The Flint Heart

Written by Katherine Paterson and John Paterson

Narrated by Ralph Lister

Long ago, in the land of Dartmoor, a magic man created an enchanted charm that granted its possessor incredible power—at the cost of the wearer’s own tenderness and compassion. After the merciless Flint Heart causes much destruction, it is lost among the reeds and rocks of the moor, where a kindly farmer discovers it thousands of years later. With the Flint Heart in his possession, the once adoring father Billy Jago is transformed into a cruel and merciless brute. Young Charles is determined to win back his father’s true nature, and with his sister Unity and dog, Ship, he sets off into an enchanted world where animals talk, fairies hold elaborate banquets, and magical mischief must be resolved to bring Dartmoor and Merripit Farm back to rights again.

This luminous fantasy by Katherine and John Paterson, freely abridged from Eden Phillpotts’s original story, is a tale that promises to capture the hearts of listeners with an enchantment all its own.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Sep 27, 2011
• ISBN: 9781455822461

Katherine Paterson

Katherine Paterson’s international fame rests not only on her widely acclaimed novels but also on her efforts to promote literacy in the United States and abroad. A two-time winner of the Newbery Medal (Bridge to Terabithia and Jacob Have I Loved) and the National Book Award (The Great Gilly Hopkins and The Master Puppeteer), she has received many accolades for her body of work, including the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal, 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. She was also named a Living Legend by the Library of Congress. She served as the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature in 2010-2011.Ms. Paterson is vice president of the National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance (www.thencbla.org), which is a not-for-profit education and advocacy organization. The NCBLA’s innovative projects actively promote literacy, literature, libraries, and the arts.  She is both an Alida Cutts Lifetime Member of the United States Board on Books for Young People (www.usbby.org) and a lifetime member of the International Board on Books for Young People (www.ibby.org).She and her husband, John, live in Montpelier, Vermont. They have four children and seven grandchildren. For more information, visit www.terabithia.com.

Reviews for The Flint Heart

[Kristen · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My 6.5 year old girl gave this audiobook 5 stars for the flint heart. It was mysterious and exciting. She says u should read it too.

[elizajane_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Reason for Reading: I enjoy the author and would read any new book by her that piqued my interest. I read this aloud to my son.I'll start by saying that my son enjoyed this book much more than I did. That is factored into my rating. I read a chapter a day but before each reading I'd have my son give me a little recap on what happened last time as I was honestly so bored I couldn't remember what was going on. I kept thinking about the last book we read together! However when we were finished the book, my son's response was that the book had been "awesome!" and "Is there a sequel?" Go figure.The story is repetitive. Someone finds the flint heart, wears it, and turns nasty. Then when someone else manages to get it away from them they fling it away only to later have another unfortunate soul find the flint heart again to repeat the process once more. Here we have our classic fairy tale element and I'll say my son (and I) are big fairy tale fans and I think he found comfort and enjoyment in the predictability of that plotline. Of course, our hero's task is to destroy the flint heart completely causing some adventure. Ds enjoyed the characters mostly. The wise old Zagabog, the funny fairy king and queen, as well as the other fairy characters; and he enjoyed both of the protagonists, a boy named Charles and his little sister Unity. I was interested in the original this was "abridged" from, so started reading some of it online and a lot of the language has been kept, with whole phrases verbatim. What seems to be missing is the depth of language present in the original. I actually found myself getting interested in Phillpott's story and found his sense of humour dry and witty, something completely missing in this adaptation. The Kindle edition is too expensive for a public domain book but if I find it for up to 2 bucks, I'd like to read the original, which is much longer also. One point I must make is that the artwork by Rocco is beautiful. Large paintings that take up almost the entire 2-page spread in luscious earth tones. They are a pure delight to behold.

[reader1009-863136 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

children's fiction; fairytale/fantasy. Lovely retelling of the old story (which could easily have been lost to all if not for the Patersons); would make a fine read-aloud in front of the fire.

[johannaj_76 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This was not a very interesting book. If you want to read something more interesting read Lord of the Rings. It's the same plot line.

[kimjd_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Just pure delight from beginning to end. This story begs, begs, begs to be read aloud. The beautiful pictures add to the magic.

[sullywriter_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An enjoyable fary tale adapted from a 1910 fantasy.

[dmiller70 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

If you like fairy tales you will like this book!

[inky_fingers · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A fairy tale that is perhaps a little too fairy tale for 2011. Well written, but not transformed in any way. Why do we need this when we have The Snow Queen? Why not do a will and fabulous retelling of that story?

[_lily__1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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. (Synopsis provided by goodreads)This is a fun quick book, great for parents to read with their children or for a school teacher to read a loud to their class. John Rocco did an amazing job illustrating the book. The illustrations are beautiful and the colors are vibrant.The story is good and like all middle grade kids can learn from it. The whole point of the story is to be thankful for what you have, and that is always a great message especially for children, they learn that at a young age chances are it will stay with them through out their lives.The characters were great fun and they were pretty dynamic even for a children's book. It is an abridged version of a story from 1910, I have not read the original, so I am unable to compare the two.I believe that children would enjoy this story and if a family reads it together then they can have some great conversations about it together. * Reading level: Ages 9-12 * Hardcover: 304 pages * Publisher: Candlewick; abridged edition edition (September 27, 2011) * ISBN-10: 0763647128 * Author: Katherine Paterson and John Paterson * Cover art: I really like it, very whimsical. * Overall rating: ***** out of 5 stars * Obtained: Sent for review by the publisher thank you Candlewick.