about the book
Alex and Connor Bailey are twins; Alex is a nerdy girl, while Connor is the class clown. They live with their mother, a busy lady trying to raise them on her own. The twin’s father died over a year ago in an auto accident. They miss him so much, especially how he used to read to them every night.
On their twelfth birthday, grandma presents them with a very special gift, The Land of Stories, the precious book their father used to read to them! That night Alex notices the oddest thing—the book glows and makes an odd humming sound. Over the following week, Connor watches as Alex grows stranger and stranger. When he confronts her, she reveals that when she drops something on a glowing page in the fairy tale book, it disappears!
Then the unthinkable happens! Alex accidentally falls into a page, and without a thought, Connor follows her! They discover they are in an entirely strange world, a world very different from the fairy tales they thought they knew.
After evading a medieval army and meeting a fugitive Goldilocks, they come upon a man-sized Frog. This friendly amphibian tells them that the only way home is by collecting eight very specific items. When placed together, these items result in the magical Wishing Spell. But there is only one Wishing Spell left! Connor and Alex must be the first to find all eight items.
So Connor and Alex venture on, encountering a dangerous witch with a gingerbread house, a deadly wolf pack, Rapunzel’s tower, Cinderella’s Castle, and other fairy tale characters and creatures…and one very Evil Queen who wants the Wishing Spell for herself!
Who will be the first to get all eight? And where in the heck is their fairy godmother when they need her the most?
about the author
At age 24, Chris Colfer is one very busy guy. You probably know him best as the fashionably gay singer Kurt Hummel on the television series “Glee.” What you might not know is that he had a passion for writing at a very early age. He claims he was “born wanting to be a story teller.”
Chris grew up in Clovis, California, in a very Irish family. (St. Patrick ’s Day is still a big deal at home.) Unfortunately, he did not have an easy childhood. His sister, Hannah, suffers from a severe form of epilepsy, having as many as fifty seizures an hour. Chris used play-acting to ease the family’s stress.
When he was hospitalized for months following neck surgery, he started writing about fictional worlds. His grandmother encouraged him and acted as his editor. Those worlds would later become the first book in hisThe Land of Stories series. Grandma told him, “Christopher, I think you should wait until you’re done with elementary school before worrying about being a failed writer!”
Chris is openly gay. Though he was warmly supported by his family, like Kurt on “Glee,” Chris was bullied in school. The bullying became so severe that he opted to be homeschooled in seventh and eighth grade. Gaining confidence, he came back strong in high school. He participated in Debate and Speech, Drama Club, Writer’s Club, and Destination ImagiNation, and edited the school’s literary magazine. He also wrote, directed, and starred in his first play. Many of his school experiences have ended up on stage or in “Glee” performances!
Chris is active behind the camera and on stage. Besides acting and singing, he does screenwriting, directing, and producing. His accomplishments are way too long to list here. He’s been listed as one of the 100 most influential people in Time Magazine. And the writing thing…well, that’s still going strong, too. His first two-book deal for The Land of Stories has just been upped to five books!
Chris lives in Los Angeles with his cat Brian and his golden retriever Copper, both rescue pets. Besides supporting animal shelters, he is involved in several other philanthropic organizations such as Make-a-Wish, IGBT, an AIDS foundation, and anti-bullying programs.
Sources:
The Land of Stories website
Author biography : Wikipedia article
Also by Chris Colfer:
The Land of Stories : A Grimm Warning (Land of Stories, Book 3). Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. 2014.
The Land of Stories : The Enchantress Returns (Land of Stories, Book 2). Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. 2013.
read more!
Frogged by Vivian Vande Velde
Princess Imogene goes outside to the pond whenever she can. Meeting a prince turned frog, she kisses him to reverse the spell. That’s how fairy tales work! Imagine Imogene’s consternation when, instead, she herself is turned into a ugly bumpy green frog! Now how is she going to find a handsome boy to kiss her and turn her back into a girl?
Rump : The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin by Liesl Shurtliff
You know the story of Rumpelstiltskin—or do you? Read about Rump’s birth, how he got his name, why his name is so important to him, and his impoverished childhood. But how is he able to spin straw into gold? And why did he accept the miller’s daughter’s promise of her first born child in exchange for his help? It is definitely not the story you’ve heard before!
The Land of Stories : The Enchantress Returns (Land of Stories, Book 2) by Chris Colfer
Against their grandmother’s (and fairy godmother’s) wishes, twins Alex and Conner must find their own way back into the Land of Stories to rescue their mother and save the fairy tale world from the greatest threat it has ever faced—the return of the Enchantress who cursed Sleeping Beauty.