The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell: Booktrack Edition

By: Chris Colfer

Narrated by: Chris Colfer

Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's Summary

The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell: Booktrack Edition adds an immersive musical soundtrack to your audiobook listening experience! *

The first audiobook in Chris Colfer's number one New York Times best-selling series The Land of Stories about two siblings who fall into a fairy-tale world! 

Alex and Conner Bailey's world is about to change in this fast-paced adventure that uniquely combines our modern day world with the enchanting realm of classic fairy tales.

The Land of Stories tells the tale of twins Alex and Conner. Through the mysterious powers of a cherished book of stories, they leave their world behind and find themselves in a foreign land full of wonder and magic where they come face-to-face with fairy tale characters they grew up reading about. 

But after a series of encounters with witches, wolves, goblins, and trolls alike, getting back home is going to be harder than they thought.

*Booktrack is an immersive format that pairs traditional audiobook narration to complementary music. The tempo and rhythm of the score are in perfect harmony with the action and characters throughout the audiobook. Gently playing in the background, the music never overpowers or distracts from the narration, so listeners can enjoy every minute. When you purchase this Booktrack edition, you receive the exact narration as the traditional audiobook available, with the addition of music throughout.

©2012 Chris Colfer (P)2018 Hachette Audio

Critic Reviews

"In The Land of Stories, Colfer showcases his talent for crafting fancifully imaginative plots and multidimensional characters."—Los Angeles Times

"Captivating."—Teen Vogue

#1 New York Times Bestseller

"A magical debut."—Family Circle

"There's more in Colfer's magic kingdoms than Disney has dreamt of."—USA Today

"It will hit big with its combination of earnestness and playful poise."—The New York Times Book Review

"It's hard not to love a book dedicated to the Glee star's grandmother...Colfer gets off many good lines [and] the nifty ending ties the plot's multiple strands up while leaving room for further fairy tale adventures."—Publishers Weekly

The grownups fairytale

This is an enjoyable story. I like how Chis tied the various fairytales together. It was interesting and plausible, although slow at times.
Unfortunately I must add a list of things that bothered me:
1. The story lacked character development, and description, and attention to detail.
2. At times it was difficult to listen to this story. It would either drag or race. It wasn’t balanced.
3. The language is very repetitive like it was the author’s first time writing a book and it felt like a first draft.
4. Most authors are not the best narrators and Chris is no exception to this rule.
Side note: there are frequently sprinkled inappropriate comments, so depending on your point of view this may be more of a book for teens and adults than children. However, the writing level is really geared toward a younger age.

Sweet and funny

Chris Colfer has such an abundance of creative talent, it blows my mind. It is hard to imagine he wove the lovely magical world of the Land of Stories in his early 20s while working on Glee, to boot. The stories are written in a simple, sometimes childish style that adds to their charm, and they are so incredibly engaging, the hours flit away while you listen. I particularly love that, while Chris clearly had a series in mind, he did not hold back on the first book like many authors do. He threw every kind of adventure at his protagonists and dug deep on many of his wonderful characters. At the end, he resolved all the mysteries, love stories and character arcs. Clearly, here was a young author not afraid to invest all his best ideas into the first book, confident that he can come up with even better ones later. Hearing the stories read in his sweet voice, so familiar from Glee, is a special treat. I look forward to escaping to this magical land again and again over the years -- both with my kids and without.

Distracting music

I tried the version with the background music. the music is too loud and is not always well matched to the storyline. it is distracting. I will return and get threatened e regular version.

Something a little different

This book isn't my norm, but I read good reviews and gave it a chance. I loved it. It was well written and clever how it all comes together. I give it a big thumbs up!

Couldn’t stop listening!

From the moment we heard the sample our family has been obsessively listening to this story at every free moment. I love all the back stories and the way everything wove together in the end. Good for young and young at heart!😍🥰

Loved it

Such a great book and I loved the way he read it 100% would read again

Incredible Book

So Fun & Adventuresome, The kids and kids at heart do & will Absolutely love this for Sure

absolutely love this series and Chris Colfer.

absolutely love this series and Chris Colfer. first found this series as an avid glee and Chris fan. stayed because who doesn't love a twist on classic fairy tales. such a wholesome plot and characters.

Fun new take on our classic childhood memories

Thank you, Chris. I love these stories. I would be lying if I said my whole family enjoyed them… our 14 year old daughter is more into Grey’s Anatomy. But my husband and I love them and love the audible versions with you narrating! I’ve listened to both the Land of Stories and the Tale of Magic series straight through multiple times. Thank you for helping us reimagine those tales and see the characters in a new light. If they are ever made into movies, (oh please oh please oh please) please cast Annie Potts as Mother Goose because that is who I see while you narrate her parts!

Why I love the land of stories

I love this book because it makes you feel like you are in it actually
I also love that it makes your heart pound

Amazing highly recommend

I have all his books they are amazing I have them as Audible online books and on the shelves in my room if that isn't clear enough they are truly amazing they are the only books I read it doesn't matter how many times I have heard them. Definitely read them all.

Huge fans

We are huge fans of Chris Colfer. We have read the entire series but listening to Chris narrate it was just magical.