Kingdom Keepers

[jakeman]

The fact that it is a yougn adult books makes their little jaunt into the utilidors absolutely disgustingly unnecessary, and a part of ruining the magic.

god I now hate that man.

Given the age listed on the book (10 and up), thus far I have found what has/has not been revealed acceptable. As I stated, I am only half way through the book and will reserve a complete judgment until the end. However, with that said, the book seems to be targeted to the middle school crowd, and I was well aware of the existence of the tunnels when I was in middle school.

I would be okay with my 10 year old (assuming I had one) reading this book thus far, and if the only other thing revealed is that the Magic Kingdom is built 1 story above the ground and my child has read a 200 page novel, then I can live with that.

It is my opinion, that they could spill every secret about Walt Disney World there is and as long as my child reads its, regardless of their age.

Enderikari what other thing has Ridley Pearson written that elicit such a response? Are their specific examples?

 

[Enderikari]

Page 302 and 303 - You'll see

Also... I really don't think they should ever tout the AVACS system as a transportation device, but that is small potatoes compared to what is in page 202 and 203. There are cast members who give their souls into preserving the magical guest experience, and this thoughtless jerk has to ruin it.

The rubber-stamping Disney Editions department in charge of going through and approving this book should genuinely be ashamed.

 

[NADisney]

I purchased Kingdom Keepers and was NOT impressed with it, at all ! It was like a big advertisment for VMK ,it ended very badly , leaving so many questions up in the air Making way for more sequals that we don't really need.

It's nice to have part of the Disney collection but if anyone truly asked me if it was worth the 17.99 price tag ,I would not recommend this book. If you know someone that has this book, borrow it .spend the money on something that will last longer and useful then a dust collecter on the book shelf.

 

[jakeman]

I just finished Kingdom Keepers and I would have to say overall it was a bit of a disappointment. I think I understand what Ridley Pearson was trying to do, to create a Dan Brown type novel (a la Da Vinci Code) for young adults. It seems that because of some limitation it fell short of this goal.

Maybe I read too many grown up books, but the plot just had way too many holes (which I'm sure will be filled in the other two books) and was very shallow.

Enderikari, I agree with you a little more now that I have read the book. With all the true things the author ignored regarding the Magic Kingdom, (the castle "bricks" that were pushed in being made of fiberglass being the most obivous), it seemed odd to include the tunnels. I think it worked just okay. However, I agree completely that the half dressed character comments were completely unessecary to move the story. I still believe that anyone that could read the book would still know about the true nature of the characters, but it was not needed and detracted from the "magical" aspect of the book.

Long story longer, I would only recommend this book because it seems that this type of literature is not really out there, and possibly supporting a mediocre book will eventually spawn a good one.

I will most likely buy the other books in the series if they every come out just to see if they get better.

Now everyone can rest easier knowing that I have passed judgement.

 

[Enderikari]

Thank you, it disgusts me, not only because it is in there at all, but because it is in there for no reason.


Grrrr

 

[shoppingnut]

I just finished reading the book and I enjoyed it very much. I took into account that this was a "young adult" book which is written very differently than adult books. Most young adult books are aimed for doing a series, so I understood why the book ended the way it did, they needed to have openings for others. Also, as far as it being full of holes, if you started putting every detail in, the book would be twice the size and far to technical and wordy for most young adults. The problem is that us disney lovers want all the detail, we enjoy it, but this book wasn't meant for us. The whole focus of this category of book it to get the kids to want to read, so things need to be faced paced and interesting and not dwell too much on insiginficant details.


I found that the bit about the tunnels to fit into the story and thought the use of the evac system as transportation to be interesting. This is a work of fiction, not a manual on MK at WDW, he borrowed the apartment over the firehouse from DL, okay he could have made the apartment over the sports store on main street instead because there are offices up there, but feel that was minor. Talking about half dressed characters, well it's not as if he dwelled on it excessively, it was just was the kids saw in the tunnels as they were going by.

 

[robynchic]

As a Disney fan who believes in preserving the magical guest experience, I was geniunely angry after reading the book. If I ever encounter the author, we will have a VERY vocal argument about appropriate content for a book.
Plus, for a book that was helped along by an imagineer, to put that Walt had an apartment on top of the Firehouse in Orlando is a glaring mistake.

Anyway, it was a fun read, but it ends abruptly and the author deserves a quick kick in the face.

SIMMER DOWN!

It's a book. If you read the Mary Poppins series and found out that Bert (in the movie) was a mixture of many characters, would you have such a vehement reaction?

I'm taking a course on adolescent literature right now, and frankly, the way people are describing the book is a good way to get young adults into reading. If the young adults are interested in Disney, this would be a good book to get them to read. It would entice them to read, rather than play a video game or watch TV, and it would help the young adults to become better readers. I may use this book for one of my assignments now. I could have some very interesting insights for this book for book reports.

Don't look at the book as adult reading. That's like saying The Rag and Bones Shop by Robert Cormier is an accurate depiction of interrogation of a 12-year-old boy that seems to be a little slow. The book is meant for 6th grade reading, and isn't terribly accurate at all.


...oh God, I'm becoming a teacher...

 

[stopgo]

SIMMER DOWN!

It's a book.

Good on ya', Robyn. That's a helluva lot more polite than my first reaction to all the carping.

 

[robynchic]

Good on ya', Robyn. That's a helluva lot more polite than my first reaction to all the carping.

Thank you. Do you like my perspective on WHY they shouldn't be so upset?

Oh, let's add another little note in there about the characters and stuff:
By the time most children read this book, they may already realize that type of gritty reality. According to Barnes and Noble online, the book is targeted towards children 9-12 years old. From what I've seen while working in WDW, children around that age realize that the characters aren't who they seem to be. That's around the age that they get testy and start asking "Are you real?" "Are you hot in there?" "Are you a boy or a girl?", or worse, try to hit the characters.

Don't go storming around in a tirade, saying you'll give him a swift kick in the face. He was writing to interest CHILDREN, not people that were in high school by the time the target audience was born.

 

[dizfamilyfun]

There are several good fiction books which have Disney World as a major part of the storyline. Two of my favories are "Waking Walt"and "The Millionaires." But just remember folks, that these books are fiction, and the authors do use "artisitc license" to make the story (and places!) fit their needs.

 

[bgraham34]

Thats funny i saw that in the library by my house and passed it by. Maybe i should look at it.

 

[BRER STITCH]

I found it to be GREAT light reading for both adults and children!

The key is that it's an easy-to-read book that tells an exciting story.

If you can read and you like Disney stuff, by all means pick up a copy!

I found no reason to get upset over any of the contents, and even look forward to more in this series to get my nieces and nephews more excited about visiting the Disney Parks!

I give it 4 little yellow clapping torso-less heads out of 5.

:sohappy: :sohappy: :sohappy: :sohappy:

 

[Connor002]

There are several good fiction books which have Disney World as a major part of the storyline. Two of my favories are "Waking Walt"and "The Millionaires." But just remember folks, that these books are fiction, and the authors do use "artisitc license" to make the story (and places!) fit their needs.

How was that book? I saw it on bn.com and almost got it, but I got caught up in someting else and forgot about it.

 

[jakeman]

SIMMER DOWN!

It's a book. If you read the Mary Poppins series and found out that Bert (in the movie) was a mixture of many characters, would you have such a vehement reaction?

I'm taking a course on adolescent literature right now, and frankly, the way people are describing the book is a good way to get young adults into reading. If the young adults are interested in Disney, this would be a good book to get them to read. It would entice them to read, rather than play a video game or watch TV, and it would help the young adults to become better readers. I may use this book for one of my assignments now. I could have some very interesting insights for this book for book reports.

Don't look at the book as adult reading. That's like saying The Rag and Bones Shop by Robert Cormier is an accurate depiction of interrogation of a 12-year-old boy that seems to be a little slow. The book is meant for 6th grade reading, and isn't terribly accurate at all.


...oh God, I'm becoming a teacher...

I think my bias comes from exactly what I stated earlier and what you just described: I read way too many adult books and my expectations were too high. The only young adult books that I have read since I was a young adult were the Harry Potter series (by the way, I hear a Harry Potter ride might be placed where 20K Under the Sea was, and a monorail will be linked straight to it ). Anyways, I am beginning to understand that the Harry Potter series is somewhat of an anomaly in the young adult genre and I look forward to discussing the book with my wife, who is a former CM and now a 2nd grade teacher.

The problems I had with the book were just my personal opinion on what I would and would not use and criticizing it from an adult perspective. What is most important is that kids read. There could be a book on how to build a Mickey head and I would let my kid read it, regardless of their age. Preserving the magic is great, but reading is more important.

Young adults within the appropriate age range may enjoy the book. However, I still hold to my opinion that this is not a book that would be able to cross over to adult fiction, ala Harry Potter.

 

[robynchic]

Young adults within the appropriate age range may enjoy the book. However, I still hold to my opinion that this is not a book that would be able to cross over to adult fiction, ala Harry Potter.

Then why were you so upset? Or did it just take the insight of an education major to get you to see that?

 

[shoppingnut]

However, I still hold to my opinion that this is not a book that would be able to cross over to adult fiction, ala Harry Potter.

Yes, I totally agree with you that this wouldn't crossover. The only crossover is going to be us crazy disney lovers.

 

[jakeman]

Then why were you so upset? Or did it just take the insight of an education major to get you to see that?

I apologize if my post seemed to come across as upset. I was presenting my opinion of the book and what I liked and did not like. It is my assumption that most of the posters here are above the reading level of the book and was posting my perspective from an adult standpoint. My intent was to inform adult readers as to what I was surprised to find and to raise awareness of the books exisitence. Also, in this case, the college degree you either hold or are pursuing had no bearing on my view of the book or how it should be evaulated.

Maybe I read too many grown up books...

As you can see, I had made a statement regarding this fact earlier, although I did not elaborate on it.

I understand that it is a young adult book and may not be able to withstand the rigors of an adult critique. However, this does not stop me on critiquing it as an adult, since my purpose of posting was to inform other adults about the book. I apologize if that was not clear when I posted originally.

When you originally posted about the critique of the book and responding with "simmer down" the quoted post was Ederikari's post. I was unaware that I was included in the request to tone down my response.

Although I agree with Ederikari in principle, my feelings are nowhere near as strong as his/her post seems to indicate his/hers are.

Overall, I was responding to Ederikari regarding his/her opinions about the necessary or unnecessary facts about the Magic Kingdom that were included. To summarize my opinion, based on the number of facts and situations were fabricated to tell the story, I found it odd that the author would revert to using aspects of the actual Magic Kingdom, that "kill the magic", such as the AVACS and the half dressed characters. It was somewhat jarring to me to read for 200 pages aspects of the Magic Kingdom that are fanciful and then to be brought back to reality abruptly with the use of the examples above. If this was the author's intent then it worked. If it was not, then it, in my opinion, made for choppy storytelling. Again, this is from an adult perspective relaying opinions to other adults.

With regards to young adults, it seems to be an adequate book and I would recommend it along with almost any book for youth to read, because having kids read is the most important aspect.

Yes, I totally agree with you that this wouldn't crossover. The only crossover is going to be us crazy disney lovers.

Thank you. That was the major purpose of the post to get people out to buy it and to hopefully generate more books like this of a higher quality. I realize that my opinion of the book is not very positive but I believe I have already included my justification for soliciting others to purchase the book.

The book was average, not good or great, but not bad.

 

[robynchic]

I did mean to aim it at Ederikari, but it kind of bothers me when people evaluate a book intended for 4th-7th graders in an adult perspective.

Sorry if I aimed it wrong.

 

[wdwishes2005]

The fact that it is a yougn adult books makes their little jaunt into the utilidors absolutely disgustingly unnecessary, and a part of ruining the magic.

god I now hate that man.

no offense, but show me a 11-12-13-14 year old that thinks what makes the park tick is '''magic'', besides the ones with problems.sad to say it, but most ppl in this age group dont belive in magic, i know i sure didnt.

 

[Connor002]

no offense, but show me a 11-12-13-14 year old that thinks what makes the park tick is '''magic'', besides the ones with problems.sad to say it, but most ppl in this age group dont belive in magic, i know i sure didnt.

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