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The Fledgling Audiobook
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(3.03) - 817 listener ratings
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A Newbery Honor Book An ALA Notable Book A Children's Editors' Choice It all started when Georgie, hardly more than a wisp of thistledown, discovered she could jump down twelve steps in two big graceful bounds. Next, to her great delight, she learned that jumping from the porch and floating as high as the rooftop was possible too. So when the mysterious Canada goose came to her window one night it seemed only natural to climb onto his back and go off with him to learn how to really fly. Jane Langton spins a marvelous fantasy that wild delight all who dream that someday, somehow, we will magically find ourselves aloft and suddenly able to fly!
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"A wonderful book I remember hearing about but never read as a child. While published in the 1980s, the story, which takes place in the idyllic Walden neighborhood in Concord where Henry David Thoreau once lived, seems timeless, like it could have taken place 50 years ago. The setting the author creates for the reader, namely the homes and wildlife reserves of this small Massachusetts town, is simple, cozy, extremely family-oriented, and free of the trappings of technology and the minutae of everyday life. From Georgie's teenage cousin Eleanor sewing her own dress, to her mother making Eleanor's flawed but delicious homemade birthday cake, to the brother-like cousin Eddy, endearing in his devotion to Georgie and his obsession with glow-in-the-dark model rockets, this book reflects the slower pace of a simpler time. Though there are references to television and digital watches in the book, one of the book's quirky and nosy neighbors prefers to write letters and have them sent by messenger (one of the local children) to the intended recipient, which she prefers to using the telephone. All of this is fitting for the pristine Walden setting, complete with a transcendental school of knowledge run by Georgie's mother and her stepfather in the large, rambling gabled house where the family also lives, its dark hall presided over by a marble bust in the knowing likeness of Thoreau himself. From Georgie's bush house - an umbrella of vines and brambles in a small clearing just big enough for her to sit in, where acorns are tea cups and stones are plates and puddings for her tea parties with her corncob doll, "Dollabella", this is a refreshing story about imagination, and the unexpected friendship of an 8-year-old girl who flies off into the night on the back of an elderly Canada goose barefoot, clad in her pajamas and her cousin Eddy's jacket to ward off the evening chill."
— Jill (4 out of 5 stars)
Awards
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A Newbery Honor Book
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An ALA Notable Book
The Fledgling Listener Reviews
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" I adored this book as a girl. Excellent, interesting story, with a great setting and development of the character and her family. Just thinking about it makes me want to read it again! "
— Grace, 2/12/2014 -
" Lovely story of Girl who mother's geese born without a mother. Movie made. "
— Mary, 2/10/2014 -
" Newbery Honor winner from my teacher's bookshelf before passing it on. Fair tale, rather sad; environmentalist propaganda for 11-yr olds. "
— Lee, 1/23/2014 -
" A short and sweet little book, sometimes a little hokey, but with a good message about taking care of the earth. "
— Anna, 1/22/2014 -
" One of my favorite books as a young girl "
— sharifa, 1/18/2014 -
" It was unrealistic because there was a flying girl who rode on a goose that spoke english. "
— Musical, 1/8/2014 -
" Zofi and I loved this book! "
— Jennifer, 1/6/2014 -
" This is one of my favorite books from when I was younger. It is also one of the books I own so I can re-read it; which is a rare thing for me. "
— Audrey, 11/26/2013 -
" A soaring, sobbing, wondrous books about something I literally dream of often. Although I read this book several years ago, I still think about it often. "
— Rebecca, 8/18/2013 -
" I really didn't love this book. It is about a girl that wants to fly and is friends with a bird that teaches her to kinda fly. But it was soo slow moving and SPOILER!!!! The bird dies.. it sucked!! "
— Sommer, 7/24/2013 -
" A sweet story about an unusual girl and her amazingly open and loving family. Never heard of it before recently, but I'm glad I read it. A bit odd at times, but a lovely sense of magic. "
— Chelsea, 7/4/2013 -
" The boys and I really enjoyed this book. "
— Sarah, 2/5/2013 -
" It was interesting! I always wanted to know what would happen next! "
— Janaki, 7/30/2012 -
" Read this with my boys "
— Cindy, 6/8/2012 -
" Very sweet, charming story that I would have given 4 or 5 stars except that it was quite disappointing and sad when the Goose Prince was killed by Ralph Preek. "
— C:, 4/11/2012 -
" Read this as a child, was absolutely enchanted. "
— Abigail, 12/1/2011 -
" This is a beautiful novel and I still re-read this now that I've grown up. It provides a beautiful portrait of New England and the bond between a young willfull girl and a goose. "
— Jennifer, 11/1/2011 -
" A childhood favorite that was almost better as an adult. "
— Daisy, 10/31/2011 -
" One of my favorite books as a little kid. Magical and wonderful "
— Jess, 10/19/2011 -
" This book was great and heart touching. It is definatley a too read book. It is about a girl who thinks he can fly. It takes place a couple of years ago and has great discription. The girl lives in a school where her uncle teaches. She lives in a small town and is a very special charecter. "
— Anna, 8/7/2011 -
" I remember reading this book when I was in middle school. I've always heard "never judge a book by its cover," but I actually picked up some great books by finding cool book jackets. I wonder what I will think of it if I read it again, as an adult. "
— Cara, 8/4/2011 -
" Another one of my favorite books as a small child. "
— Michelle, 8/1/2011 -
" One of my favorite books as a little kid. Magical and wonderful "
— Jess, 12/26/2010 -
" I wanted to know what happened but I couldn't finish it. The characters (the banker and the neighbor) were so annoying that I couldn't stand it any longer. I guess I am too old to read this book. (-: "
— Jenny, 10/13/2010 -
" I don't really remember everything about this book, except for the ending. I know it started out so boringly, but it got a whole lot better towards the middle and end. You should read it!! "
— THE{Youth}*OF*[Today]~IS~Our(Tomorrow), 9/12/2010 -
" This was one of my favorite books as a child. "
— Stephanie, 8/11/2010 -
" It was interesting! I always wanted to know what would happen next! "
— Janaki, 6/28/2010 -
" This was my favorite book as a child. I read it over and over again until the cover fell off. "
— Leslie, 6/23/2010 -
" This book was so sad "
— Ms.D'Orazio, 12/14/2009 -
" I don't remember this book at all, but I read it. "
— Jen, 11/21/2009 -
" i really didn't like this book to much because for a newsberyyy honor I thought it could've been better. "
— Theresa, 10/6/2009 -
" I remember reading this book when I was in middle school. I've always heard "never judge a book by its cover," but I actually picked up some great books by finding cool book jackets. I wonder what I will think of it if I read it again, as an adult. "
— Cara, 9/12/2009 -
" It was unrealistic because there was a flying girl who rode on a goose that spoke english. "
— Musical, 8/5/2009
About Jane Langton
Jane Langton, an acclaimed author of mystery novels for adults and fantasy novels for young adults and children, was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America in 2018. Her series include the Hall Family Chronicles, Grace Jones series, and the Homer Kelly series. She earned degrees in astronomy and art history before she began writing novels and has set much of her fiction in the tight-knit world of New England academia.
About Mary Beth Hurt
Mary Beth Hurt is an award-winning Broadway actor as well as an acclaimed performer in film and television. Her theater work includes A Delicate Balance, The Secret Rapture, Benefactors, Crimes of the Heart, The Misanthrope, and Trelawney of the Wells. Her film credits include Affliction, Autumn in New York, Family Man, Six Degrees of Separation, The Age of Innocence, The World According to Garp, and Interiors.