Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140302565 ISBN 13: 9780140302561

Publisher: Puffin, 1975

When Abu Ali is born, the genie of the lamp announces that his destiny has been foretold: he was the one chosen to break the spell of the land of Green Ginger and restore the magician - turned into a button-nosed tortoise by a spell that went wrong, to his normal shape.

About the Author:

Noel Langley was a South African novelist, playwright, screenwriter and director. He wrote the screenplay which formed the basis for the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.

Review:

One of the great children's books! --Joshua Glenn, The Boston Globe

What makes this familiar hero-undergoing-ordeals-to-win-pretty-girl plot unusually fun are the absurd supporting characters...and the skilled, playful writing. --Meghan Cox Gurdon, The Wall Street Journal

[The Land of Green Ginger] is the perfect read-aloud anti-depressant. I am very very very very pleased to announce that it is now in print in this country, in a lovely edition. . . and I must say that the pleasures of the book are in the language: Whether or not you are a fan of magic carpets and button-nosed tortoises, you will know that you need this book as soon as I tell you that one of the chief villain's lines is, "This isn't About Cheating at Chess, is it? Because I adore Cheating at Chess; I shall Continue to Cheat at Chess; and if you Dare Try to Stop Me, I shall put Glue in your Beard." --Ellen Kushner