Spindle's End vs The water-babies: a fairy tale for a land-baby: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Fairies, Fairy Tales, Fantasy, Children's fiction, Fiction
Spindle's End
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The evil fairy Pernicia has set a curse on Princess Briar-Rose: she is fated to prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into an endless, poisoned sleep. Katriona, a young fairy, kidnaps the princess…
The water-babies: a fairy tale for a land-baby
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The story follows Tom in his land-life as a climbing boy for a chimney-sweep and in his after-life as a water-baby, where he gains redemption from selfishness as well as from drudgery. On to his fantasy Kingsley grafts…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Spindle's End has the widest readership — 25681 ratings behind its score.
- The water-babies: a fairy tale for a land-baby reaches further in scholarship and criticism — cited 64 times.
- The water-babies: a fairy tale for a land-baby runs the darker storyline; Spindle's End stays the lighter read.
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How to choose
Scores by source
| Spindle's End | The water-babies: a fairy tale for a land-baby | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.8 (25681) | — |
| Hardcover | 3.8 (47) | 3.3 (14) |
| Google Books | 5.0 (3) | — |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (66) | — |
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Reception
| Spindle's End | The water-babies: a fairy tale for a land-baby | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 25681 | 14 |
| Editions | 17 | 213 |
| Citations | 2 | 64 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | — |
| Want to read | 21058 | — |
| Reading it now | 409 | — |
| Written reviews | 1827 | — |
| Wikipedia attention | 242 | — |
| Pages | 395 | 350 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Spindle's End or The water-babies: a fairy tale for a land-baby?
Spindle's End has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Spindle's End 3.8/5, The water-babies: a fairy tale for a land-baby 3.8/5).
Which is shorter to read: Spindle's End or The water-babies: a fairy tale for a land-baby?
The water-babies: a fairy tale for a land-baby is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: The water-babies: a fairy tale for a land-baby (350 pages, ≈ 6 h 29 m); Spindle's End (395 pages, ≈ 7 h 19 m).
Which is harder to read: Spindle's End or The water-babies: a fairy tale for a land-baby?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Spindle's End: Light; The water-babies: a fairy tale for a land-baby: Moderate.