Star parts: Well I could just be completely biased and say it's by Cornelia Funke so of course it's good. But no. Igraine may be a spunky little 11/12 year old, but she has faults. She does want to be a knight, but she forgets the spells she's supposed to learn and she's terrified of spiders. She's also very kind and thoughtful. In fact, considering that ALL she wants to be is a knight, she's pretty well-rounded. And she gets scared and worries about stuff. I like the fact that if anything, Igraine isn't hung-ho. She's passionate about the thing she wants to be and then she's a kid.

I like stories with action, but while there is action, it's not 'action-packed'. There's a good ole story there as well: kid needs to save parents and protect her home and the books of ... (oh no I shouldn't give away the plot). I like Funke's take on quite traditional fairy tale elements, the knight is a girl, there's an ogre, but (well, you'll find out about him if you read the book). There's another Knight, there's the magic. Her parents are really lovely, even if they do get turned into pigs and it's all kind of amusing and nice.

Black clouds: I've moaned about this before, but it seems that if you're writing books for younger reader's nowadays you have to put little bios of the characters in the front of the books. What, you think 8 year olds can't remember who's who? And you give away parts of the plot! I'm sorry, but I find them a waste of paper, they give away key points of the plot and as when I read it with kids I tell them NOT TO READ IT. WE READ THE BOOK TO FIND OUT ABOUT THE CHARACTERS!

There were a few bits where Funke got carried away with description or stuff about Knight's, but not enough for me to sigh and roll my eyes or anything.

Do I recommend it: It's Funke, so of course I would say yes, but I've also read enough Funke now to have a pecking order. So bearing that in mind that, it's after Inkspell, Inkheart, Reckless (to be reviewed), and Dragon Rider. And also reminds me that I must read Inkdeath and ...

Fun Story.

Cute, but not as empowering as I had hoped. Though Igraine is Brave, much of the actual work is done by men. But she contributes quite a bit, is the main character of the story, and wants to be a knight. So all in all, quite cute and entertaining.

Worked well for the family to listen to on a long car ride.

4.0 stars for both Audio Quality and Story

Igraine the Brave is a wonderful story for young children with knights, dragons, talking cats, and a strong heroin. Igraine is an excellent example for young girls as she pursues her dreams, despite the negativity from outside forces, and faces her challenges with endless courage. I highly recommend it for children of any age and yes that includes 23 year olds!

This was a very fun read-aloud. Both the 12yo & the 10yo approved.

This was a great book to read with the kids. Not too scary, or violent. Fairly feminist, about a girl who wants to become a knight. She sees the largest barrier there as her magician's lineage rather than her gender, though we find out later in the book that female knights are rare, and they are compelled by chivalry to protect fair maidens now and again. Overall, a sweet, nonthreatening book with a strong girl as the main character.

A fun romp in a lighthearted fantasy of a girl yearning to be squire!

this is the tale of a spunky little girl who wants to be a knight. her parents and brother are wizards/sorcerors/magicians (i can’t remember what they’re called specifically) and all she wants to do is swordplay and riding horses. not that anyone is pressuring her to do magic instead. in fact, no one seems to pressure her to do anything she doesn’t want to do. for being a book about knights and sieges and jousting, there’s not really much dire danger in this book–which is kind of refreshing for this genre. well read, too.