Comments on: Top 100 Children’s Novels #85: Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

By: Kristin Wolden Nitz

Kristin Wolden Nitz — Mon, 21 May 2012 03:59:51 +0000

ELLA ENCHANTED definitely made my top ten list! Such wit, charm and determination.

I’m a person who has complained for years about the 4 D’s of children’s literature: death, divorce, dysfunction and disease. At one point, I was in the middle of a quiet little rant on that topic and found myself thinking, “Why can’t there be more books out there like ELLA ENCHANTED?” A few seconds later, I realized that two of my four D’s were integral to the plot. Oops. But I can’t help loving books that combine honest emotion with humor.

By: rockinlibrarian

rockinlibrarian — Thu, 17 May 2012 22:53:55 +0000

Love love love. One of my didn’t-quite-make-my-list-but-COULD-have almost-votes.

By: Sondy

Sondy — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:39:56 +0000

Love this book! But I think the girl on the cover of the new paperback looks way too young. Ella’s in Finishing School for most of the story, and she’s getting married at the end. Okay, at the start she’s a little girl, but that doesn’t last….

Have you noticed that lately many fairy-tale type stories for middle grade don’t have the heroine old enough to get married? My personal opinion is that’s partly why they put little-girl Ella on the new cover. I notice because I’ve written one I’d think of as “like Ella Enchanted” — but the heroine needs to be old enough to get married.

It seems like “sweet” books are by default not considered YA, even if the character is a young adult.

Anyway, this one is exceptionally good. I was so happy when it won a Newbery Honor! (And personally, I like it much better than Out of the Dust, but never expected a Newbery committee to give such a light-hearted fantasy the nod. They did good!)

By: Brandy

Brandy — Thu, 17 May 2012 18:58:38 +0000

I read this book with a group of my AG students every year when we did a Cinderella unit. The year the movie came out they all came back from seeing it the first weekend so angry at what it had done to the book they loved. This year, as I had students for the first time in 7 years, I taught it again and it’s still a hit. (With the boys as well as the girls. They never want to read it when we are starting but they all end up liking it by the end.)

By: Louise

Louise — Thu, 17 May 2012 13:35:12 +0000

I actually enjoyed the film – but I was only able to do so by completely divorcing it from the book in my mind. Taken on its own merits, it’s silly but not too despicable. Although it’s entirely possible that I only like it for Anne Hathaway’s song-and-dance routine, and for a chance to see “Westley” hamming it up as the bad guy.

Revamping traditional fairy tales has become so popular in MG lit these days, but I don’t think anyone has come close to the sheer charm and wit of Ella Enchanted.

By: Kate Coombs

Kate Coombs — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:16:58 +0000

Oh, yes–the film is shuddery, awful, and an insult to the book! I think they were trying to merge Shrek with Ella Enchanted, and they failed on both counts.