The Lost Prince

I didn't think you could go wrong with a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. We loved _A Little Princess_ and _The Secret Garden_. _The Lost Prince_ was a harder sell, however. It is a long recording, and though it is full of mystery, adventure, and intrigue, none of my children (currently ages 5, 7, 10, and 12) ever really got into it. There is nothing wrong with this book. It is most definitely a classic. The recording is quite good, though we did have to crank it up all the way to hear sometimes. But we wouldn't have finished it if my kids hadn't been strapped into their seatbelts while listening.

Lots and lots of details....throughout the book. Many times we wanted the book to keep going with the plot, but was inundated with more details. We knew who the prince was, but it took the character FOREVER to figure it out.

This is definitely a boys' book, full of adventure, espionage, and danger where young boys turn their war play into a part of the real thing, becoming heroes in the end. It's well-read in an almost whispering, secretive, anticipatory voice that enhances the urgency of the storyline without being overdone.