I'm back! Unfortunately, I did not get any of the three books I'm working on finished while I was gone. Something has happened up at the cottage. Somehow, a million trashy celebrity gossip magazines have appeared there. It is weird that my compulsion to read year old gossip about people I don't know overrides my compulsion to finish reading about Queen Christina of Sweden.

But when I got into work today, there were a few boxes that needed receiving, and one of them contained The Glass Heart by Sally Gardner. I have to say that I really like Sally Gardner's books. I haven't read them all, but the ones I've read have been pretty great.

The Glass Heart is a story within a story. Rosie is looking at all her Nana's small treasures, when she accidentally drops a small glass heart and it shatters. But Nana's not upset, and elects to tell Rosie a story about glass hearts. The fairy tale is set in Venice, and it features three princesses with glass hearts. Having a glass heart isn't easy, though, as they're quite breakable. The first princess ends up having hers broken by a vain prince, and dies. The second princess has her heart cracked by a beautiful rose, and is forced to spend the rest of her days in repose. The third sister, however, makes a happy marriage, to a page turned glass artist, who knows enough about glass to marry a princess with a heart made of it.

Anyone looking for fairy tales will definitely enjoy this one.

The Glass Heart by Sally Gardner
ISBN 184255073x
32 pages