Gudgekin the Thistle Girl: And Other Tales

By John Gardner

John Gardner’s classic fairy-tale collection depicts a world where anything can happen—and often does

A humble thistle girl, a wise old philosopher, a hapless woodchopper, and an unscrupulous king—these are the vivid protagonists of Gardner’s masterful book for children. Richly and humorously drawn, they face challenges at every turn. And in a realm where any one of these unconventional heroes might triumph, the reader will delight in expecting the unexpected!   Inventive and illustrative, entertaining and edifying, these four stories demonstrate the quirky challenges of distinguishing between good and evil and living happily ever after.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Media
• Release date: Nov 2, 2010
• ISBN: 9781453203224

John Gardner

John Gardner (1933–1982) was born in Batavia, New York. His critically acclaimed books include the novels Grendel, The Sunlight Dialogues, and October Light, for which he received the National Book Critics Circle Award, as well as several works of nonfiction and criticism such as On Becoming a Novelist. He was also a professor of medieval literature and a pioneering creative writing teacher whose students included Raymond Carver and Charles Johnson.

Book preview

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Reviews for Gudgekin the Thistle Girl

[michael8xolotl · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not something I'd ordinarily read, but Gardner's writing is terrific.

[sturlington_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a collection of four darkly humorous fairy tales, illustrated with witty black-and-white drawings by Michael Sporn. I have enjoyed these stories since I was a child because they are both more sophisticated and more unexpected than your usual fairy tales. Also, they are very funny and stick with you long after reading them.

[iverson_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read this book many years ago as a child. Unfortunately, it has long been out of print, but thanks to the internet this is not the barrier it once was. Interestingly, apparently this is the same John Gardner who wrote "The Art of Fiction," which I'm slowly working my way through.Anyway, this book has four short fairy-tale-like stories, and there's usually a twist to them. It's a little bit dark, especially The Shapeshifters of Shorm, but I don't remember being bothered by that as a child.