Nina Bernstein

Well, I guess every generation needs a portal into a story fantasy. And the theme that we can learn about ourselves, our family, and our world, and about our relationships and our place in the world, by reading stories, is an important one. But this just doesn't feel enriching or interesting to me.

It seems to me as if the seed was the idea that Bernstein wanted to interest today's children specifically in Robin Hood and found gimmicks, concepts, and tropes from all other sorts of classic show more children's fantasy literature (Norton, Nesbit, and Eager are mentioned, as are *War and Peace,* the Moffats, and the Melendys for contrast) in order to piece this book together. And so, imo, it feels workmanlike.

I am bemused by the parents and thoroughly annoyed by the illustrations. The author does have a note about some of the sources. show less

Anne, Will, and Emily's favorite thing to do is head to the library and pick out books to read on summer afternoons. But this time the find a book in tucked into their bag that none of them can remember checking out. As they begin reading, they fall into the pages and find themselves right in the middle of Sherwood Forest. However this is only the beginning, the children soon find themselves locked in battle against a man that wants to use their magical book for evil purposes. The story show more takes the children on many different adventures, and is the perfect story for anyone who used to wish that the could magically escape into the pages of their favorite book. show less

I loved this book when I read it via audiobook as a child, though over the years some of the details have blurred together and gotten confused with [b:Seven-Day Magic|312083|Seven-Day Magic (Tales of Magic, #7)|Edward Eager|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1361800514s/312083.jpg|452393] by Edward Eager.