The Silver Crown

This book haunted my childhood memories for years, a mysterious specter, the title of which I couldn t recall What incomplete details I had retained eventually proved adequate for discovery on the internet Once I identified the text, it lingered in my unconscious until I happened to be in the juvenile fiction section of the public library one day in my mid 30s Browsing an aisle, I turned around and saw the title on the spine before me, a spooky beacon of serendipity, as I had not been looking fo [...]

Why am I giving this book 5 stars Because, quite simplyirty years after first reading it, I still think about it.It made that great of an impression on me I didn t understand all the words and I couldn t even pronounce a bunch of them but, every once in a while, I think of that little girl when she puts the crown on her head and she BECOMES a queen.That s all A grown up rememberance of a children s book I ll never forget it.Five stars for staying power.

Vivid memories of the effect this book had on me when my teacher Mrs Leish read this to us in grade four and finding the edition I had then, a photo realist painting of Ellen wearing the silver crown itself, her blue eyes unblinking as she enters into a trance made me dare to read it again.Let s face it, going back to your taste in grade four often is a big no no I choreographed a dance to angel in the centrefold around that time I studied ballet in the sense it was compulsory at my genteel scho [...]

I dunno about other readers that have read this story, but I thought The Silver Crown was scary The main character s house gets mysteriously burned down, her family killed, a creepy man stalks her, minor spoilers view spoiler some brainwashing organization wants her alive FOR SOME REASON , and said organization holds countless of children in captivity and teaches them bad things hide spoiler Nobody can help them either, not even the police Surely I can t be the only one who finds this so terribl [...]

Going through some old assignments, I discovered an old book report I wrote on this book when I was about twelve years old Here is an excerpt The Silver Crown is one of the best books I have read The descriptions used by the author were stunning in that they transported you there, following after Ellen as she went on her journey Ellen is a very strong heroine She still makes her share of mistakes, and she is someone almost anyone would want for a friend I first borrowed this book from the librar [...]

This book was surprisingly creepy for a kids book with a little girl in a crown on the cover Although, I don t know what I expected from the author of The Rats of NIMH.It had plot elements that reminded me of The Mysterious Benedict Society, but fundamentally the comparison that I think is most accurate is to The Princess and the Goblin This book continually hit notes that made me think of Curdie and Princess Irene I think The Silver Crown is a bit less of a masterwork, mostly because of resolut [...]

The story is crazy and a bit unbelievable at times However, this is coming from an adult perspective and not from the recommended age group 8 12 I don t think they d notice or think to question half of the points that bothered me My main complaint for that age would be that at times it was a bit slow It was written a while ago, so that could explain it.When I was young I remember enjoying Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH quite a bit I think I would ve enjoyed this too.It s Ellen s 10th birthday a [...]

I can t decide what I think about this book hence, the equivocal star rating I fondly remember my third grade teacher reading this book to us at the end of each school day, but can t remember any other details from that time, other than that the crown and a sense of adventure.Having read it again, I m not sure it s suitable for elementary age children The protagonist s house burns down and her family is presumed dead triple homicide Ellen is suddenly on her own Then she gets into a car with a cr [...]

Review posted at RomancingThePage by Laura Lynn romancingthepage 2010 My kids and I recently read The Silver Crown by Robert C O Brien and loved it Intended for kids 8 and older, The Silver Crown is the story of Ellen who wakes up on her tenth birthday to find a silver crown on her pillow.As Ellen already believes she is a queen, she takes the gift in stride and proudly wears it to the park Events from that moment on are not what she expects Her house burns down, she witnesses a crime and she se [...]

Fun and well written The writing is subtle and simple at the same time I probably would ve lost my mind for this when I was a kid I enjoyed The Silver Crown very much.A couple things bother me When the Big Bad Evil is revealed it s linked to then contemporary real world events like race riots and violence in Chicago I m ruminating but since I just finished the book a few minutes ago I m not sure how to articulate why this bothers me so much But it totally does Chinaman, Moslem hordes, and the co [...]

Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NiMH was a favorite book of mine growing up The Silver Crown has long been out of print and I was anxious to see if I would like this novel as well as NiMH I started reading and was hooked by the end of the first chapter When Ellen Carrol wakes on her tenth birthday to find a silver crown on her pillow, she leaves the house without waking her family and walks to her favorite spot in the park where she pretends to be a queen That is, until she hears fire engines stoppin [...]

The heroine of the book is named Ellen and Robert C O Brien wrote it How could you go wrong You can t I remember reading this book when I was 12 years old and my re read leaves my memories intact O Brien starts the book off with a bang, when Ellen awakes on her birthday and finds a silver crown waiting for her All those good memories of sitting under a tree in my grandma s garden in Delft, reading this book in one long perfect day, came back when I re read it.The secret behind the silver crown i [...]

I was surprisingly charmed by this children s book and wish I had discovered it when I was ten years old Despite the fact that Ellen is witness to the death of her entire family by fire, a bank robbery and a homicide within the first two chapters , it is good reading for the ages of 8 to 12 and possibly older.A mix of Ender s Game, The Lord of the Rings and The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, this book was forward thinking and less saccharine than most children s novels of the 1960 s I have en [...]

I remember picking this book up my last day of elementary school all old books were lined up on stage in the cafeteria I guess if the books weren t taken they were going to be destroyed or I don t know what was going to happen to them.well anyway I remember picking this book up and loving the description so I took it home with me.If you are looking for a book that has a sort of eerie but childlike fantasy about it this is the book for you.It scared me as a child but fascinated me too.I want to s [...]

I really really really enjoyed reading this book David went and picked it up from the library is a book that his 5th grade teacher read to him and he remembered really liking it, so we decided to go pick it up and read it and see if it was something we would recommend for my brother to read it definitely is It was a very captivating read, and kept me interested up until the end Some of the events are a bit strange, and the ending didn t have quite the pizzaz that I was expecting but overall very [...]

One of the best books for children, ever I found this at my 3rd grade book fair in 1977, and bought it with my own money.This is possibly my favorite kid s book, easily in the top 5 of all time The story is perfect Ellen wakes up on her 11th birthday and discovers a silver crown on her pillow She goes to the park to play, and her house burns down with her entire family in it One crazy thing happens after another, and she is the only person who can fix things It s adventurous, thoughtful, funny A [...]

I really love this book I first fell in love when I was around Ellen s age when I first read the book For me this was one of those books that I repeatedly borrowed from the library and would read it over and over I was recently reminded of this book and now finally own my own copy Reading it again as an adult did not disappoint The story is beautifully crafted and the adventure mystery really pulls you in I was disappointed with the alternate ending that apparently was written for American audie [...]

I randomly remembered this one day as a book I loved reading in 5th grade It has recently been re printed, so I was able to buy it and read it again.This is still pretty good, but it was INCREDIBLE when I was 11 years old I had a great school librarian that year, and I still enjoy re reading the books she recommended to me all those years ago I wish I could re connect with her and thank her.

This book started out strong, but trailed off into an only moderately satisfying conclusion, and also a rather tangled concluding chapter and alternate concluding chapter which suggested that the author hadn t thought up any real justification for why the silver crown appears in the first place.Very unusual for a children s story, with the plot involving but not actually exploring terrorism random violence, and wobbling between magic and SF.

In spite of careful planning, and excellent writing, the ending just doesn t work My copy contains both the American ending much longer and very convoluted and the precise and acceptable British ending However the last 30% of this book just can t live up to the brilliance of the first 70% Still a fascinating adventure for children to read One that should cause them to think about what they might do in a bevy of difficult situations For that alone, I recommend it.

It was exciting for me to find a new book of this type that I really loved new not in that it was recently written, but a book written in the era of most books I loved as a girl that I had never discovered It s the kind of self contained fairy tale with a rooting in reality that I love not an open ended, overly formula filled one like you would find today

I loved this book as a child It was read aloud to me at school and I read it on my own several times as well I don t know what made me think of it now but I hope to reread it as an adult sometime soon.

this was one of my favorite books as a girl i read it in sixth grade what an impact resourceful, brave and intelligent pre teen girl main character, evil adults, and a diabolical sci fi ish machine unfortunately, the pictured cover makes it look like a magic unicorn fantasy.

One of my favorite books I just FOUND my 40 year old copy and it welcomed me back like an old friend There are child endangerment, magic, creepy strangers, and a strong girl main character who knows she s really a queen Just Fabulous I strongly recommend it for 8 years old plus.

The Silver Crown is a beautiful, dazzling and slightly haunting story and something that everybody should consider reading It s an excellent story and definitely worth reading.

Wonderful book for young female readers that dream of saving the world.

This is of a 2 1 2 star rating I loved it as a child and so the nostalgia in revisiting it was lovely but the plot definitely had a few holes and the writing could have been better.

One of my favorite books from age 9 11.

4.5 starsThe Silver Crown by Robert C O Brien is one of my favorite childhood books I remember reading it on than one occasion growing up, and I think it spurred my early love for novels about secret societies The story follows a girl named Ellen When she wakes up on the morning of her 10th birthday, she finds a silver crown by her bed Assuming it is a gift, she places it on her head and goes for a walk outside since the rest of her family is still sleeping Ellen returns home from her walk to d [...]

Another review of this book starts with This book haunted my childhood memories for years, a mysterious specter, the title of which I couldn t recall I found it almost eerie just how much this sentiment resonated with me and, judging by the comments, many others I borrowed the audiobook CD format, of course from the library when I was still in my single digit years, and just remember listening to this at night, in darkness, completely gripped I often had to turn the volume down as low as I could [...]