A parable of a journey to the "land from whence the shadows fall." In true MacDonald fashion, not everything lines up to a specific allegorical meaning but rather guides the reader into contemplation and quiet awareness of spiritual realities in general, and in particular the trials that cleanse and mature us along our way. Gentle and subtle, and the sacrifice and metamorphosis of the "air-fish" is particularly lovely. ( )

I don't know how I missed this for so many years. I read MacDonald's other children's books years ago. I am grateful that I finally got around to it as part of my children's fantasy reading project.

It is a beautiful and moving story, and Sendak's illustrations are perfect. In the afterward, W.H. Auden says it better than I can: "MacDonald's most extraordinary , and precious, gift is his ability . . . to create an atmosphere of goodness about which there is nothing phony or moralistic. Nothing is rarer in literature."

It is interesting to contrast this with Pilgrim's Progress, another influential religious allegory/fantasy about the journey through life and the afterlife. MacDonald must have read it, or at least known about it. And he clearly rejected it. The Golden Key is filled with a sense of wonder, innocence, and beauty completely missing from Pilgrim's Progress. It is also a much better story. I love the flying fish! ( )

A slightly confusing mix of fairy tale, moral tale, and story about life and death. I found it interesting enough to keep reading, but too confusing to find meaning or purpose. While it is not important for a good book to contain some underlying statement about life, it is important for a book to tell a good story and I thought this fell a little short.
Probably as much as anything, the illustrations in this edition help explain and conduct the reader through the story. They are well done and add to the presentation of the story.
Would I recommend this book to others? I'm not sure. Between my confusion with the story and the interesting pictures, there is a feeling of 'don't bother' along with the feeling of 'go ahead and read it... it isn't that long'. Your choice.

Having previously owned and read other editions of this book, I was mostly interested to read this version for the illustrations.

It's amazing what a difference Sanderson's pictures make in my experience of the story! The Sendak version features illustrations that, while lovely, are far less frequent and unobtrusive-- and the actual book was much smaller, which for some reason makes me think of it as intended for older readers.

In this edition, the actual volume is larger-- and the print matches. Both the scale and type size remind me of an Easy Reader style book, though the story is longer than one would expect from those.

And, of course: the illustrations: far more than mere occasional decorations, they appear at least every other page-turn, with frequent two-page spreads that invite pause and careful consideration. at other points, the pictures intrude upon and interact with the text itself, truly shaping a remarkably realistic-- and fanciful-- vision of the fairy world.

My one recommendation, which is a very picky one, would be to have a complete sentence end before each two-page illustration. Even with dissertation formatting requirements, I know how difficult it is to fit figures on the page and control widows and orphans, etc. However, I always feel rushed when turning the page mid-sentence, and I'm afraid some of the incredible illustrations will receive short shrift from readers for this reason.

I was so excited to receive this book for review, because I'd been hearing a lot about MacDonald in things I'd been reading and couldn't wait to see what the fuss was about--plus, I've always loved Ruth Sanderson's illustrations. Unfortunately, though I did love the illustrations as expected, I was really disappointed with the story. I felt like there was some great symbolism I should be getting, but wasn't (and I am a well-read English major with 24 years of teaching young children and reading children's literature). I didn't feel a connection to the characters and was only mildly interested in what would happen to them next. I won't be sharing this one with my daughter; there are too many other wonderful books to read. ( )