On "The Land of Green Ginger": A Book Review

The was supposed to go up on St. Patrick's day, but given present circumstances that didn't happen. I've also found that after posting my book reviews at the end of the month for so long, I really prefer to stick to that practice because posting them at the beginning of the month just seems wrong to me.

Title: The Land of Green Ginger
Author: Noel Langley
Genre: Children's Fiction

About the Book... 
Written in 1937 by Noel Langley, known for his work on films such as The Wizard of Oz and The Prisoner of Zenda, The Land of Green Ginger (originally titled Tales from the Land of Green Ginger) is a continuance of Aladdin's story. It picks up after Aladdin has become emperor of China and focuses on his son, Abu Ali who sets out on a quest to rescue a magician, turned into a Button-Nosed Tortoise, and becomes involved in a race against two unpleasant and argumentative princes to win the hand of Princess Silver Bud, along the way enlisting the help of the Genie of the Lamp's young and bumbling son, Boomalakka Wee, a tentmaker, and mouse. 

(As an added note, there are apparently two versions of this book, one which has been edited. I'm not sure which my copy is, although I'm leaning towards it being an edited version.)

What I Think... 
I found this book highly enjoyable and to have a lot of fun elements. 

I really liked the idea of it being about Aladdin's son and that the Genie of the Bottle's son was the one who ends up being along for the adventure (he can't remember how to get back in the bottle, nor get any other magically related things right). Unlike a number of other continuations, this story was more about developing a new adventure without bringing in a ton of references to the original tale, which in this case I think worked well because it stands perfectly well on its own.

It has all the comedy you'd expect of a Laurel and Hardy movie (if it had been made into a movie they most definitely would have been in it). The dialog is witty, quick, and quite amusing, which in turn moves the story along quickly. Mini-adventures with a feisty Green Dragon, a visit to a magic carpet shop, and an indignant pair of phoenix birds, among other character encounters are delightful as well.

It is also worth mentioning that the illustrations by Edward Ardizzone are charming accompaniment to the story! 

To Sum it All Up...
A fun story that picks up where Aladdin left off and provides the reader with an enjoyable escape into a world of comedic whimsy.   

On Things to Do While You're At Home: Make Collage Cards

Starting a new series today about things to do while you're stuck at home as I am in a state with a stay at home directive. These posts will probably vary between being more practical in nature to being rather silly dependent on my mood.  

Having been horribly stressed over the past week (which has in turn aggravated certain health problems), I haven't been able to focus on much of anything for an extended period of time. However, I did find that I could make collage cards. 

While I was planning to do a painted newspaper collage, I ended up deciding to use just decorative paper. Though I have a rather large stockpile of it, for some reason I don't use it very often and this seemed like a good opportunity to use it; so if you're a crafter and looking for something to do with those scraps of decorative paper that have been piling up, consider making a couple of cards with them!

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