The Star of Kazan

I love this book! It makes me want to visit Vienna and Austria, even though I realize much has changed since this book was set in 1908. Still, I want to see the Lipizzaner horses perform in the Spanish Riding School and eat luscious Austrian pastries, walk in the Alps amid the flowers, and watch

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for birds. Annika and her family and friends are inspiring in their work ethic and kindness. This is my (at least) second reading of this novel and I love it even more. Includes a map of the German Empire and Austria-Hungary in 1908.

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The genius inside of Eva Ibbotson is unimaginable. She livens the story by a mile

The story on an orphan girl in Vienna in the 1940's. A great description on the city and the zeitgeist. Reminds me of such older girlie books as Ann of Green Gables or Emily of New moon.

I really liked this book.
I felt the person who had written this book had a lot of imagination.
I bet a lot of people liked it.
Its about a girl who dreams what she draws with a special pencil.
But she is not the only one.

a different genre for ibbotson. loved it.

Anika has always dreamed of having a real mother, but when a rich aristercrat clams to be her mother Anika thinks everything will be ok but then mysteries of the past unfold and Anika finds herself in danger!

Annika was found by two ladies named Ellie and Sigrid. The star of Kazan is a jewel that an old lady left her in her will.

In Vienna, in 1908, Annika, a foundling girl raised in a professorial household, is almost entirely happy helping her foster-mother (the servant who found her) cope with the eccentric professors, playing with her friends in the streets and gardens, listening to the stories of the old lady who was

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once the celebrated performer La Rondine, and admiring the breathtaking Lipizzaner horses. She only dreams a little of her birth-mother appearing and sweeping her away--until the day her mother does. Annika is swept away to her aristocratic, ancestral home. But why does her noble family live such an austere, scrimping life? Why is the gypsy boy Zed so angry at them? And why are they so interested in the costume jewelry that La Rondine left to her?

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Such a lively, alive, wonderful book!

I do love my Eva Ibbotson! This book was very much in her mold. It is one of her children's books, but reminded me a lot of her books for adults, being set in Vienna with a heroine who is so good and loyal. You definitely cheer for Annika and her loved ones, and want to get even with her enemies.

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The plot isn't very surprising, you'll guess what is going on quite early, but the way the author gets us there is fun. The characters are all well formed and the settings and descriptions are vintage Ibbotson. This is probably my second favorite of her children's books. It will be hard for anything to beat Journey to the River Sea.

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Good for kids of all ages. About a foundling who is adopted by some professors only to have her mother appear again under mysterious circumstances.

I listened to this book and enjoyed the story of Annika. I knew something was fishy about her "mother."

Annika has never celebrated a birthday. Instead, she celebrates her Found Day, which is the day she was found by Ellie and Sigrid and taken to live in the professors' house in Vienna. All her life, Annika has dreamed that her mother would come and find her and in her dreams, her mother is a fine

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lady. When Annika's mother actually shows up, she does not disappoint. She's dressed in the finest clothes and takes Annika out to a meal at the finest restaurant in town. Then she takes Annika with her back to Spittal, her ancestral home. From the moment Annika arrives, she senses that things are not quite right. There are paintings missing from the walls, the house is freezing, and the expensive vase that was in her room one day is gone the next. Then one happy day her mother comes back from a trip to Switzerland with the news that her godfather has passed away and left her a fortune. Annika thinks that Spittal is saved... but there's much she has yet to find out and it just might cost her everything to figure out the truth.

I think I loved this book because of the characters. Annika is a great character, very spunky and likeable, and she is supported by a varied cast of friends (and enemies). However, you can never truly be sure of who to trust. Things twist around and the story takes many turns. If you're looking for a great, sprawling story with a twisty plot and great characters, I recommend The Star of Kazan.

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After twelve-year-old Annika, a foundling living in late nineteenth-century Vienna, inherits a trunk of costume jewelry, a woman claiming to be her aristocratic mother arrives and takes her to live in a strangely decrepit mansion in Germany.

Narrated by Patricia Connolly. **SPOILER**
In early 1900s Vienna, Annika lives with the professors and is raised by their house staff, Ellie and Sigrid, who took Annika in when she was found abandoned as a baby. Annika is a bright, well-liked child who loves Ellie and Sigrid but occasionally

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fantasizes about a reunion with her mother, whom she imagines to be elegant and loving. Annika inherits a trunk of jewelry from an elderly friend and shortly thereafter, Annika's long lost mother appears to claim her. Edeltraut von Tannenberg is elegant and loving and is royalty to boot. But the estate on which she lives is in a state of disrepair; she promises Annika that things will change very soon. The trusting Annika believes her until a series of events prove Edeltraut has been selling Annika's inherited jewelry to save the estate, and is actually not her mother.

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Love the story!

Great adventure-Defintely recommend it!

read it through...reading it made me depressed due to its characters lack of humanity.even though made me re realize how inhuman human can be.
finishing the novel on the other hand made me feel fine eventually.

read it through...reading it made me depressed due to its characters lack of humanity.even though made me re realize how inhuman human can be.
finishing the novel on the other hand made me feel fine eventually.

Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson is a children’s story about a young orphan who, abandoned at birth, goes through a series of adventures in order to find out where she truly belongs. I am a fan of this author and this book has become one of my favorites by her.

Set in Vienna, the city is an important

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part of the story and the author obviously knows and loves this city as it is brought to life through her descriptions. Annika, the abandoned baby, grows up in the care of a cook and housekeeper, but her family also includes the three professors that the servants work for, and indeed, many of the surrounding neighbours. Although a very happy child, she nevertheless dreams of her mother coming to find her. Her life takes a drastic turn when one day a regal looking woman comes knocking and claims Annika is her long lost daughter.

This is a timeless story that would appeal to the young at heart of all ages with it’s clever plot revolving around Annika’s heritage. Being a children’s story, all ends are neatly tied up by the end of the book but with it’s pre-WWI setting of Vienna and engaging characters, The Star of Kazan is a satisfying, feel good story for all ages.

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The first quarter is a bit slow and the mystery was predictable. But a good read for advanced elementary readers with no violence or bad language, or mature subject matter.
(For those who are selective about content for their kids, an old lady at the beginning talks about going to live with a man

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and doesn't marry him but that one sentence is all it says about it.)

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I do enjoy a good foundling/rags to riches story -- but the title really didn't go well with the book's story.

After twelve-year-old Annika, a foundling living in late nineteenth-century Vienna, inherits a trunk of costume jewelry, a woman claiming to be her aristocratic mother arrives and takes her to live in a strangely decrepit mansion in Germany.

Best of a bad lot, I'm not even bothered reviewing it, how sad is that?