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Narrated by Frank Dolan
Felix SaltenUnabridged — 51 minutes
Narrated by Frank Dolan
Felix SaltenUnabridged — 51 minutes
Bambi's life in the woods begins happily. There are forest animals to play with-friend Hare, the chattery squirrel, the noisy screech owl, and Bambi's twin cousins, frail Gobo and beautiful Faline. But winter comes, and Bambi learns that the woods hold danger-and things he doesn't understand. The first snowfall makes food hard to find. Bambi's father, a handsome stag, roams the forest, but leaves Bambi and his mother alone. Then there is Man. He comes to the forest with weapons that can wound an animal. He does terrible things to Gobo, to Bambi's mother, and even to Bambi. But he can't keep Bambi from growing into a handsome stag himself and becoming the Prince of the Forest.
[Salten] has the gift of a tender, lucid style. His observation is next door to marvelous, and he invests the fruits of this observation with pure poetry. His comprehension makes his deer, his screech-owls, his butterflies, grasshoppers and hares, far more exciting to read about than hundreds of human beings who crowd the pages of our novels. -- Books of the Century; New York Times review, July 1928
In 1999, Schulman adapted Salten's 1923 novel, bringing the original tale of a young deer's coming of age to a generation more familiar with the Disney animated version. Here, the woodland story, considered by many critics to be the first "ecological" novel, springs to life via Dolan's fine reading. Young listeners will be eager to follow along on Bambi's first frolics in the meadow, where he encounters a magpie, grasshoppers, butterflies and dandelions. By then, listeners will be hooked enough to stay with this recording as Bambi takes in stride the important, if somber, life lessons imparted by his mother, all the while trying to understand why "life is so difficult and dangerous." And when hunters encroach, taking his mother from him, Bambi knows he has to follow the advice of the stag known as the Great Prince: "Listen, smell and see for yourself; live by yourself; find out for yourself." Dolan's comfortable storytelling style conveys all the wonder, awe and self-discovery of the material and does not over-sentimentalize the deeper emotional current that comes with encountering death. A wide range of listeners will find much to appreciate in this more serious (compared to Disney's interpretation) look at a beloved children's character. Ages 6-up. (Jan.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
With its mystical, exultant evocation of nature, and its unwavering depiction of savage human nature, "Bambi" truly is a story for all ages. Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher's Luminous paintings capture, by turns, the radiance of Bambi's forest world, its beauty, terror and stillness, as the seasons pass and Bambi grows into princely maturity.
—Elizabeth Spires
Returning to Bambi nearly a century after it was published is an opportunity to attune ourselves to its cacophony of sounds, its ripples of gossip, its characters’ headbutting. The book is a rich and busy ecosystem — much like a Viennese café.” —Maddie Crum, Los Angeles Review of Books
"The novel combines a richly imagined animal world with the narrative trajectory of a Bildungsroman." —Leo A. Lensing, TLS
"Bambi articulates a tension between fear and desire, and an attempt to dominate one’s emotions to avoid the pitfalls of foolishness. . . .Thanks to a new translation from Damion Searls. . .Salten’s name and prose and the true, complex spirit of Bambi are finally restored." —Farah Abdessamad, Observer
"Bambi is a delicious book. Delicious not only for children but for those who are no longer so fortunate. For delicacy of perception and essential truth I hardly know of any story of animals that can stand beside this life study of a forest deer. Felix Salten is a poet." —John Galsworthy
| BN ID: | 2940169753837 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Blackstone Audio, Inc. |
| Publication date: | 03/27/2018 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
| Age Range: | Up to 4 Years |
That evening when Bambi and his mother were playing tag in the meadow, his mother saw her friend the hare and introduced him to Bambi.
"Good evening, young man," said Hare politely.
Bambi thought the hare's long spoonlike ears, which at times stood bolt upright and at others fell back limply as though they had suddenly grown weak, were funny. Bambi had to laugh.
The hare laughed quickly too, but then his eyes grew more thoughtful. To Bambi's surprise he suddenly sat straight up on his hind legs and said to Bambi's mother, "What a charming young prince. I sincerely congratulate you. Yes, indeed, he'll make a splendid prince in time." And with that, the hare excused himself -- "I have all kinds of things to do tonight" -- and hopped off, ears back, so they touched his shoulders.
Copyright 1928 Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Copyright renewed
1956 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Storybook adaptation copyright c 1999 by
Janet Schulman
