Day 5: Book you wish you could live in

Today's challenge is to chose a book I wish I could live in. Well if you read my last post you will know that I want to live in EVERY book. Every good book anyway. There are so many worlds to chose from and so many adventures to had. I choose one book, though, that most have probably never heard of, and that will surprise many. I would imagine that the expected answers would be things like Lord of the Rings, Narnia, Harry Potter....etc. Worlds that are so rich and so inviting to many. I would love to do that...but there is one that has always been close to my heart. Since I was a young girl I have long to be part of the world of

Shadow Castle by Marian Cockrell  
      

(I finally figured out how to add a picture! yay for me!)


I don't know where this book came from, but it is one my sister and I had growing up and it remains one of my favorite stories to this day. In fact I recently requested a copy be added to the library I work in. It is so old probably no one will ever check it out or read it but I felt it needed to be there! 


This book is the story of a little girl, Lucy, and her dog who go exploring further than they should and meet a man with stories to tell. The man takes the little girl to his castle (I know, stranger danger and all that but it IS a fairy tale) where he tells her stories of a young man who is a fairy. The story is complicated but essentially he fell in love (years ago) with a mortal woman and in order to be with her he has to live for thousands of years in our world while she lives them in their world. Only after these years can they be together. The only comfort he has in our world is a room in his castle that shows him the shadows of fairy land.


Lucy realizes he is talking about himself and she watches the fairies as they move about, prompting him to tell her several different stories about various fairies she sees. Then, at the very end of the book, he sends her home and as she leaves she turns back to find the shadow castle disappearing. His time has finally passed and he is off to live with his queen.


Though the stories are simple and intended for a young audience, I (much like Lucy) longed to be a part of the world they created. I can imagine the human girl falling in love and going to fairy land the first time. I can see the palace where a princess befriends a dragon who is friendly but cannot leave his castle because everyone fears him. I can feel the hugs of his fairy god-mother who is always saving the day.


This book, for this little girl anyway, is timeless and will always remind me what it is like to have a book transport me to another world.