The Neverending Story facts for kids
First edition (German)
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| Author | Michael Ende |
|---|---|
| Original title | Die unendliche Geschichte |
| Translator | Ralph Manheim |
| Illustrator | Roswitha Quadflieg |
| Country | Germany |
| Language | German |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Publisher | Thienemann Verlag |
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Publication date
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1 September 1979 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 448 |
| ISBN | 3-522-12800-1 |
| OCLC | 7460007 |
| LC Class | PT2665.N27 U5 |
The Neverending Story (German: Die unendliche Geschichte) is a fantasy novel written by German author Michael Ende. It was first published in 1979. The first English version, translated by Ralph Manheim, came out in 1983. This popular book has also been made into several movies.
Contents
What the Story is About
The story follows a boy named Bastian Balthazar Bux. He is a bit lonely and feels neglected by his father after his mother passed away. One day, while trying to get away from some bullies, Bastian rushes into an old book store owned by Carl Conrad Coreander. There, he finds a mysterious book called The Neverending Story.
Bastian can't resist the book. He takes it and hides in his school's attic to start reading.
Fantastica in Danger
The book Bastian reads tells about a magical land called Fantastica. This wonderful place is ruled by the kind and mysterious Childlike Empress. But Fantastica is in great danger from something called "The Nothing." This strange force is slowly making parts of Fantastica disappear.
The Empress's doctor, a centaur named Cairon, tells everyone that the Empress is very sick. She has chosen a young warrior named Atreyu to find a cure. Cairon gives Atreyu a powerful medallion called AURYN. This medallion protects Atreyu from harm.
Atreyu's Quest
Atreyu sets off on his journey. He meets a giant turtle named Morla the Aged One, who tells him that only a new name given to the Empress by a human can save her. Morla also advises Atreyu to find an invisible oracle named Uyulala.
On his quest, Atreyu is helped by a friendly luckdragon named Falkor. Atreyu saves Falkor from a dangerous creature called Ygramul the Many. Uyulala tells Atreyu that the human who can save the Empress must come from beyond Fantastica's borders.
The Nothing's Secret
As Falkor and Atreyu search for the borders of Fantastica, Atreyu gets separated from Falkor and loses AURYN. He lands in a spooky place called Spook City. There, he finds a chained wolf named Gmork. Gmork tells Atreyu that when creatures from Fantastica disappear into The Nothing, they become lies in the human world.
Gmork also reveals that he works for the force behind The Nothing. He was sent to stop the hero chosen by the Empress. Gmork dies, but his body still holds onto Atreyu. Luckily, Falkor finds AURYN and saves Atreyu just in time from The Nothing.
Bastian's Role
Falkor and Atreyu return to the Childlike Empress. She tells them they have brought her rescuer. Bastian, reading in the attic, starts to realize she means him, but he's too scared to believe it. He feels shy about his appearance.
When Bastian doesn't say the new name, the Empress calls upon the Old Man of Wandering Mountain. This old man has a book, also called The Neverending Story. He starts reading it aloud. Bastian is amazed to find that the book he is reading is repeating itself, including his own actions in the attic! Realizing he must act to stop the story from repeating forever, Bastian finally shouts the Empress's new name: "Moon Child."
Suddenly, Bastian appears in Fantastica with the Empress. He uses his imagination to bring Fantastica back to life. The Empress gives him AURYN, and on its back, he sees the words: DO WHAT YOU WISH.
Bastian's Adventures and Challenges
For every wish Bastian makes with AURYN, he loses a memory of his life as a human. At first, he doesn't know this. He has many adventures in Fantastica, creating new places and creatures. He even becomes handsome in his own eyes.
However, Bastian starts to use AURYN too much. He creates dangers for himself to conquer, which causes problems for Fantastica. He meets a wicked sorceress named Xayide, who encourages him to become Emperor of Fantastica.
During his coronation, Atreyu tries to stop him. Bastian gets angry and badly hurts Atreyu in a fight. Bastian then enters "Old Emperor City," where other humans who came to Fantastica before him now live without purpose, having lost all their memories. Bastian realizes he only has wishes as long as he has memories.
Finding His Way Home
Bastian eventually loses almost all his memories, except for his father and his own name. After more adventures, he gives up the memory of his father to discover his deepest wish: to be able to love and give love to others.
Close to losing his very last memory, Bastian cannot find the Water of Life, which would allow him to return home with his memories. Atreyu finds him. Bastian, feeling sorry, gives AURYN back to Atreyu. Atreyu and Falkor enter AURYN with Bastian. The Water of Life asks Bastian his name and if he has finished all the stories he started. He hasn't. Atreyu promises to finish them for him, and the Water of Life allows Bastian to return to the human world.
Bastian drinks the Water of Life and returns to his normal self, feeling happy and comfortable. He wanted to bring some water to his father. He goes home and tells his father everything that happened, and they become close again. Bastian then confesses to Mr. Coreander about taking his book. But Mr. Coreander says he never owned such a book. He tells Bastian that he has also been to Fantastica and that the book likely moved to someone else. He says Bastian, like him, will help that person find their way to Fantastica. The book ends by saying, "This is another story and shall be told another time."
Book Details
The Neverending Story was first published in Germany in 1979. It was very popular, staying on Germany's bestseller list for many weeks.
The original German book was printed using two colors:
- Red text for the parts of the story happening in the human world.
- Green text for the events taking place in Fantastica.
The pictures at the start of each chapter, drawn by Roswitha Quadflieg, also use both colors to show how the two worlds are connected. The book was only printed in hardcover because the author, Michael Ende, wanted it to look just like the special book Bastian steals in the story.
The English version came out in 1983. By 2010, The Neverending Story had been translated into 36 languages and sold over eight million copies around the world!
Other Versions of the Story
Music
- The album Wooden Heart by the band Listener was inspired by The Neverending Story.
- The Spanish indie rock band Vetusta Morla got its name from the ancient turtle in the novel.
- The band Bayside has a song called 'They Looked Like Strong Hands' that mentions a speech from the book.
- Hip-Hop artist Homeboy Sandman mentions Atreyu and Falkor in his 2019 song "Far Out."
Audiobooks
A German audio play of The Neverending Story was released in 1984. In 2012, an English audiobook was released, read by Gerard Doyle.
Movies
- The NeverEnding Story was the first movie based on the book, released in 1984. It only covers the first half of the book. The author, Michael Ende, was not happy with the movie because he felt it changed his story too much.
- The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter came out in 1990. It used ideas from the second half of the book but told a new story.
- The NeverEnding Story III was released in 1994. This movie mostly used the characters but had a completely new story. It was not very popular with critics.
TV Shows
- The 1995 animated series was called The Neverending Story: The Animated Adventures of Bastian Balthazar Bux. It had 26 episodes and showed Bastian's new adventures in Fantastica.
- Tales from the Neverending Story was a TV series from 2000-2002. It was loosely based on the novel.
Computer Games
- An text adventure game based on the book was released in 1985 for computers like the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64.
- A computer game based on the second movie was released in 1990.
- In 2001, a German video game studio released AURYN Quest, inspired by Ende's book.
Google Doodle
On September 1, 2016, Google Doodle created a special drawing to celebrate the book's publication.
See also
In Spanish: La historia interminable para niños
