The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making

Fairyland, Book 1

By: Catherynne M. Valente

Narrated by: Catherynne M. Valente

Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

September is a girl who longs for adventure. When she is invited to Fairyland by a Green Wind and a Leopard, well, of course she accepts. (Mightn’t you?) But Fairyland is in turmoil, and it will take one 12-year-old girl, a book-loving dragon, and a strange and almost human boy named Saturday to vanquish an evil Marquess and restore order.

©2011 Catherynne M. Valente (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"This is a kind of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by way of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - it's the sort of book one doesn't want to end." ( Publisher's Weekly)

Phenomenal

This is one of my favorite books in the whole world! I ran out of time to read (being an adult and all) and I was very nervous to start doing audio books, but this did not disappoint! Read this book and have it read to you and to your whole family. Nothing brings people together like a good story. :)

The most charming book I have read since childhood

"All children are Heartless. They have not grown a heart yet, which is why they can climb tall trees and say shocking things and leap so very high grown-up hearts flutter in terror. Hearts weigh quite a lot. That is why it takes so long to grow one. But, as in their reading and arithmetic and drawing, different children proceed at different speeds. (It is well known that reading quickens the growth of a heart like nothing else.) Some small ones are terrible and fey, Utterly Heartless. Some are dear and sweet and Hardly Heartless At All. September stood very generally in the middle on the day the Green Wind took her, Somewhat Heartless, and Somewhat Grown."

This book is every fairy tale and children's story and sad and happy and thrilling and scary Disney movie you ever saw, back when you were young enough for Disney movies to be taken at face value and you hadn't learned how to be cynical yet. Catherynne Valente writes with beautiful fairy tale prose that still sounds contemporary, and she balances the zaniness and fantasy of a down-the-rabbit-hole adventure with the darkness of true fairy tales and the lurking shadow of adulthood that only the finest children's authors can blend into a children's story without turning it either absurd or rendering it into something clever, something maybe even fun but not quite timeless. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making is a story that should become immortal. It should join Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz and The Chronicles of Narnia and yes, Harry Potter on the shelf of books for Every Child in the World.

I don't read much YA, and I read very little MG fiction, but this book won my heart and turned me into that 10-year-old who knew he was reading something wonderful again. If you have kids, read this to them, and if you don't, read it for yourself, because it's clever and subtle enough that even adults will find their hearts touched.

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making begins with an ordinary 12-year-old girl named September who is taken by the Green Wind to Fairyland. It's so sudden and arbitrary it takes you a while to realize that Valente is very deliberately telling you right up front: "Yes, this is one of those stories where a child gets whooshed off to a magical world, and I'm not even going to bother making up a warddrobe or a tornado or a letter from Hogwarts to justify it." No, the Green Wind, wearing green jodphurs and with gold-green hair, just up and carries her away. On a leopard.

September, who is an ordinary girl with ordinary levels of intelligence, bravery, compassion, and maturity, then has Adventures. She makes friends. She is scared. She gets hurt. She is betrayed. And she discovers why she was brought to Fairyland. At every step, Valente shows a conscientious awareness of all the stories she is paying homage to -- sometimes she winks at them slyly, sometimes she practically dances them across the page complete with ruby slippers -- but this isn't a rip-off or a copy or a retelling, it's a new story. And September is awesome.

I swear that every child who has ever loved a book, and every adult who has ever been a child who loved a book, will enjoy this.

Cathrynne Valente's narration isn't exactly professional caliber compared to the professionals who narrate most audiobooks, but she does of course know all the places to put emphasis and all the emotions each line is supposed to invoke and she conveys them well, so listening to the author read her own book is, in this case, not a bad experience at all.

A Real Treasure

I shared this with my 6 and 8 year old children as we traveled to and from school each day. They would always say, "Mom, don't forget your iPod!" because they didn't want to miss out on this story....and neither did I. I'm sure I enjoyed this book as much if not more than my children. It was beautiful in every way: great quick moving plot, unusual and well-developed characters, fantastic imagery and great narration (read by the author). I'm going to have to get the print version now as well because there are parts I want to go back and read over and over again.

I sincerely don't understand the negative reviews.

I love this story. It is clever and sweet. I have listened to a lot of audio books. With those as reference, this author is a fantastic narrator. Who better to read a story properly, than the one who wrote the words? I like the author's voice, tone, accent, and inflection. I think it was all very well done. I will look for more.

One of the best stories ever.

I dearly wish I had been lucky enough to grow up with this book. I recommend it for everyone, always.

floor to ceiling amazing

wonderfully written, with a distinct style. beautifully read. off to the next in series, and looking forward to the listen.

Oh my heart

I was expecting a fun adventure full of magic and fairytales. I got a girl made of soap explaining how courage and wishes work. I got a benevolent queen and an evil marquess who made me cry. I got a Panther who was just too tired. I got a little lamp who just wanted to be worth something. I was not expecting to be sobbing in my car.

I don't know how this is a kids book. It sounds like a kids book. It looks like a kids book. It even feels like a kids book. Until it tears your heart to pieces and then expects you to join in a party with an utterly shattered heart and aching soul.


This book destroyed me.
I need another.

Narrator makes this impossible to finish

I was so looking forward to this book. The writing seems amazing, I spent an hour looking for the perfect book to follow up my last and this seemed to be it. The narration is terrible though, and I wish I had read the reviews on this prior. I hate returning books but I could not get through this.

The language charms the story captivates

If you could sum up The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making in three words, what would they be?

Charming Captivating language

What did you like best about this story?

The writing and language.

What does Catherynne M. Valente bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Narration by the author can be over done especially for a book that depends so much on the language but she does not over do the reading. She remains playful in her reading making the word play and stylized language part of the story and part of the fun.

Fun read!

What made the experience of listening to The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making the most enjoyable?

I loved the writing! Smart, clever and very creative.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making?

I just loved all the clever characters she developed and the way she described those characters.

What about Catherynne M. Valente’s performance did you like?

She has a good voice to listen too and you feel her connection to the story and the characters she created.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

At the end, I was moved to buy book two in the series!