The Flint Heart

by Katherine Paterson, John Paterson, John Rocco (Illustrator)

Overview

A robust and wildly entertaining fairy tale, freely abridged from Eden Phillpotts's 1910 fantasy and wryly retold by Katherine and John Paterson.

An ambitious Stone Age man demands a talisman that will harden his heart, allowing him to take control of his tribe. Against his better judgment, the tribe's magic man creates the Flint Heart, but the cruelty of it causes the destruction of the tribe. Thousands of years later, the talisman reemerges to corrupt a kindly farmer, an innocent fairy creature, and a familial badger. Can Charles and his sister Unity, who have consulted with fairies such as the mysterious Zagabog, wisest creature in the universe, find a way to rescue humans, fairies, and animals alike from the dark influence of the Flint Heart? This humorous, hearty, utterly delightful fairy tale is the sort for an entire family to savor together or an adventurous youngster to devour.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536203714
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	12/24/2018
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	277,567
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.50(h) x 0.70(d)
Lexile:	1030L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Katherine Paterson is a former National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. Her international fame rests not only on her widely acclaimed novels but also on her efforts to promote literacy in the United States and abroad. She is a two-time winner of the Newbery Medal and the National Book Award, and she has received many other accolades for her works, including the Hans Christian Andersen Medal, the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, and the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, given by her home state of Vermont. Katherine Paterson also was named a Living Legend by the Library of Congress in 2000. She lives in Barre, Vermont.

John Paterson Sr. (1932 - 2013) collaborated with his wife, Newbery Award-winning author Katherine Paterson, on Consider the Lilies, Images of God, and Blueberries for the Queen. He also collaborated with his son, John B. Paterson Jr., on Roberto’s Trip to the Top. 

John Rocco collaborated with Whoopie Goldberg on the picture book Alice and was Creative Director at Walt Disney Imagineering and served as pre-production art director at Dreamworks for the film Shrek. His children's books include Fu Finds the Way, Wolf! Wolf!, and Moondust, and his illustrations are also featured on the jackets of Rick Riordan's best-selling YA series Percy Jackson and the Olympians. John Rocco lives in Brooklyn, New York.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Enchanting...A crowd-pleaser brimming with action, magic, and wit.
—Disney FamilyFun

Magical adventure...A grand tale skillfully updated and tightened up, this should win the hearts of a new generation.
—Kirkus Reviews

Told in the voice of a storyteller in the style of A. A. Milne or J. M. Barrie, the tale will make an excellent read-aloud. . . . The Patersons have done a lovely job updating and abridging this tale for today's readers.
—School Library Journal

The Patersons have done a stellar job of maintaining the book's period feel while creating a fresher, tighter story that feels tailor-made for family reading.
—Publishers Weekly

Editorial Reviews

A full century after the publication of Eden Philpotts's The Flint Heart (Dutton, 1910) the story resurfaces in the capable hands of the Patersons (Blueberries for the Queen), who stay true to the language and story line of the original, preserving the book's humor, whimsy, and enchanting storytelling. In both versions, a Stone Age power grab leads to the creation of the eponymous Flint Heart, which hardens the heart of its bearer and results in a lust for absolute control and few qualms about cruelty. The Flint Heart remains buried for thousands of years until unearthed by a kind farmer, where it soon wreaks havoc over his family and a memorable cast of pixies, fairies, imps, and even a German-made hot water bottle in early 20th-century England. Much of what makes the book so delightful can be found in its original incarnation, but the Patersons have done a stellar job of maintaining the book's period feel while creating a fresher, tighter story that feels tailor-made for family reading, just before bed, one chapter per night. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 7–12. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Magical adventure...A grand tale skillfully updated and tightened up, this should win the hearts of a new generation.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Told in the voice of a storyteller in the style of A. A. Milne or J. M. Barrie, the tale will make an excellent read-aloud. . . . The Patersons have done a lovely job updating and abridging this tale for today's readers.
—School Library Journal (starred review)

The Patersons have done a stellar job of maintaining the book's period feel while creating a fresher, tighter story that feels tailor-made for family reading.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

This timeless, enjoyable retelling is a strong choice for both a read-aloud and an under-the-covers escape.
—Booklist

This is a charming fantasy that can be enjoyed as a read-aloud.
—Library Media Connection

A distinctive English setting, complete with windswept moors and a magical forest, is paired with whimsical humor to make a cheerfully vibrant tale that simply begs to be read aloud in a family setting...a perfect gift book for children ready to move beyond the Tinkerbell version of fairyland.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

A marvelous modern fantasy.
—The Horn Book

Enchanting...A crowd-pleaser brimming with action, magic, and wit.
—Disney FamilyFun

This book could quickly become the family read-aloud favorite. It's old-fashioned bookmaking and storytelling, with a cast of characters and message for modern times.
—Shelf Awareness

For all the imaginative glory of children's fiction in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the language and prose style of the era can sometimes be daunting to the modern child. With this in mind, and with evident relish, Katherine Paterson and John Paterson have trimmed and reworked "The Flint Heart," a 1910 fairy tale by British writer Eden Phillpotts. In the Patersons' hands, the story still crackles with drollery and wordplay, but it is considerably lighter on exposition and magical esoterica.
—Wall Street Journal

In this fantasy “freely abridged” from the 1910 original by Eden Phillpotts, the prose by the husband-and-wife team retains some of the Edwardian voice of the original and laces the story with understated humor. John Rocco's digitally colored pencil drawings provide a perfect complement, glowing with fairy light...The Patersons have given new life to Phillpotts’ original, retaining and enhancing the magical wonder of a tale that ought to endure as a classic. This beautifully made book exemplifies, as John Rocco said in a recent interview, “the importance of the physical book for children in this ever-growing digital age.”
—BookPage

Given the language, the messages and the awe-inspiring illustrations, The Flint Heart is a perfect book to read aloud and enjoy with your child. You may end up in a conversation about the works of Shakespeare, why it is important to understand different points of view or why some people will go to any lengths to gain power.
—ABC7 "Sweet on Books"

This is a delightful story, with a wry sense of humor, a little quirkiness, and a wonderfully imaginative cast of characters reminiscent of the types I could imagine Alice meeting in Wonderland.
—James Patterson's Read Kiddo Read.com

An old story made new by Katherine Paterson, who is surely the Louisa May Alcott of our time.
—Washington Post

From the Publisher

Gr 3–6—The Patersons have teamed up to bring a long-out-of-print story (originally written by Eden Phillpotts and published in 1910) to a modern audience. During the Stone Age, an ambitious warrior asks the wise man of his tribe to make him an artifact that will harden his heart so he can become a powerful chief. The wise man obliges and, with some mischievous intervention from the Thunder Spirit, an artifact—the flint heart of the title—is made and a series of tyrants is created. Flash forward to 1910 and a farmer discovers the item, much to the dismay of his children. Book-learned 12-year-old Charles and his younger sister, Unity, take matters into their own hands by consulting with the local fairies on how to proceed. Told in the voice of a storyteller in the style of A. A. Milne or J. M. Barrie, the tale will make an excellent read-aloud. There is little real suspense, but this is an intentional part of the book's charm. The Patersons have done a lovely job updating and abridging this tale for today's readers. It's curious that Phillpotts's name isn't also listed on the cover, as large portions of the text are identical to the original. Rocco's fantastic illustrations alone make this edition worth purchasing.—Alana Joli Abbott, formerly at James Blackstone Memorial Library, Branford, CT

School Library Journal

Narrator Ralph Lister’s tone is warm and authoritative—like a nice cup of hot toddy—a style that is perfect for a story set in England in 1910. Twelve-year-old Charles and 5-year-old Unity undertake a quest to get rid of the Flint Heart, which turned their father into a cold and conniving person. Lister’s vocal characterizations are excellent. Every affectation reflects and enhances the characters. The toads are coarse, members of the fairy court haughty, and the sentient hot-water bottle sounds as though he suffers a head cold. Lister’s performance is both familiar and fresh, qualities particularly suited to this utterly charming, classic tale. In an afterword, Katherine Paterson describes how this “freely adapted” retelling came to be. A.M.P. 2012 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

NOVEMBER 2011 - AudioFile

A heart-shaped talisman created in the Stone Age brings terribly corrupting power to those who possess it, until 12-year-old Charles Jago manages to destroy it permanently.

This magical adventure begins with the fashioning of a piece of flint into a charm for hardening hearts. A hard-hearted individual can rule his tribe in the Stone Age and, fast-forwarding to the early 20th century, become the leader in one's community, but at a cost to his good nature, family and friends. That's what happens first to Charles' father, then to an imp called a Jacky Toad and then to a badger. Happily and with help from his little sister, his dog, the king of Fairyland, a talking hot-water bottle and the all-knowing Zagabog, Charles wrests the stone away from each one in turn, with no harm done. After all, this is a fairy tale. Written by Eden Phillpotts and first published in 1910, this traditional story has been deftly abridged and brought up to date by the Patersons. They've preserved the faintly English narrative voice and humor, idiosyncratic characters, lively action, distinctive Dartmoor setting and even many of the words. The 21st-century version features thoughtful design and Rocco's digitally colored film-animation–style illustrations, including chapter-heads, full-page images and decorations throughout.

A grand tale skillfully updated and tightened up, this should win the hearts of a new generation. (Fantasy. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews