Product Description

Phelim was the only one, they said, the only one who could save the world from the Hatchlings of the Stoor Worm. The Stoor Worm, who had been asleep for aeons, since it was vanquished by the hero, Assipattle, was beginning to waken. It was the booming of the guns, the cries of the wounded, the dreadful sounds of war that had woken it, and now its Hatchlings were abroad to terrorize the people who had forgotten all about them, forgotten all the ancient magics. But how could Phelim, who was only a boy, after all, save the world from all these dreadful monsters? And where could he find the Maiden, the Fool, and the Horse who were supposed to help him? And as Phelim leaves his home and sets out on his quest, the words of the domovoy ring in his ears: 'You are the one. To stop the Worm waking. To do what must be done.' Geraldine McCaughrean is a best-selling author who has won the Carnegie Medal, the Whitbread Children's Novel Award (twice), and the Guardian Children's Fiction Award. The Stones Are Hatching is now reissued in a smaller mass-market paperback format.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #126822 in Books
• Published on: 2000-09-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

From the Author
Thisis my latest novel and the riskiest yet.
Here is an adventure story for children of 12 and over. While researching another book, I kept coming across monsters which, until very recently, were believed in and propitiated all year round. This is my attempt to bring them back to life. Phelim Green, againt his better judgement, finds he has been chosen to deal with impending disaster. He must stop the Stoor Worm waking. In the meantime he and his travelling companions - the Maiden, the Fool and the Horse - must contend with the offspring of the Worm which are hatching out from the stones beneath her warming body. It's scary in parts - apparently more scary than I intended. If you are looking for something to hold a boy's interest, you might give it a try. It should appeal equally to girls, but since when was getting girls to read a problem? Hope you like it.

Customer Reviews

Mummy!
This is one of the greatest and best books of, arguably, all time. The wit is lovely but the adventure keeps you on the edge of your seat hour after hour, page after page.
My mother, Geraldine McC, read this to me every night and remember that when writing it she would often stand up and walk out of the room for no apparent reason. Not normally a fantasy person, this is a fantastic insight into English mythology. It combines Phelim's loyalty to his horrible sister, no matter what anyone says, with his longing to go home then twists the story around him. The boy must journey with Alexiam, Sweeny and lovely Obby Oss on a road that intertwines with destiny to save the world from destruction from the ginormous Stoor Worm and its venomous brood of hatchlings. They are hatching from the stones...

Why bother with Harry Potter when you can read McCaughrean?
Phelim (like Harry) has to live with a cruel relative, his sister Prudence. Prudence is clearly embittered by having to provide from her pitiful earnings for both her small brother and a father who appears to be in his dotage. (The father is no longer with them when the story starts. She tells Phelim he died--just one of her endless acts of verbal and psychological abuse.)

There are many amusing characters in this book. Phelim has to find three others (the Maiden, the Fool and the Horse) to help him in his quest to save the world from dreadful monsters, the hatchlings of the Stoor Worm, which are already creating terror and chaos. Sweeney, the Fool, is an extremely funny character whom you won't forget in a hurry, while I'm sure the "Obby Oss" will prance through my dreams for the rest of my life.

Geraldine McCaughrean has an amazing wit. Her humour runs circles around Joanne Rowling's. Also, she chooses her words with care, making every one count. Because of this, the reader has more sympathy for Phelim than for Harry Potter. In the end you will even feel a twinge of sympathy for the Stoor Worm.

McCaughrean once said this book is more terrifying than she intended. It is certainly spine-chilling in parts. I had to read the chapter where Phelim destroys the Stoor Worm again and again; the writing is just so beautiful. I can't understand why there aren't already many good reviews here for this book...

Fascinating use of folklore
Phelim "Phee" Green is a simple lad, living under the thumb of his tyrant sister. It is 1919, and the Great War with all of its horrific results is over. However, Phelim's world seems to literally unravel when all of the fairytales he has ever heard begin to come true; a small troll-like man lives behind his stove, monsters live in rivers, washerwomen wash shirts on the shores, merrows inhabit the ocean, redcaps dye their hats in human blood, and many other horrors abound.

Worst of all, three characters come to Phelim, claiming that he is Jack O'Green and only he can defeat the Stoor Worm, the giant dragon that is mother to all of these horrors. The three characters are a maiden with no shadow, a madman who has haunted a forest since Waterloo, and a genuine Hobby Horse. Finding himself propelled along on this quest, Phelim must overcome his fears, his disbelief, and quite a few monsters.

Geraldine McCaughrean has taken the old idea of fairytales proving true, and has formed it into a fascinating story. In her world, the simple stories of yesterday are transformed into a reality deadly beyond a cartoonist's wildest imagination. This book is a good read, well written, and I recommend it highly.