Kind Little Edmond

Book 8 of The Book of Dragons Series

By: Edith Nesbit

Narrated by: Karen Krause

Kind little Edmund loved to find out about things. (And finding out about things is not the same as learning about things, as you do in school.) One day he finds out about the creatures living in the mountain near his village and thinks maybe he doesn't like finding out about things so much after all. But once the creatures have been found, there is nothing to do but find a way to save the village before it's too late.

Edith (E.) Nesbit was a master at weaving imagination and real life into timeless fairy tales, with fantastic mythical creatures, princes and princesses, magic, and just the right touch of silliness. Kind Little Edmond is the eighth and last in a series of fairy tales with a common theme: dragons!

Public Domain (P)2015 Karen Krause

Lovely children's story

Where does Kind Little Edmond rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I would rank it in my top ten.

What other book might you compare Kind Little Edmond to and why?

I've listened to Karen Krause narrate a couple of other Edith Nesbit stories, and this one was very similar.

Which character – as performed by Karen Krause – was your favorite?

The cockatrice was my favorite character in this story. She gave him a very funny voice, which sounded very much like you'd imagine a chicken would sound like, if it could talk.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I laughed pretty hard when Edmund managed to trap the dragons in the tunnel. My son and I yelled BRAVO!

Any additional comments?

As always, Karen Krause is a true joy to listen to. It's like having your very own British nanny to read you bedtime stories.

Great story of a curious little boy!

Note: Even though this is Book 8 in the series, it works completely as a stand alone.

This is the tale of young Edmond, who was filled to the brim with curiosity, so much so that he often irritated his elders. After all, finding out things for oneself isn’t anything like sitting quietly and attentively in a school room. He likes taking things apart to see how they work, and this irritates even more elders. But not his loving and doting grandmother.

One day, Edmond decides to explore the nearby mountains, and hears some very odd sounds. He builds a lantern of sorts and returns the next day. He meets and helps a mythical beast, who rewards him by telling him magnificent tales. he continues his explorations and eventually a beast is awakened that threatens the village!

This was a great little tale and I really enjoyed it. This is only my second Edith Nesbit tale, but I can’t believe I didn’t discover her works until early this year. I think these little dragon books are some of the best out there and are true classics that stand the test of time. I especially enjoyed this one as the tale has this underlying current about the value of learning things for oneself.

Narration: Karen Krause once again had a great little kid boy voice, this time for Edmond. She also had some great voices for the few mythical beasts Edmond comes across. She also pulled off curmudgeonly elders.