviews. And honestly, I just never enjoyed the book. From distractingly odd accents to a lack of action, I felt like I was reading an idea for a fairy tale. As an editor, I would have sent it back, begging for more story and less morality. From the first moments, when we see the horse chase flash by, we continue to stay just on the fringe of anything actually interesting, always hearing about other exciting things, if it happens at all.
It’s a frustrating read. You’re always hoping, always seeing a glimpse of what could be, but never quite getting there, while being teased with just a touch of charming writing. And even the one time something does happen, it seems to come out of nowhere, results in almost nothing, and is delivered in flat language that once again sucks the action out of the thing.
For all the big deal made of the illustrations, too, I found them to be lackluster.The grainy (computer-generated?) designs in the background took over from the much nicer prints, which are reduced to the size of a thumbnail.
I wouldn’t exactly tell you not to read it. If, for example, your children love castle fantasies and fairy tales, they might enjoy this mild story filled with characters that remain simple and a story that takes place more in your own imagination than on the page. Then again, I would point you to The Chronicles of Narnia and Half Magic first, not to mention The Lord of the Rings, The Princess Bride, or Howl’s Moving Castle. For that matter, if you want to read Sharon Creech, I would begin with Walk Two Moons and Ruby Holler, and continue with Love That Dog, Bloomability, and The Wanderer, instead.
_________
I read The Castle Cornona, by Sharon Creech, published in 2007 by Joanna Cotler Books.
***THIS REVIEW WRITTEN FOR THE STARVING ARTIST BLOG***
Castle Corona was a title I found on third grade reading lists, so I thought it would be a good one to read at bedtime. Ehn. That’s what I thought. That’s what my son thought.
For my son, I think the issue was topic. He really isn’t in to castles and princes and horseback and all that. For me, the issue was much subtler, and, as I said to a friend, “Creech never let me forget that I was reading a story.”
I feel hypocritical writing this, because I think my own Medieval fantasy might have similar problems. Then again, I have to call it as I see it. This is, after all, a blog filled with my reviews. And honestly, I just never enjoyed the book. From distractingly odd accents to a lack of action, I felt like I was reading an idea for a fairy tale. As an editor, I would have sent it back, begging for more story and less morality. From the first moments, when we see the horse chase flash by, we continue to stay just on the fringe of anything actually interesting, always hearing about other exciting things, if it happens at all.
It’s a frustrating read. You’re always hoping, always seeing a glimpse of what could be, but never quite getting there, while being teased with just a touch of charming writing. And even the one time something does happen, it seems to come out of nowhere, results in almost nothing, and is delivered in flat language that once again sucks the action out of the thing.
For all the big deal made of the illustrations, too, I found them to be lackluster.The grainy (computer-generated?) designs in the background took over from the much nicer prints, which are reduced to the size of a thumbnail.
I wouldn’t exactly tell you not to read it. If, for example, your children love castle fantasies and fairy tales, they might enjoy this mild story filled with characters that remain simple and a story that takes place more in your own imagination than on the page. Then again, I would point you to The Chronicles of Narnia and Half Magic first, not to mention The Lord of the Rings, The Princess Bride, or Howl’s Moving Castle. For that matter, if you want to read Sharon Creech, I would begin with Walk Two Moons and Ruby Holler, and continue with Love That Dog, Bloomability, and The Wanderer, instead.
_________
I read The Castle Cornona, by Sharon Creech, published in 2007 by Joanna Cotler Books.
***THIS REVIEW WRITTEN FOR THE STARVING ARTIST BLOG***
March 24, 2025
The Castle Corona is a historical fiction that features a couple different perspectives, one from peasant siblings Pia and Enzio, and one other from the royal family of the nearby castle.
Both sides find themselves longing for more in life, hoping for something different to come their way. The day of change arrives when Pia and Enzio stumble upon a stolen pouch hidden in the brush, and the king hears word of the thief. Events begin to unfold as their world shifts and changes a little for the better.
Spoilers ahead for the end of the book!
I enjoy the book's writing style, characters, and end the best. The opening lines to the book start off with “Once there was a Castle, high on a hill, and a King who longed for a nap and a Queen who yearned for solitude and a Prince who loved poetry…” (Creech 0). This really sets up the writing style for the book before it’s even started. It gives me older literature and fantasy vibes and I really enjoy that. I find the characters to be interesting too. Their interactions are interesting and sometimes funny, overall very enjoyable. Each of the characters had a lot of personality to them too, all of them very distinct and memorable to me. I really liked how the end was done too, with all the main cast growing a little bit, and Pia and Enzio’s change of dreams for themselves.
I don’t have anything I particularly dislike about this book. It was enjoyable enough that the only thing I can think of is the twist near the end. In this part, the Wordsmith says “The grandfather, fearing that he had little to offer the children, arranged with the king that he would be the king’s hermit if the king would agree to find a home for them, and that when they came of age, the children would be brought to the castle to be apprenticed” (Creech 307). While the story did a great job leading up to here, the reveal fell a little flat for me. However, I feel more neutral towards it over disliking it. It was still a good part of the resolution overall, even if it didn’t hit as hard as it should have. It didn’t detract from the end and was fairly well built up to.
Overall, I really enjoyed the book and its style. It was a good read that kept me engaged throughout and curious of what would happen next. The end felt fairly good, even if parts before it weren't as good. I can see myself wanting to reread this on occasion. If you like slower and more simple books you'll probably enjoy this one. I lovingly give it four out of five stars.
Both sides find themselves longing for more in life, hoping for something different to come their way. The day of change arrives when Pia and Enzio stumble upon a stolen pouch hidden in the brush, and the king hears word of the thief. Events begin to unfold as their world shifts and changes a little for the better.
Spoilers ahead for the end of the book!
I enjoy the book's writing style, characters, and end the best. The opening lines to the book start off with “Once there was a Castle, high on a hill, and a King who longed for a nap and a Queen who yearned for solitude and a Prince who loved poetry…” (Creech 0). This really sets up the writing style for the book before it’s even started. It gives me older literature and fantasy vibes and I really enjoy that. I find the characters to be interesting too. Their interactions are interesting and sometimes funny, overall very enjoyable. Each of the characters had a lot of personality to them too, all of them very distinct and memorable to me. I really liked how the end was done too, with all the main cast growing a little bit, and Pia and Enzio’s change of dreams for themselves.
I don’t have anything I particularly dislike about this book. It was enjoyable enough that the only thing I can think of is the twist near the end. In this part, the Wordsmith says “The grandfather, fearing that he had little to offer the children, arranged with the king that he would be the king’s hermit if the king would agree to find a home for them, and that when they came of age, the children would be brought to the castle to be apprenticed” (Creech 307). While the story did a great job leading up to here, the reveal fell a little flat for me. However, I feel more neutral towards it over disliking it. It was still a good part of the resolution overall, even if it didn’t hit as hard as it should have. It didn’t detract from the end and was fairly well built up to.
Overall, I really enjoyed the book and its style. It was a good read that kept me engaged throughout and curious of what would happen next. The end felt fairly good, even if parts before it weren't as good. I can see myself wanting to reread this on occasion. If you like slower and more simple books you'll probably enjoy this one. I lovingly give it four out of five stars.
May 26, 2017
This book is a very interesting take on a fairy tale and I enjoyed it very much. I would like to know what the theme/life lesson is, because that was unclear. The character I like is Prince Gianni because he is a prince who is not to absorbed into the royalty drama, and falls in love with a peasant/servant girl. He loves poetry and he is a nicer, more well rounded person than his brother. This book makes me think about a social problem in society today. Though it is different because we do not have much royalty, social class is still enforced. This character King Guido reminds me of my volleyball coach, because he is not easily amused, and is hard to please. I like the part of the book when the Wordsmith tells the stories, because it reveals more about the rest of the actual book. A question I have about the book is what the life lesson is. I am not sure what it teaches the reader, because when the story ended, I was confused. If I were King Guido, I would lighten up, because he definitely seems like such a debby-downer. The character Princess Fabriza reminds me of a girl in my grade who is very materialistic and very absorbed in looks. Irritated by how other people look, all into herself, thinking that she looks good, and stressing about trying to look good all the time. If I could talk to Pia and Enzio, I would say, from this experience, what life lesson have you learned? Also, what thoughts were going through your brains around the royal family? I rated this book 4/5 stars because while I enjoyed it, I missed the purpose of it. I feel that maybe the life lesson is "everything works out in the end" but I am not sure. I love how this book gives a good glimpse into both worlds of rich and poor, or royalty and peasant. It was an interesting and quick read and definitely recommend it.
September 20, 2018
I enjoy a lot of Creech's books enough I figured I'd give one that hasn't gotten a lot of recognition a try. There is a reason no one talks about this one!
I listened to the book and I found my mind wandering a lot and having no idea what was going on. My initial reaction was to blame myself for not liking it then, I should have been paying more attention. But then I realized I need to take that into account, if the book was truly good it would have been captivating and I wouldn't have zoned out and missed certain parts.
It's hard to say why I'm not giving this one star because it was pretty terrible. It reminded me a little bit of a children's version of "Catch-22". There is this occurrence running throughout the book where the king is calling for all of his items in the kingdom to be counted, and there is a counter assigned to count different items, including a counter to count the counters. It was a little funny, but I also think it would have been hard for a younger audience to grasp.
I'm going with two stars in the end though because I think there was a uniqueness to the book that made it so that it was at least bearable. I didn't end up turning the book off halfway through or anything, even though I was pretty lost at times.
If someone wants to argue that this book was better than I said it was I probably would listen to them because they might have a better understanding of what went on, but this wasn't a book that I finished and I'm rushing out to tell everyone to read and based on the overall score of a 3.5 I'm guessing most people are in my boat with this one.
I listened to the book and I found my mind wandering a lot and having no idea what was going on. My initial reaction was to blame myself for not liking it then, I should have been paying more attention. But then I realized I need to take that into account, if the book was truly good it would have been captivating and I wouldn't have zoned out and missed certain parts.
It's hard to say why I'm not giving this one star because it was pretty terrible. It reminded me a little bit of a children's version of "Catch-22". There is this occurrence running throughout the book where the king is calling for all of his items in the kingdom to be counted, and there is a counter assigned to count different items, including a counter to count the counters. It was a little funny, but I also think it would have been hard for a younger audience to grasp.
I'm going with two stars in the end though because I think there was a uniqueness to the book that made it so that it was at least bearable. I didn't end up turning the book off halfway through or anything, even though I was pretty lost at times.
If someone wants to argue that this book was better than I said it was I probably would listen to them because they might have a better understanding of what went on, but this wasn't a book that I finished and I'm rushing out to tell everyone to read and based on the overall score of a 3.5 I'm guessing most people are in my boat with this one.
June 20, 2017
This book was pretty good. It started kind of slow, but I felt like when I finally got into it, the book ended suddenly. I feel like the book needs a sequel to explain what happens to the characters after the story. For instance, *SPOILER ALERT* Princess Fabrizia starts to like Enzio, and Prince Gianni has a crush on Pia. Do they ever get married? Also, the characters were very weak. Princess Favrizia cared only about herself and looking pretty, and tended to throw a lot of tantrums. The king was always complaining about how heavy his crown was, how itchy his clothes were, etc. he did not seem like the right kind of person to run a kingdom. I liked the queen. she was a stronger character, but I kind of felt bad that she had gotten stuck married to the king. The older prince was described as one not fit to rule, and the younger prince only cared about duels and fighting. Sure, the characters developed throughout the story, but they wre just so weak to begin with, it was almost cringe worthy. I love Sharon Creech, but this story was nothing at all like how I expected it to be.
February 1, 2020
My mom got this book for me, since she saw the updated cover and thought it looked interesting.
CONS OF THE CASTLE CORONA
Well. It was kind of boring, overall.
There wasn't much of a plot line. It just kind of meandered around.
The 2 peasants were perfect, and the royals were all a mess. It was a little annoying.
Because everyone needed character development, there wasn't much for each individual character.
The eldest prince had no idea how to deal with being in love. It was honestly kind of creepy at parts.
PROS OF THE CASTLE CORONA
Okay, contrary to my last point, the prince and the peasant (I can't remember any names for some reason right now) were actually kind of adorable. I mean, it could turn into creepy very quickly, but some of the time it was cute.
There was at least some character development for all the characters. The smoothest done was the youngest prince, Vito.
OVERALL
I think this was a kid's book. It's thick, has ridiculously thick pages (every time I turned them, I thought it was two) the font is large, and there's no complex plot line to follow. It's a simple book.
CONS OF THE CASTLE CORONA
Well. It was kind of boring, overall.
There wasn't much of a plot line. It just kind of meandered around.
The 2 peasants were perfect, and the royals were all a mess. It was a little annoying.
Because everyone needed character development, there wasn't much for each individual character.
The eldest prince had no idea how to deal with being in love. It was honestly kind of creepy at parts.
PROS OF THE CASTLE CORONA
Okay, contrary to my last point, the prince and the peasant (I can't remember any names for some reason right now) were actually kind of adorable. I mean, it could turn into creepy very quickly, but some of the time it was cute.
There was at least some character development for all the characters. The smoothest done was the youngest prince, Vito.
OVERALL
I think this was a kid's book. It's thick, has ridiculously thick pages (every time I turned them, I thought it was two) the font is large, and there's no complex plot line to follow. It's a simple book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 452 reviews