***I received this book as a First Reads win from ***Charming, simply charming! A Walt Disney film in book version. Villains, animal spirits, a sweet young princess all combine in a wonderful easy to read novel. A great story for everyone from ages 1 to 101. I rate this novel 5+ stars!!

As a teacher I am always looking for examples of good story telling to use as models for my students. I am pleased to have found another! After briefly introducing the main spirit characters of the story, Henning begins with a vivid description of its setting. He uses much descriptive language and imagery to bring the reader into the events as they are unfolding. Instead of bluntly telling the reader about the character of the heroine, Henning uses her actions and words to give a very good idea [...]

I've had this book in my e-reader for a while, but had to wait until my kids were old enough to appreciate it before I read it to them. It was pretty cute. They appreciated the animal characters a great deal, although I think my children were still a little too young to truly appreciate the story. They're 7 and 5 and I think I will be holding on to it and allow them to read it when they are a little bit older. I would recommend this book for an upper elementary or middle school aged student.

Three cheers for Savuti! What she accomplishes in this story is more than just preservation of nature. She also finds her inner strength. This is a gorgeous tale about self discovery, and the humor on display in the writing is just wonderful. The 7 animal ghosts that befriend the lead are a riot. All quite different, and all lovingly crafted. I hope this becomes a movie one day. I would watch it in a heartbeat.

I'd never heard of this author before, but after reading this story I'll be grabbing his other books. Wicked fun for girls. And guys should read too - they'll really like the animal characters. Ending was totally cool and fresh.