Rise of the Guardians: Movie Novelization (audiobook) by Stacia Deutsch





Published by Simon and Schuster Audio in 2012
Read by Keith Nobbs
Duration: 2 hours, 33 minutes

 Based on the William Joyce book series Guardians of Childhood,
was a very pleasant surprise when we took the kids to go see it a few months ago. I was not expecting much and came away very impressed with a complex story with plenty for adults to think about but light enough for kids to be entertained. It also has a balance of scary and funny and avoids the all too easy bodily function-type jokes.

 The premise of the story is that the Guardians are defending the children of the world against an onslaught by the Boogeyman, who goes by the name Pitch Black. Pitch Black revels in causing fear and nightmares and destroying the best aspects of childhood. The Guardians are the Sandman (Guardian of Dreams), the Easter Bunny (Guardian of Hope), Santa Claus (Guardian of Wonder) and the Tooth Fairy (Guardian of Precious Memories). They have been called together by The Man in the Moon. The Man in the Moon has also called Jack Frost to be a Guardian but no one, including Jack, can figure out why. The story is the story of Jack Frost and how he figures out his own past and how he can help The Guardians, if he even wants to help them, that is.

 This adaptation is faithful to the movie, even using the best and most memorable lines. This is good, but also a bit disappointing since I was hoping for a bit more background information.

 This book is completely appropriate for any child that is old enough to sit and listen to an audiobook.

 Keith Nobbs read the audiobook. He did a solid job of covering the wide variety of over-the-top accents that were present in the movie version (American, Russian, English and Australian).  His reading style should be very approachable for younger listeners without being patronizing.

 I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5.

 This audiobook can be found on Amazon.com here:  Rise of the Guardians Movie Novelization

Reviewed on February 14, 2013.

 Note: This audiobook was provided to me free of charge by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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