The Land of Green Ginger

by Noel Langley

Book Overview

"First published as The Tale of the Land of Green Ginger by Arthur Barker, 1937." This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0571226183
• ISBN13: 9780571226184
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: Faber & Faber
• Length: 115 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.

Customer Reviews

This Nine Year Old Boy Likes It

It's about Abu Ali, the son of Aladdin, who is supposed to save a magician who made a spell go wrong, and it turned him into a button-nose tortoise. The magician lives in the Land of Green Ginger, which is why Abu Ali goes there. He also wants to marry a lady who is called Silver Bud. Her father is a mean man called Sulkpot Ben Nagnag. He never lets her out of her room, except to take a walk around the garden. Whenever someone comes into the yard unexpectedly, he puts them in prison, and the next day he boils them in oil. Abu Ali has a lamp, and the son of the genie who helped Aladdin lives in it (the dad is busy). He can give wishes, but he tends to mess things up, like when Abu Ali wants a donkey, he makes a mouse instead. I liked the book because it was funny and interesting. There wasn't anything I didn't like about it. I'm glad there were no smoochy-woochy kisses, like in the movie "Aladdin." Robert, age 9

A wonderful bedtime story.

Written by the author of the screenplay for, "The Wizard of Oz".This is a very charming, happy tale for children and adults. It is second only to, "Desbarollda The Waltzing Mouse" for humor.

Tongue in cheek sequel to Alladdin

This is a very funny book that I read out loud to my 7 year old (a great book to read out loud) and had to stop very frequently to laugh. It is very well written and my daughter could not wait for the conclusion. I wish Noel Langley had written a sequel to the sequel. There are no really scary bits and the characters are really quite clever. Highly recommended

The best childrens book you never read

I am not sure how I came to have this book, I have a sneaking suspicion that it came from a local library and was never returned. What I do now know is that I have had it for over 25 years and that every time I moved as a child and as an adult I have ensured that it came with me. (London-Tipperary-London-Dublin-Cork-Dublin-Cork) I now keep it safe so that I can enjoy it all over again with my children. Quite simply, it still makes me laugh and still fires my imagination. It is the story of Abu Ali, son of Aladdin and his quest for the hand of Silver Bud. It starts with 2 day old Abu Ali talking and gets better from there. We meet all sorts of characters during his journey, from Nosey Parker, the hermit who sees everything in his crystal ball, to Sinbad the Sailer, who is now a simple ferryman, to my favourite character, Boomalakka Wee, son of the original Genie that helped Aladdin. I know that Disney have now stopped making 2-D movies, but this book would have been the perfect way to end, rather than worthy but not great movies like Brother Bear. It would have linked to a successful past and yet the story is funny and suprisingly modern enough to have been the perfect crossover into the Pixar world we are now entering. If you ever manage to get your hands on this book, I recommend you treasure it.

Worth many a reading. The original 1966 version is best.

"This well-known and well-loved fantasy adventure was written by Noel Langley, the screenwriter for The Wizard of Oz, and contains original Edward Ardizzone illustrations throughout. The Land of Green Ginger is the story of Prince Abu Ali, the son of the Emperor Aladdin of China. When Abu Ali is born, the Genie of the Lamp announces that his destiny has already been foretold; he was the one chosen to break the spell of the Land of Green Ginger and restore the Magician - turned into a Button-Nosed Tortoise by a spell that went wrong - to his normal shape. You'll find magical fantasy, adventure and excitement within the pages of this book - but most of all, you'll find ridiculous wit and humour to appeal to all age groups (whether child or adult)."