The Goose Girl ~ Ms. Richards' Reads

Citation

The Goose Girl

Description

Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee, Crown Princess of Kildenree, spends the first years of her life listening to her aunt's stories and learning the language of the birds, especially the swans. As she grows up Ani develops the skills of animal speech, but is never comfortable speaking with people, so when her silver-tongued lady in waiting leads a mutiny during Ani's journey to be married in a foreign land, Ani is helpless and cannot persuade anyone to help her. She becomes a goose girl and must use her own special, nearly magical powers to find her way to her true destiny.
From the Grimm's fairy tale of the princess who became a goose girl before she could become queen, Shannon Hale has woven an incredible and original tale of a girl who must find her own unusual talents before she can lead the people she has made her own.
Recognition
A New York Public Library "100 Titles for Reading and Sharing" A Texas Lone Star Reading List Book A Josette Frank Award Winner A Utah State Book Award Winner (YA) A Utah Speculative Fiction Award Winner A Beehive (Utah) Young Adult Reading List Book School Library Journal starred review A YALSA Top Ten Teen Book Nominated for the 2006 Garden State Teen Book Award (New Jersey)

Fantasy, Fairy Tale

Bloomsbury. (n.d.). The goose girl details. Retrieved from https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/the-goose-girl-9781582348438/ (Links to an external site.)

Scholarly Review

Gr 7 Up–“…[B]orn Anidori-Kiladra…Crown Princess of Kildenree,…she did not open her eyes for three days,” perhaps sensing her inadequacy for her royal role. Betrayed and forced to become a goose girl, the feisty Ani learns to face her foes and claim her rightful place. A lyrical fleshing out of the Grimms’ tale. Audio version available from Full Cast Audio.

Menaldi-Scanlan, N. (2009). [Review of the book The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale]. Metafiction: the inside story. Retrieved from https://www.slj.com/2009/11/collection-development/focus-on-collection-development/metafiction-the-inside-story/ (Links to an external site.)

My Analysis

Shannon Hale’s The Goose Girl is based on a Grimms’ fairy tale and follows the story of Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee, or Ani. Her mother, the queen, arranges a marriage to the prince of the neighboring kingdom of Bayern. On the journey to Bayern, Ani and her guards are betrayed and attacked by members of their group, and Ani manages to escape and find her way to Bayern. She then becomes “the goose girl” who manages the king’s geese with a boy, Conrad. The rest of the story details Ani’s journey to regain her rightful throne and her relationships with the lower caste of Bayern. I found the overall plot to be very enjoyable, but the story moved too slowly for my personal taste, so I probably will not continue reading the Bayern series. I do, however, think that younger readers would enjoy this book very much because it does have romance, action, royalty, and humor with a sweet ending. The story is clear and straightforward, and Shannon Hale’s writing style is easy to follow.

Hashtags

#grimmsfairytale

#goosegirl

#regainthethrone

#betrayal

Usage

I would use this book in conjunction with another teacher or as part of a book club to study fairy tales and the tropes that are in them. In the library, we can research elements of fairy tales and even use them as part of a guided inquiry unit.

Awards

Josette Frank Award

Utah State Book Award Winner (YA)

Utah Speculative Fiction Award Winner

Censorship

None

References

Bloomsbury. (n.d.). The goose girl details. Retrieved from https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/the-goose-girl-9781582348438/ (Links to an external site.)