The Great Big Enormous Book of Tashi

Tashi #1-16

by Anna Fienberg, Barbara Fienberg, Kim Gamble (Illustrator)

Tashi comes from a place very far away. He escaped from a war lord and flew to this country on the back of a swan. He's as brave as he's clever, and he tells the best stories ever! Giants, ghosts, withches ... Bandits, demons, monsters ... Tashi is always ready for anything. This book contains 32 of his dare-devil adventures!

Genres: Childrens, Fantasy, Australia, Fiction

988 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Anna Fienberg grew up in a house filled with books. Her mother was a teacher librarian who relished stories as much as chocolates. 'On Sunday mornings we'd all lie in bed with our books, lost in magical wardrobes, witches’ spells, genies’ magic… What we were going to read next was just as important in our family as what was for lunch!' says Anna.

Anna started writing stories when she was eight, but never imagined being an author. She studied psychology, fascinated by the dark world of dreams. She gave up counseling after an unfortunate incident with an enraged man and a chair (he missed!), began writing and scored the best job in the world. 'Working for School Magazine was a treat,' Anna says. 'I couldn't believe you could get paid for sitting back comfortably in your chair, cappuccino in hand, reading over a thousand books a year. Heaven!' Of course, as an editor she also had to write reviews and articles, stories and plays. One of those stories for School Magazine later became her first book.

Reviews

[Mehsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun book containing all 32 adventures of Tashi! Be prepared for mean uncles, ghosts, dumb dragons, giants, and more~


So back in March I read the Dutch translation of the first 8 stories! I really enjoyed the book and decided to look up the author to see if there was more and if it was in a language I could read. And it was, because the original Tashi is in English! And I found out that there were 32 tales of Tashi! Of course, I ordered the big big big book containing all of these stories as fast as I could. And in April I finally had my chance to read this humongous but oh so fun book!

In this book we meet a boy named Jack who just became friends with Tashi. Tashi is a boy/being from another country and has fantastical stories to tell. Throughout this book either Tashi tells them to Jack/his family/friends or Jack tells the stories he heard from Tashi to his parents. It is a magical book and I just adored each story. Yes, it didn’t get the 5+ starred that the first 8 stories got when I read them in Dutch, but that is mostly because this is a chonker and 32 tales were fun, but at times I just found myself lose a bit of interest. Not much, but just a tiny bit. I was curious about each story and what would happen in it, because Tashi went through a lot of things! He meets warlords and giants, he outwits ghosts and pirates, he meets Baby Yaga and manages to escape, he goes on long travels and eats ghost pies (on that note, I want to try one!). Tashi’s world isn’t a boring one, it is one that I would love to just step into! I would love to walk alongside with Tashi and go on adventures with him.

And not just for his adventures, but also for his family and his hometown which just sounds like a wonderful place to life. Well, OK, maybe not 100% wonderful given all the things that happen there, but I mean, the food, the way of life, how everyone is family. It is just lovely.

It was interesting to see technology step into Tashi’s world. In the earlier stories Tashi’s village uses horses and carriages to bring them everywhere, but later in the story they get the opportunity to drive a bus!

I loved Jack’s parents (and later also uncle) reactions to Tashi’s stories! Sometimes to the frustration of their son, as he just wants to hear the story or tell it, without interruption, and especially his dad makes some comments that had me shaking my head. He means well, but he just needs to learn to shut up. XD Loved that Jack and I weren’t the only ones, even mom was like, shhhh.

The book is heavily illustrated and I just love Kim Gable’s illustrations! They are fun, magical, and fit the story so so well!

All in all, if you are up for a magical adventure featuring all sorts of monsters (human and not), don’t mind a bit of a moral, try out this series!

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A giant book but a quick read as there are lots of wonderful illustrations. A rich and varied vocabulary. These stories are clever, cute and very funny. Tashi has wonderful adventures in my imagination I would like to be Tashi and eat his ghost pies!

[Caroline Eising · Rating 1 out of 5]

Someone bought this for me as a gift, because the salesperson told her it was the next big thing in children's fiction that adults would also enjoy, like Harry Potter. Unfortunately she was misled. This book is aimed at far to early an audience to maintain the attention of an adult. It also has some aspects that I found uncomfortable - I didn't like the jokey use of Asian names ('Luk Ahead'), and I didn't like the many obvious borrowings of other folklore (eg Baba Yaga) as it wasn't used cleverly, it seemed more like a fairytale cheat sheet. Also, the formula of the books is very predictable. Adults are always wrong, Tashi always wins and he never has any moral quandries or makes any mistakes (or if he does, they turn out to be the right thing anyway). This means there's very little tension, and the only one who ever ends up looking good is Tashi. There seems nothing to learn. Also at one point Tashi eats dumplings made with ground human bones, and seems to find no problem with that (continuing to use bones in dumplings is somehow the 'happy ending'). I give kids a little more credit, and think they might also see the problem with that. But the book doesn't have enough depth for me to even recommend it to much younger readers. I made it through about a dozen stories, and flipped ahead, but I had to give up in the end. These stories just aren't my style at all, and I don't think they would have enamored me as a child either.

[Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

My two children, ages 4 and 6, loved this book. It had enough adventure and thrill to keep them on the edge of their seats. The language and manners of the characters got a bit too unruly for my taste toward the last half of the book. And the stories seemed to deteriorate a bit going toward the end. It was fun while it lasted, but it won't stay on our shelf as an all time favorite.

[Whitley Foreman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always wanted this book as a kid, and came across it this year by chance at the Lifeline Bookfest - I was so excited! Super cute drawings on every page. The stories are very simple, and cover well-known folklore characters, but with Tashi being the only person in his village with the courage to step up and save the day. I’ve rated it based on what eight year old me would have thought 🤓

[Angus Bullen · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was so cool you should read it.

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids love this book. They still enjoy me reading it to them.

[piper · Rating 5 out of 5]

I reminder hiring this book out from the library at school every fortnight. Brings back so many memories

[AJ Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

My childhood and the first book i owned

[Clara Quintero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un libro muy divertido y ameno para leer en 2°-3° de nivel bajito.

[BookLoverLily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This grand book is so HUGE! I didn't know before, but the individual books are sort of connected. I though it was just random adventures tbh. :P

Anyways, it was rlly good and loved it!

[Eri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book took me a year to read. I love this book, it’s a great read. It’s one of the books that got me into collecting and reading them in the first place

[Anjali Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

My rating for these stories would be 3 stars, but since I'm not the target audience, I'm going with my daughter's higher 4.5 rating. We read this 988 page collection of Tashi stories over the course of a year, when she was 7-8 years old. She thought they were "awesome" and found them immensely amusing. We would have finished them more quickly if I had enjoyed them as much as she did! It's too bad you can't find these stories published on their own, since they are perfect for kids to read to themselves, but the big book is a little unwieldy for small arms. And my daughter preferred me to do all the voices, anyhow. Now that we are done, though, she is starting to reread some of the stories on her own.

[Arun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read aloud chapter book for 4 to 8 year olds. Suited both our daughter and son who have diametrically opposed personalities.

Anna Fienberg borrows from classic historical tales in weaving together Tashi's adventures. The stories are a great size (and sold as separate books), with low violence and an interesting main character in Tashi.

My only criticism is the form. Fienberg places Tashi in a modern australian setting and then he relates his stories to his new buddy Jack. I can see why she does this but it blocks the flow of the story on occasion. Still, its a great read pitched at an age that is all too often ignored. And includes some wonderful art work throughout.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is lots to recommend with this book. It is HUGE number #1 but has very few words. It is a collection of 7 nooks in 1. It has many pictures and pretty simple text, lots of dialogue. So will be satisfying for emergent readers who are ready to get past the easy reader’s and want a big book that is not too hard. It is also good for those wanting fun adventure, and humor but nothing too mature. The stories are kind fables/folk tale style but not Grimm’s level intense. I also think this would make a good read-a-loud for kids as young as 3 or 4 who still like pictures but want more of a story.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tashi appeals to children and adults alike. Invisible friends always bring a sense of magic and excitement, and I love the way Tashi's family are increasingly caught up in the creativity. I have read this to children from 3 to 11 years of age, and all have been quickly engaged.
Fienberg's writing is descriptive and full of imagery. In the classroom, the Tashi stories have application in teaching description, similes and metaphors, and general writing skills. In addition it can provide inspiration for art, music and other activities.

[Read by Coco ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up 9 months ago and I’m DNFing it today about 3/4 of the way through. Im just not really in the mood for a children’s book right now, but I do have high opinions of this book.

I read the Tashi stories when I was in primary school so it was great to pick up the entire collection in one book. I can see why I loved these books as a child. They’re unique and mystical and quirky and funny.

I love the Tashi stories and I think this will be a great book to pass on one day.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

These stories are clever, cute and very funny. We had so much fun reading them together before bed and my 6 year old twins are very sad that there are no more Tashi stories to read... as am I. We also really loved the illistrations, some of them were so gorgeous.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this aloud to my five year old daughter every night and she can't get enough of Tashi's adventures. The vocabulary in the book is rich and varied but easy to work out from the context. And lots of opportunity to 'do the voices'.

[Laetitia Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

First time I has ever read Tashi and really enjoyed it!!

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great read aloud--my 5 and 7-year-old (and even 3 year old ) kept begging for more. Definitely fun enough to keep me interested as well! I love the dad!

[traci · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this one for kids who have outgrown early readers but aren't quite ready for heavy text chapter books. It reminds me of My Father's Dragon and Catwings.

[Luke.houston · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a very good book. It is light and dark. it is my favourite book finished over and out

[Jie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only book we took on the trip that kept MT entertained.

[Jodie Gale · Rating 5 out of 5]

The whole family LOVED every one of these stories. Tashi rocks!