The Princess and the Goblin

 Book by George MacDonald

The story itself was good, and actually lends itself to a great deal of spiritual symbolism that could be discussed. Unfortunately, because this book was written 150 years ago, the idiomatic and syntactic aspects of the language do feel outdated. I would love for a revised edition to come out that keeps the beautiful writing while changing the wording just enough to be more understandable to modern children.

A few quotes:

“her hands were hard and chapped and large, but it was with work for them; and therefore in the sight of the angels her hands were so much the more beautiful.”

“that is the way fear serves us: it always takes the side of the thing that we are afraid of.”

“Seeing is not believing—it is only seeing.”

“We are all very anxious to be understood, and it is very hard not to be. But there is one thing much more necessary.” “What is that, Grandmother?” “To understand other people.”