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Cinnamon
Published by HarperAudio
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Start ListeningDescription
This charming fable of an exotic princess who refuses to speak currently exists only on Neil's official Web site and has never been published in print or any other format.
Book Actions
Start ListeningBook Information
Cinnamon
Published by HarperAudio
Description
This charming fable of an exotic princess who refuses to speak currently exists only on Neil's official Web site and has never been published in print or any other format.
Reviews
Princess Cinnamon, the royal child of the Rajah and Rani of a small, hot country, had lovely, pearl-like eyes incapable of sight, and had been mute her entire life. Her concerned parents offered a room in the palace, a field of stunted mango trees and a portrait of the Rani's aunt to anyone who could make her talk. No one succeeded, until a fierce tiger, one who "moved like a god through the world," arrived, and taught the sheltered Cinnamon about some of the things she had been missing...With a copyright date of 1995, Neil Gaiman's Cinnamon was apparently originally available as an ebook, and has only now, in 2017, been made into a picture-book, with beautiful illustrations by the talented Divya Srinivasan. I enjoyed this original fairy-tale, set in an unspecified Indian locale, and thought that it was telling that it was knowledge of the real world - of things like pain - that finally prompted Cinnamon to speak. It's tempting to interpret this as a commentary on the mistake of trying to shelter young people from every stray wind, and from knowledge of life's less palatable aspects. The artwork here, as mentioned, is just gorgeous, with a vivid, jewel-like palette, and stylized figures that suggest Indian art. Recommended to Gaiman fans (of course), and to all young fairy-tale lovers.
Rating: 4I picked this up at the library for my four year-old, and he has had me read it to him every day we've had it on loan. The illustrations are beyond gorgeous, and the story itself is a delight for outloud reading.
Rating: 4Long ago, there was a young princess that couldn't talk. So her parents offered food, and comfort in the castle to any one who could make her talk, but no one could. Then, a tiger that could speak said that he could make her talk. At the end, the tiger does make the young princess talk, and takes her to the jungle where he promised to her that she will learned and love the jungle.
Rating: 5These are lovely little stories. The child is the center of the universe and the answer to everything, but the stories are fun, imaginative and just a bit twisty. I am now on a quest to own all of Gaiman's audio books, because I could listen to him read the telephone book and it would be good. His voice and inflection are just what is needed to make a story leap into life. There is also a sweet interview of him at the end by his daughter, one of the more intelligent interviews of authors I've heard.
Rating: 5A selection of Neil's children's stories are narrated by himself in this neat audio collection. I enjoyed listening to the stories the way they were meant to be heard and I especially liked the poem "Crazy Hair", which is both surreal and funny.
Rating: 5This is one of our family's favorite audiobooks. It's a collection of several of kids' stories read by Gaiman himself. There's lots of humor (especially in The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish) and plenty of creepy (but not too scary) stuff too.
Rating: 5
A nice short bed time story for child or adult. I love Neil narrating his own stories.
Rating: 5good book to listen . . . . . .
Rating: 5Neil Gaiman has fast become one of my all-time favorite authors, and this is a prime example of why. He is also a talented narrator, which is partly how I grew to love his work. A tiger could, and would, sound like the voice Neil Gaiman gave the one in this story.
Rating: 5One of the most interesting books I have ever heard.
Rating: 4
Exceedingly brief and obviously fiction, but rather deep and philosophical.
Rating: 4
I enjoyed it, but I didn’t really understand the message.
Rating: 4
I find it really fit for a child's entertainment indeed.
Rating: 5Average and boring , also in this scenario the princess should have been called dalchini ?
Rating: 1When a princess doesn’t speak her royal parents will do anything to get her to talk. A tiger takes them up on the offer and gets her to talk. A simple kids story with very good art.
Rating: 3cinnamon is a princess who cannot speak. Her mother and father offer land and treasures to anyone who can get her to speak but all who come leave without succeeding. A tiger comes one day and teaches the girl to speak. When he does she decides that she must go with him. Her parents give the land and treasures to the people and Cinnamon and the tiger disappear into the jungle.
Rating: 4This is a small collection of four children's short stories, apparently specifically made for audio, read – of course – by Gaiman, himself. It was cute. Less than an hour to listen to all four stories. For an (female) adult, listening to Gaiman is always a bonus.
Rating: 3The Day I Swapped My Dad For Two Goldfish*3 stars*The unnamed narrator, who is only a child, finds himself in a world of trouble when he trades his dad to his friend Nathan for two goldfish. They were marvelous goldfish, and his dad was wasn’t very exciting anyways, but his mother took issue and sent him off to get his dad back. Once he gets to Nathan’s house he finds that Nathan also thought his dad uninteresting and didn’t actually have him anymore because he had been traded to another friend for an electric guitar. The pattern continued.A very odd story at face-value but is essentially a sententious story of the hazards of trading and I suppose a lesson in ownership. Will children be able to understand this? I suppose it depends on the age but if it was one of my children reading this, my guess would be their brains would quickly begin to concoct ways on how they could trade me for some goldfish.The Wolves in the Walls*3 stars*When Lucy started hearing noises in the walls that hustled and bustled, crinkled and crackled and knew that there were most certainly wolves inside the walls. Her mother tried to silence her fears by telling her it was more than likely just mice because it certainly couldn’t be wolves because once the wolves come out, it’s all over. But Lucy knew it couldn’t possibly be mice.Once the wolves come out it’s up to Lucy to save her family. ‘The Wolves in the Walls’ is a tale I believe kids would identify with because of the ‘Boy Who Cried Wolf’ nature of it all and the adults dismissal of her beliefs as simply a case of an overactive imagination. Despite the obvious embellishments to enhance the entertainment of the story I found this to be a cute lesson for kids on learning how to trust your instincts and face your fears.Cinnamon*4 stars*Cinnamon was a princess and was not only blind but did not speak. Her father’s concern increases until he offers many riches to anyone who could get his daughter to finally speak. Many come and many fail but when a man-eating tiger arrives at the palace no one believes he would be of any help to Cinnamon, other than a help to his appetite.The night the tiger had with Cinnamon was spent telling her of the land outside of the palace and inevitably spurred her interest and curiosity. Rich in symbolism yet simple in scope, Cinnamon is a perfect lesson in seeing past riches, experiencing new things and finding the true value of life itself.Crazy Hair*3 stars*Bonnie’s encounters a stranger that has hair that is so incredibly crazy that there is a honest-to-goodness jungle inside of it. Bonnie insists that it’s definitely manageable and just needs a good brushing. As she begins to brush, something entirely unexpected occurs.Neil Gaiman clearly wrote this story about himself. Crazy Hair is a bizarre imagining of what takes place within hair that is crazy and beyond control. The rhyming rhythm puts a smile on your face and would likely be a fantastic read-aloud to any child.All four of these stories were the whimsical sort of tales full of symbolism and life lessons that I’ve come to expect from Gaiman. I enjoyed Crazy Hair the most because of the wonderful rhyming style but Cinnamon was the best overall for it’s fantastic message. Would love to check all of these out someday to be able to appreciate the artwork of Dave McKean.
Rating: 3