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Title: The Search for Delicious
ISBN: 0312369824
Author:
Natalie Babbitt
Publicate Date: 2007-08-21
Publish: 2007-08-21
List Price: $6.99
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $3.19
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $2.66
Amazon Merchant Price: $6.99
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Marvelous fairy tale
When the earth was young, there was a circle of mountains inhabited by dwarves. The circle was quite dusty, until one day a spring magically appeared. The dwarves built a stone house over the spring with a door that would only be opened by a whistle. The spring continued to grow, till it filled the mountain circle and flowed down as a river into the surrounding lands. A mermaid soon appeared. The dwarves named her Ardis, made a doll for her, and put her in charge of guarding the whistle. Everyday, Ardis would play in the house with her doll. One day, she heard music. Leaving the doll in the house, she went to investigate. The minstrel found her whistle, blew it, and closed the spring house's door, trapping Ardis' doll inside. The minstrel took the whistle with him.
Centuries later, the Prime Minister wants to create a dictionary. However, no one can decide on the definition of delicious. So the King sends the Prime Minister's adopted son Gaylen to poll the kingdom.
This is a darling story and work of fantasy. I like the contrast of the almost-serious fantastic nature of Ardis and the pool with the just-plain-silly poll of Gaylen's king. Gaylen is a fun kid and smarter that most of the characters in the book. He grows a great deal through meeting various characters on the journey of the poll. It's a very fast and easy read, so even younger kids could handle it.
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2: Delightfully delicious!!
I recently purchased this book at a Scholastic Book Fair at my daughter's elementary school, not realizing that it was written in 1969 and it was a reissued edition with an updated and modern cover. While reading it, I just couldn't put it down, and thought that it was a newly written book...not that this little aside matters....but it was a wonderful read. The issues addressed in this book are relevant to whatever time one picks it up and reads this book. "The Search For Delicious" is one of those magical and timeless books that can be read on many levels. It is a marvelous read aloud story for the younger children, an adventure story for the 8-12 year olds and a story with a very deep and life changing meaning for teens and adults. It won't take you long to read this little gem, so don't hesitate to purchase this book. Oh, one last thought: my reluctant 10 year old reader is having a hard time putting "The Search For Delicious" down!!! (I did not give a detailed play by play of this book, because a previous reviewer did an excellent job with that! Just wanted to assure you, that this is a "delicious" read!!
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3: Maddie's Grammy
I bought this for my grand-daughter, who really enjoyed another book by Natalie Babbitt. Maddie was thrilled to receive it; I imagine she will enjoy this one, as well.
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4: The Search For Delicious By Natalie Babbitt
I think I would have to fall asleep in order to express how I really feel about the book, The Search for Delicious, by Natalie Babbitt. It just isn't a fun read. Everything about it including its characters, setting, and theme is too boring. Maybe, as you read, you can understand why I despise this book.
This book is about a boy named Gaylen, who is on a mission, assigned by the King and Queen of his Kingdom to find what really is delicious. On his way, he meets up with a mermaid names Ardis. Now, let me tell you right away that I love fiction books. I love mermaids and dragons and wizards. What I like most about mermaids is that they are very beautiful and feminine. I would love to be a mermaid but the mermaid in this book doesn't flip her tail or comb her hair, she just tells Gaylen where to go. Ardis' picture is on my copy of The Search for Delicious, and I was really looking forward to meeting this mermaid, so I was disappointed.
I found the setting of this book to be very confusing mainly because of its titles. The kingdom Gaylen travels through is well developed but the time is called "the oldest days" and "the oldest days" are when the earth is youngest!? One of the titles in the beginning of the book is a place called "a dry dusty place". That title does put a good picture in my mind but it is too drab for me.
I don't think The Search for Delicious has a good theme because if the book is so boring that I don't even want to finish it to figure out what the theme is, then the theme can't be too great. If I has to pick a theme for this book, I would say Natalie Babbitt was aiming for "never give up" or "be adventurous" only because Gaylen works very hard to get where he needs to be and to find the right information.
To wrap up this report, I have to state that I would never have picked up this book if it weren't for this assignment. It is just too boring. It is hard to follow because you find your mind wandering away from it. It just isn't exciting enough. I believe this is supposed to be an adventure book, but there is nothing adventurous about it.
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5: An afternoon read
This is great for a short afternoon read by the pool. The book can be read in an hour or two at most. It is light and easy to read but has deeper themes for those who care to look for them. It speaks to human nature and enviormental issues.
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