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Tal: His Marvelous Adventures With Noom-Zor-Noom
The story of Tal, a little orphan boy, and the adventures that befell him on the amazing journey to the land of Troom. His companions were the wise old man Noom-Zor-Noom and the talking donkey Millitinkle.
305 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1929
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
April 17, 2012
This was a perfect read-aloud at bedtime book for my 5 and 10-year-olds, both were mesmerized, and I couldn't wait to get to the next chapter either. The stories intertwined with an epic journey make it perfect to break into chunks at night, and honestly the worlds he envisions are delightful and immensely appealing. While you might suspect the ending early on in the book, it's irrelevant as "getting there" is by far the best part. I really loved it, it's a keeper and one my boys will remember for sure.
August 20, 2015
Wonderful book to read aloud at bedtime. Best book I've read with my 2 boys in a long time!
March 10, 2007
A good book for bedtime reading, since it's broken up into short chapters with lots of isolated stories. When I was a kid, it was a hugely popular book at school, but when I recently reread it, it didn't strike me as all that incredible. In fact, the way the old man persuades Tal into leaving his village and going on a trip with him, it almost seemed like a sinister kidnapping. The stories themselves are wildly creative, but not all that substantive. Probably what made the book so great when we were kids was how imaginative and vivid it was--my favorite "place" was the spot where the witches would gather around the mirror pools.
August 9, 2008
This is a strange and wonderful tale that my father read to me when I was little. It was my favorite childhood story and I have since read the same book to my children. The edition I have was a gift from my father to my mother on their 1st wedding anniversary and is inscribed, "May this story bring as much joy to our future children as it did to me when I was a boy." It is still one of my all time favorite stories.
July 7, 2012
This was my favorite childhood book, as well as my mom's favorite growing up. Out of print for decades, I was thrilled when it was republished in 2001. The woodcut images are gorgeous and engrained in my memory. Rereading it as an adult, the story is a bit predictable, but still delightful.
February 27, 2023
An interesting and unique children’s book. Its author, Paul Fenimore Cooper, was the great-grandson of the novelist James Fenimore Cooper. This book is essentially an extended fairy tale, and it contains several other fairy tales within it. Tal, the main character, is a boy of unknown parentage who ends up traveling with Noom-Zor-Noom the storyteller and his talking donkey, Millitinkle. They encounter many strange lands and creatures as they go, and along the way, Noom-Zor-Noom tells his stories to Tal. At the end of their journey, Noom-Zor-Noom must tell a story to the King of Troom. If the story is good enough, a spell will be broken, but if it fails, Noom-Zor-Noom will face prison, or worse.
I think that this book would be an ideal read-aloud for younger children. The structure of the chapters and stories lends itself to episodic reading rather than just reading large chunks of it in one sitting. I’m glad that Purple House Press has revived and reprinted it; it deserves to be more well-known.
I think that this book would be an ideal read-aloud for younger children. The structure of the chapters and stories lends itself to episodic reading rather than just reading large chunks of it in one sitting. I’m glad that Purple House Press has revived and reprinted it; it deserves to be more well-known.
May 27, 2021
A wonderful book that I only discovered recently (though I would have loved it as a child). I'm very thankful it has been reprinted.
It's a modern fairy tale set in the vague imaginary middle east, where sarongs are worn (though Christmas is also mentioned) - but the setting isn't so important; it's a land of magic. The story grabs the attention from the start and moves briskly along with no lulls. The sentences are well crafted and fall off the tongue - never overly long or convoluted, but definitely not dumbed down. It's a superb read-aloud.
This was a big hit with the listeners (3,5,7) who loved every perfectly-sized chapter and every story-within-the-story. They discussed and debated as to favorite tales and were eager to hear the next installment. I saw the end coming from the first, but they did not.
Don't let anyone tell you that 100-year-old books can't connect with today's kids.
It's a modern fairy tale set in the vague imaginary middle east, where sarongs are worn (though Christmas is also mentioned) - but the setting isn't so important; it's a land of magic. The story grabs the attention from the start and moves briskly along with no lulls. The sentences are well crafted and fall off the tongue - never overly long or convoluted, but definitely not dumbed down. It's a superb read-aloud.
This was a big hit with the listeners (3,5,7) who loved every perfectly-sized chapter and every story-within-the-story. They discussed and debated as to favorite tales and were eager to hear the next installment. I saw the end coming from the first, but they did not.
Don't let anyone tell you that 100-year-old books can't connect with today's kids.
February 19, 2018
My 7 year old daughter begged for this book for Christmas after hearing it at school. After reading outloud my favorite childhood books, The Chronicles of Narnia, I promised to read this book to my kids. I really disliked this book and couldn't wait to finish it. My kids, age 7 and 10, loved it which is why I'm giving it 3 stars.
I far prefer my childhood favorites of Narnia, the Chronicles of Prydain, the Hobbit, a Wrinkle in Time. I also much prefer the Harry Potter series.
The nice thing is there really isn't anything scary in this book so it's okay for 6 to 8 year old kids who might be too young for some of the others I've mentioned. I thought the story was too contrived and the characters weren't very interesting. The book is full of short stories, some of which are pretty good.
I far prefer my childhood favorites of Narnia, the Chronicles of Prydain, the Hobbit, a Wrinkle in Time. I also much prefer the Harry Potter series.
The nice thing is there really isn't anything scary in this book so it's okay for 6 to 8 year old kids who might be too young for some of the others I've mentioned. I thought the story was too contrived and the characters weren't very interesting. The book is full of short stories, some of which are pretty good.
April 3, 2023
My first grader enjoyed it greatly as a read aloud, but I found it repetitive and tiresome starting in the middle. There was no variation - all stories Noom-zor-Noom told to Tal was fantastical, but with no moral or grand design, simply stories that anyone can come up with by exploring random story lines. There was no depth of plot, the ending could not have been less impressive and abrupt, after hundreds of pages of build up. There was no character development or conflict. But, my first grader enjoyed it.
Most memorable stories: The Melikanoo; The Snow Queen and the donkey; the Silversmith on the road to Troom.
Most memorable stories: The Melikanoo; The Snow Queen and the donkey; the Silversmith on the road to Troom.
August 22, 2021
What a find! A grandson was reading Tal, so I read it, too. Full of imaginative creative stories. Loved the stories, loved the character names. One might expect that a book published in 1929, might be written in a difficult Victorian English. Not the case with Tal. It’s an easy read for kids.
October 2, 2023
4 1/2 stars. I found this to be a wildly entertaining and creative book. I read some of it out loud to a group of 3-5 graders over the summer and they were captivated. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because I like to reserve that for books with deeper meaning and significance - this is more of a fairy tale, and I didn't discern much more meaning beyond creative storytelling.
January 25, 2023
Read this at my child’s recommendation. It’s a good one and brought to mind Haroun and the Sea of Stories. I’m glad we get to share books, characters and adventures together — and springboard into new imaginaries with reference to the Wimzies or other unforgettable scenes.
February 24, 2023
I discovered this children’s book by accident and immediately fell in love with Tal and his marvelous adventures. I wish I had known about this gem when my children were young. It would have been a great read-aloud chapter book.
May 3, 2020
Read to my 6 and 8 year old and we all loved it so much.
December 12, 2020
Great read aloud book! I started out reading it to an 8 year old who kept exclaiming, “this is the best book ever!” Soon an 11 year joined us loving it just as much.
November 24, 2022
This was read to me as a child. <3
December 14, 2022
Fun adventure, lots of inventive stories that the girls enjoyed picking their favorites out of. Not my favorite writing, but kids enjoyed.
August 11, 2024
The best children’s book ever written. Do yourself a favor and read it with your own children. 2nd grade is perfect. Read this.
November 8, 2012
A friend's 10 year old son recommended this book to me. He said it was his favorite book and that he'd read it three times. In fact he even lent me his copy, so sure that I would enjoy it. He was absolutely right.
Tal is a wonderful fantasy about an orphan who is whisked away from his tiny village by a strange man, Noom-Zor-Noom, and a talking donkey, Millitinkle. While on their journey, they meet strange characters and see fantastical landscapes and Noom shares fairy tale-like stories with Tal.
The purpose of telling the fairy tales is that Noom must find a story that would please a child in order to open a magic door that is keeping the son of a faraway king captive. Noom believes that if Tal can judge what the best story is, the magic door will be opened and the king's son will be returned to his parents.
Originally written in 1929, I feared that the story would feel dated, but it read like a modern day fantasy.
Tal is a wonderful fantasy about an orphan who is whisked away from his tiny village by a strange man, Noom-Zor-Noom, and a talking donkey, Millitinkle. While on their journey, they meet strange characters and see fantastical landscapes and Noom shares fairy tale-like stories with Tal.
The purpose of telling the fairy tales is that Noom must find a story that would please a child in order to open a magic door that is keeping the son of a faraway king captive. Noom believes that if Tal can judge what the best story is, the magic door will be opened and the king's son will be returned to his parents.
Originally written in 1929, I feared that the story would feel dated, but it read like a modern day fantasy.
August 18, 2012
For 1928 SCI-Fi, I really enjoyed this. Tal must go with Noom Zor Noom to his home. On the way there he must listen to all of the stories the old wizard like man has collected from all over the world. If he chooses the "best one", then Tal will be able to save his friend's life. I loved that it had a ton of 10- 15 page short stories throughout the book! It would be a great read aloud as a family or in a middle grade classroom!
March 18, 2013
This is an interesting and imaginative adventure. My mom read it to me around 1st grade. We borrowed it from the school library and I loved it but when I wanted to reread it a few years later, it was out of print and I could not find a copy. The unsuccessful search for this book was my introduction to our local used book stores. Now it's available new again and I'm glad to have a copy. My first grader is really enjoying it with me. I've forgotten almost everything so it's like new to me too.
August 8, 2010
One of my favorite books of all time! Stories within stories, and magic within magic. I'm so happy I was recently given a copy of this book again. I first learned about Tal in 3rd grade, where a certain teacher read a chapter every week. Now I'm going on twenty-one, and it still has a place in my heart & on my shelf.
October 2, 2014
Certainly one of the best children's books ever. It is a bit long, but it's something that can be enjoyed by adults and children. I had to steal my mother's copy because I loved it so much. I reread it all the time.
December 20, 2015
I somehow ended up with this book in my shelf, maybe from a little free library...anyhow, I finally picked it up and found it was a delightful, old-fashioned fairy tale. I really enjoyed the fantasy lands it brought to life. I can't wait to share it with my own boys.
July 9, 2016
I haven't had story time with my kids in years, but we just finished reading this one together. At first, they thought I'd lost my mind when I suggested reading a bed-time story. But, as we got closer to the end, they were begging me to keep reading. Needless to say, it was a good one.
August 30, 2014
One of the best children's books we have read together. We looked forward to reading it every night and when it ended we wanted to start it over.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews