Full review can also be found on: Paein and Ms4Tune's Book Blog 
 Originally published in german in 1979, this fulfills my 'originally published in another language' book for the 52 books in 2015 challenge. 
 I've wanted to read this story since I saw the film - not as a child. It's quite a large book so I was surprised to find the end of the film at page 180. Up until that point, it was actually a pretty accurate adaption, except for Bastian. In the film he's a skinny little boy with none of the insecurities of Book Bastian. Book Bas was more relatable I thought, and had far more depth. Of course film Bas didn't need the depth because his story finished before it was required. 
 I did get pretty bored in the middle of this book. At first I was flailing a little because I'd passed the end of the film and my favourite line wasn't there (When is it ever?!) but the imagery was pretty and so imaginative I soon perked up. It's an old-school childrens' book, full of imagination and massive ideas crammed into the pages, but I do feel there was too much of it. 
 I grew bored as it dragged out and I ended up skimming whole pages to the next interesting section. While I understand that the book was showing children to be careful what they wish for because they might get it and there's no one better to be than yourself, I feel that people now are more likely to grow bored before they get the message. This is possibly a chapter a night kind of book rather than a 150 pages in one go type, perfect for bedtime stories, perhaps less so for the casual read. 
 In the end though, I looked forward to reading his return to reality and his chats with the old man put me in mind of Dumbledore and Aslan.