Publishers Weekly
Anne Yvonne Gilbert breathes new life into a classic Hans Christian Andersen tale, The Wild Swans, trans. by Naomi Lewis. Gilbert's colored-pencil renderings of the 11 princes turned to graceful swans by their evil stepmother, the queen, and their sister, who finds a way to break the spell, brim with flowers and gentle insects and animals. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
A wicked stepmother has cast the beautiful princess Elisa out of the palace and turned Elisa's 11 brothers into swans. So begins this lengthy, sentimental retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's well-loved tale. In elaborate particulars Hautzig covers the evil queen's depredations and the loving princess's valiant quest to restore her brothers to human form. But because she delivers her account so thoroughly, taking the reader from Elisa's solitary journey to her meeting with the swans to her learning the secret of the stepmother's spell, from her imprisonment on charges of witchcraft to the eventual happy ending, her narration is a bit sluggish even by fairy-tale standards. Elisa's vows to learn patience and insistent goodness, meanwhile, strike a falsely inspirational note in the otherwise moving story. Kaila, with whom Hautzig collaborated on an edition of Thumbelina , favors delicate watercolors in misty hues of green and rose, with the deliberately flat look of early Renaissance religious art. But because they render Elisa's world in such quiet miniature, they bear little stylistic connection to the story. Ages 5-8. (Sept.)
From the Publisher
"Helen Crawford-White’s spacious illustrations practically beg to be colored in. . . The rich, specific language lends itself especially well to reading out loud, as befits one of Western Civ’s most supple storytellers. . . Beautiful." — The Wall Street Journal
School Library Journal
02/01/2017
Gr 3–5—Magical swans, evil queens, and a beautiful singing nightingale initiate fantastical ideas and dreams of lands far, far away. Eleven prince brothers are dashed from their royal lives when the evil new Queen transforms them into 11 magnificent wild swans. Their younger sister, Elisa, astonished by her brothers' absence, is transformed by the Queen to such a hideous exterior that even her own father fails to recognize her. Thus begins Elisa's quest to solve the mystery and discover the fate of her beloved brothers. Accompanying this tale is Andersen's "The Nightingale." Hoekstra's translation brings these wondrous tales up to the surface for a new generation. The quick pacing and simple vocabulary will attract and keep the attention of eager and reluctant readers alike. Overall, these "folk fantasy" stories may delight younger readers and bring the traditional tales into 2017. VERDICT Recommended for elementary libraries with budding readers who have a taste for all things fantastical.—Mary-Brook J. Townsend, Episcopal Collegiate School, Little Rock, AR
