I love this book. So. Very. Much. When I was younger I was always looking for a book sort of like this one, with magic and strange lands and creatures and fairy tales. I was never able to find one that left me as satisfied as this one did, not taking into account the Harry Potter series, mostly because those satisfied me in ways that is completely unimaginable and totally irrelevant from this particular book. It just gave me joy and excitement when I couldn't find any in my dull elementary school kid life. Now I really want to go back and read it again.