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The Diamond Tree
The Diamond Tree is a classic fairy tale that is a fun read for kids and for adults who read to kids. Children will identify with the somewhat petulant Prince Dall as he seeks adventure and tries to outdo his older brothers. As one adult reader commented, "This is a wise and funny fairy tale which may well become a classic myth." Another commented, ..."in a form that is difficult to do well, this is a story that maintains its tone and irony throughout while generating suspense."
60 pages, Paperback
First published March 27, 2009
2 people are currently reading
6 people want to read
About the author
Michael Matson
8 books5 followersIn 2007, to cut expenses and have more time to write, I moved to Mexico. Since then I have written and published THE DIAMOND TREE, a fairytale available at www.untreadreads.com; various humor articles and short stories including GATO, which can be found in Short Story America's 2014 anthology of prize-winning short stories;
BAREBACK RIDER, an inspirational/adventure story, available at amazon.com. My mystery novel, THE DANCING BOY will be released by Oak Tree Press by late February or early March 2014. I am now working on a second mystery set in the Pacific Northwest and featuring the same characters.
BAREBACK RIDER, an inspirational/adventure story, available at amazon.com. My mystery novel, THE DANCING BOY will be released by Oak Tree Press by late February or early March 2014. I am now working on a second mystery set in the Pacific Northwest and featuring the same characters.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 19, 2018
Review also available on my blog The Shameful Narcissist Speaks.
This is a cute, little fairy tale with all the proper elements. I could've done with a bit of something different from the typical Rescue Romance, but there might have been some Tarot references within concerning main character Prince Dall (The Fool), a literal Hanged Man, and a wise old woman who could play the part of The Hermit. Regardless of its foibles and cliches, it was a fun, quick read.
This is a cute, little fairy tale with all the proper elements. I could've done with a bit of something different from the typical Rescue Romance, but there might have been some Tarot references within concerning main character Prince Dall (The Fool), a literal Hanged Man, and a wise old woman who could play the part of The Hermit. Regardless of its foibles and cliches, it was a fun, quick read.
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October 25, 2010Even though this is touted as a children’s fantasy story I have to admit to falling in love with Michael Matson’s The Diamond Tree. His storytelling was magical but with an element of real life to it. Dall didn’t complete his quest in a matter of days or weeks, but rather it took years; I really enjoyed that facet of the story. Even as a child you know that really big things don’t happen overnight so it’s refreshing to read a story where important work takes time; wonderful!
While this is also labeled fantasy, to my mind it would be just as appropriate to call it a fairy tale, but a more modern version. But whatever you would call this story, I call it fabulous! And it’s a story that I will enjoy sharing again and again with the children in my life. All I can say is thank heavens that kids love going over favorite stories again and again; it gives me a chance to return over and over to Dall’s adventures with nary a wince… after all I’m reading it to the kids. *grin*
Kathy K.
While this is also labeled fantasy, to my mind it would be just as appropriate to call it a fairy tale, but a more modern version. But whatever you would call this story, I call it fabulous! And it’s a story that I will enjoy sharing again and again with the children in my life. All I can say is thank heavens that kids love going over favorite stories again and again; it gives me a chance to return over and over to Dall’s adventures with nary a wince… after all I’m reading it to the kids. *grin*
Kathy K.
January 8, 2011
I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by the length of some of the books in my TBR pile at the moment. So The Diamond Tree fit the bill nicely as a quick (but entertaining) read. The publisher's site states that the story is for ages 6-12... but with the vocabulary involved, I think this book falls more squarely in the ages 9-12 (middle grade) category.
It's a fairly standard fairy tale, relying on repetition and the usual tropes found in the genre. I did like the short, heavily bearded man, and the Prince of Rage was rather amusing (and a character that would translate really well into a cartoon). Prince Dall, on the other hand, was somewhat weaker; but I'm not really sure what else you can do with a generic fairy tale prince that would make him much more interesting.
The writing was somewhat uneven. There were some lovely descriptive passages like this one:
The daylight folded itself in half and then divided again to become a faint mystical glow that hung about them like a gray and gloomy net.
But the narrative was also plagued by "said bookisms" and some non-speech actions that were used as speech attributions (this drives me nuts). On the one hand, it's somewhat forgivable because the story is so short. On the other hand, because the story is so short, there's really no excuse for not editing it more carefully.
I also wasn't too impressed with the ending. Too much was glossed over and explained after the fact. A few more pages wouldn't have hurt (and I wouldn't have minded reading more about the wizard's strange caverns).
All in all, though, this was a fairly good story and I can't say that I didn't enjoy it. It's something that I can easily imagine a parent reading aloud to a child.
http://theladybugreads.blogspot.ca/20...
It's a fairly standard fairy tale, relying on repetition and the usual tropes found in the genre. I did like the short, heavily bearded man, and the Prince of Rage was rather amusing (and a character that would translate really well into a cartoon). Prince Dall, on the other hand, was somewhat weaker; but I'm not really sure what else you can do with a generic fairy tale prince that would make him much more interesting.
The writing was somewhat uneven. There were some lovely descriptive passages like this one:
The daylight folded itself in half and then divided again to become a faint mystical glow that hung about them like a gray and gloomy net.
But the narrative was also plagued by "said bookisms" and some non-speech actions that were used as speech attributions (this drives me nuts). On the one hand, it's somewhat forgivable because the story is so short. On the other hand, because the story is so short, there's really no excuse for not editing it more carefully.
I also wasn't too impressed with the ending. Too much was glossed over and explained after the fact. A few more pages wouldn't have hurt (and I wouldn't have minded reading more about the wizard's strange caverns).
All in all, though, this was a fairly good story and I can't say that I didn't enjoy it. It's something that I can easily imagine a parent reading aloud to a child.
http://theladybugreads.blogspot.ca/20...
June 3, 2013
A tongue-in-cheek fairytale for all ages.
A spoiled young prince seeks to out-do his
brothers by seeking a magic tree.
Review by Tintin, Age 8
The Diamond Tree is about a prince [Prince Dall] who goes on a quest to find the diamond tree to break the spell and turn it back into a princess. Her tears turn into diamonds. He goes to a castle and the angry prince likes riddles, so he gave a riddle to him. And then he solves it and then the Prince of Rage said, "Don't say the name!" And then he ran and then he fell. I like the adventure that [Prince Dall] went on. My favorite part was when the Prince of Rage fell into the moat. My favorite character was the Prince of Rage because he was silly. I would recommend this book to people who like going on scary adventures.
A spoiled young prince seeks to out-do his
brothers by seeking a magic tree.
Review by Tintin, Age 8
The Diamond Tree is about a prince [Prince Dall] who goes on a quest to find the diamond tree to break the spell and turn it back into a princess. Her tears turn into diamonds. He goes to a castle and the angry prince likes riddles, so he gave a riddle to him. And then he solves it and then the Prince of Rage said, "Don't say the name!" And then he ran and then he fell. I like the adventure that [Prince Dall] went on. My favorite part was when the Prince of Rage fell into the moat. My favorite character was the Prince of Rage because he was silly. I would recommend this book to people who like going on scary adventures.
May 22, 2014
A marvelous, whimsical tale ideal for kids and peoplewho read to kids.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews