Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collections
Publication
NYR Children's Collection (2017), Edition: Illustrated, 224 pages
Description
"It's 5pm on New Year's Eve in the Villa Nightmare, and as Shadow Sorcery Minister Beelzebub Preposteror's thumb-striking clock counts down each hour with an "Ouch!", Minister Preposteror draws closer to missing his midnight deadline forfulfilling his annual quota of evil deeds and being "foreclosed." Up against a tight deadline and threats from His Hellish Excellency, the Minister of Pitch Darkness himself, Preposteror has all but given up when the arrival of an unexpected visitor promises hope: his aunt, the witch Tyrannia Vampirella, who proposes that they work together to brew the Notion Potion, a powerful formula that will grant all their evil wishes. The Night of Wishes, from The Neverending Story author Michael Ende, anticipates the world of Harry Potter: a world in which magic is not only very real, and wielded by both forces good and evil, but also bureaucratized, with its practitioners fitting into a tightly regulated hierarchical system"--… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member surreality
Plot: Surprisingly dark for a children's book, and with sufficient twists and turns to keep it highly interesting and entertaining. Good pacing, great scene balance, and it manages to surprise more than once.
Characters: Adorable on the good side, terrific on the bad side. There only are four real
Style: Lovely for a children's story, but with so many tongue-in-cheek comments kids won't get that it's hilarious for adults as well, just in a slightly different way. It works surprisingly well on those two layers. Great satire.
Plus: The characters, the overall idea, the writing style.
Minus: The punch brewing is a bit too long and occasionally drags.
Summary: Great book and a must-read. Preferably, read it first when you're eight and then re-read every year. It's a book that grows with you.
Characters: Adorable on the good side, terrific on the bad side. There only are four real
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characters and one or two walk-bys, so the cast is very small. Not a notable lack in any way, however. Characterization is simply fun.Style: Lovely for a children's story, but with so many tongue-in-cheek comments kids won't get that it's hilarious for adults as well, just in a slightly different way. It works surprisingly well on those two layers. Great satire.
Plus: The characters, the overall idea, the writing style.
Minus: The punch brewing is a bit too long and occasionally drags.
Summary: Great book and a must-read. Preferably, read it first when you're eight and then re-read every year. It's a book that grows with you.
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LibraryThing member drachenbraut23
This was one of my numerous re-reads and is just of my fave children stories. Although, this time I listened to the unabridged audiobook version.
Michael Ende is a great storyteller and in general his stories appeal to young and old alike. This story is not exception.
It's New Years Eve, just
However, the secret agents, the cat Maurizio and the raven Jacob from the High Council of Animals, are there to shadow the two villains and to ensure that they can't reach their evil goal. Constantly they thwart the plans of the wizard and the witch and Beelzebub and his aunt must come up with something very special to reach their goal in time! The only thing which could rescue them now is the "satanarchäolügenialkohöllische Wunschpunsch" which is supposed to make all the evil desires of the human mind come true. Maurizio and Jacob are the only ones who can stop the dooming catastrophe. Although, these soo two different colleagues have to overcome their differences first, before their feverish race against time to save the world begins.
Michael Ende not only demonstrates in this, cute little story, the problems and misfortunes of our society, but also gives children in a simple way an understanding of good and evil. He also shows that someone considered "small" can archive something great. A lovely story, which I can recommend to anyone who enjoys children stories.
Michael Ende is a great storyteller and in general his stories appeal to young and old alike. This story is not exception.
It's New Years Eve, just
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before midnight, the bailiff of the devil turns up at the "Villa Alptraum" to see the wizard "Beelzebub Irrwitzer". Beelzebub has so far not managed to fulfill his evil deed's for this year and now he must pay the prize for his sloppiness. Well, how will Beelzebub manage to complete his required evil deeds until midnight, in order to satisfy the devil? And on top of all, his absolutely annoying aunt "Tyrannja Vamperl" turns up to perfect his streak of misfortune. However, the secret agents, the cat Maurizio and the raven Jacob from the High Council of Animals, are there to shadow the two villains and to ensure that they can't reach their evil goal. Constantly they thwart the plans of the wizard and the witch and Beelzebub and his aunt must come up with something very special to reach their goal in time! The only thing which could rescue them now is the "satanarchäolügenialkohöllische Wunschpunsch" which is supposed to make all the evil desires of the human mind come true. Maurizio and Jacob are the only ones who can stop the dooming catastrophe. Although, these soo two different colleagues have to overcome their differences first, before their feverish race against time to save the world begins.
Michael Ende not only demonstrates in this, cute little story, the problems and misfortunes of our society, but also gives children in a simple way an understanding of good and evil. He also shows that someone considered "small" can archive something great. A lovely story, which I can recommend to anyone who enjoys children stories.
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LibraryThing member krau0098
I have had this book on my to read shelf for a long time. I originally picked it up because it’s by the author of the Neverending Story (which I adore). It ended up being an okay read, but was slow at parts and a bit awkward to read. I think younger readers will enjoy this story more.
The evil
There are some wonderful illustrations throughout this book and I enjoyed those. I found the story to be a bit silly and over the top; it’s something I think younger readers will enjoy more than adults. I personally wasn’t a huge fan though...it was okay but not great.
There is a lot in here about friendship and good triumphing over evil. There is also a lot of clever wordplay and some cute poems throughout.
The whole story is very predictable and the characters very stereotypical. It’s a story I think younger readers will enjoy but adults will find a bit boring to get through. I honestly struggled a bit just because I had trouble engaging with the characters and story.
Overall an okay read about good triumphing over evil. The animal characters are cute and funny, if a bit over the top. There is some clever word play in here as well. I struggled a bit with the pacing (some parts were kind of boring) and with the way the writing flowed (it was a bit awkward at times). I would definitely recommend The Neverending Story over this book.
The evil
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sorcerer Beezlebub Preposteror and his equally evil aunt are both behind on their required annual quota of evil deeds. Things start looking better for them when they find a recipe for a potion that can grant wishes in reverse. This would be great because not only can they complete their evil deeds they can also fool the animal spies that live with them. Except they don’t know that the cat and raven that live with them have a sneaky plan of their own to stop them.There are some wonderful illustrations throughout this book and I enjoyed those. I found the story to be a bit silly and over the top; it’s something I think younger readers will enjoy more than adults. I personally wasn’t a huge fan though...it was okay but not great.
There is a lot in here about friendship and good triumphing over evil. There is also a lot of clever wordplay and some cute poems throughout.
The whole story is very predictable and the characters very stereotypical. It’s a story I think younger readers will enjoy but adults will find a bit boring to get through. I honestly struggled a bit just because I had trouble engaging with the characters and story.
Overall an okay read about good triumphing over evil. The animal characters are cute and funny, if a bit over the top. There is some clever word play in here as well. I struggled a bit with the pacing (some parts were kind of boring) and with the way the writing flowed (it was a bit awkward at times). I would definitely recommend The Neverending Story over this book.
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LibraryThing member ChazziFrazz
A very imaginative story line with a cast of strange characters in a weird world. Along the realm of The Phantom Toll Booth and Alice in Wonderland. Two unlikely characters come together to save their world from a terrible change.
LibraryThing member averym
Translation sucks. A lot.
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1989
Physical description
224 p.; 8.8 inches
ISBN
168137188X / 9781681371887
Local notes
It's New Year's Eve at the Villa Nightmare but Beelzebub Preposteror is in no mood for celebration. As the Shadow Sorcery Minister, Preposteror has a duty to perform a certain number of evil deeds in service to the Minister of Pitch Darkness. But this year, to his horror, he's nowhere near meeting that quota. Preposteror has all but given up when who should make an unexpected visit but his aunt, the witch Tyrannia Vampirella. She has come with a diabolical proposal that just might be the solution to Preposterer's dilemma: together they will brew the fabled Notion Potion, "one of the most ancient and powerful evil spells in the universe," and their every evil wish will be granted. The only thing that stands in their way is a most unlikely team--a cat named Mauricio di Mauro and a raven known as Jacob Scribble, who have just hours to thwart the plans of their sorcerer masters and save the world from destruction.
Other editions
The Night of Wishes (Hippo fiction) by Michael Ende (Hardcover)