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15th out of 35 books
—
49 voters
The Wild Swans
Eleven brothers, turned into wild swans by an evil stepmother, are saved by the sacrifices of their beautiful sister, Elisa.
Published
(first published 1838)
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Oct 01, 2009
Abigail
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyone Who Loves Beautifully-Illustrated Books!
Review Temporarily Removed.
NOTE: Find Anne Yvonne Gilbert illustations!
JEFFERS VERSION
This is the first time I've read the tale of the wild swans, so I cannot say whether this is a faithful retelling. However, I enjoyed the tale; it was nice to see the beautiful heroine working selflessly for the brothers she loves so dearly; and that they are truly appreciative of her efforts and work to save her in return. The tale is a bit long, and the illustrations are nice without being especially memorable (they seem a little less...more
JEFFERS VERSION
This is the first time I've read the tale of the wild swans, so I cannot say whether this is a faithful retelling. However, I enjoyed the tale; it was nice to see the beautiful heroine working selflessly for the brothers she loves so dearly; and that they are truly appreciative of her efforts and work to save her in return. The tale is a bit long, and the illustrations are nice without being especially memorable (they seem a little less...more
Oct 01, 2009
Abigail
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Fairy-Tale Lovers / Susan Jeffers Fans
Review Temporarily Removed.
Mommy's review from 10/4/11 -
Julia kept putting off reading this so I started to think maybe she'd glanced through it and wasn't interested. I don't make her read anything if she doesn't want to so I thought I'd give it a read if all else failed and note that she didn't want to read it.
Well, it turned out she was "saving it for the end because it looks great". *smile* I love this kid.
I haven't read the original telling of this story so I can't compare but Julia and I both really liked this vers...more
Julia kept putting off reading this so I started to think maybe she'd glanced through it and wasn't interested. I don't make her read anything if she doesn't want to so I thought I'd give it a read if all else failed and note that she didn't want to read it.
Well, it turned out she was "saving it for the end because it looks great". *smile* I love this kid.
I haven't read the original telling of this story so I can't compare but Julia and I both really liked this vers...more
The story is Hans Christian Anderson, the pictures are Susan Jeffers, and both are beautiful. It's a very haunting story and it was one of my favorites when I was little.
Marcia Brown's illustrations are beautiful in this book. I've looked at several of her picture books for a paper I wrote about her in my children's literature class toward my MLIS. I think I prefer her painting to her woodblock printing. She won a Caldecott medal for Cinderella, but I like her Wild Swans better. Since the illustrations are so poignant and represent the story so well, I was very surprised to find out that it's out of print--it wasn't even on Goodreads and I had to add it.
The king...more
The king...more
This Hans Christian Anderson tale was in my 2nd grade reading anthology, and it truly captured my imagination. The wickedness of the evil queen, and the love and dedication and self-sacrifice of the princess even to the point of death really spoke to me. This version of the story is absolutely beautiful!!!! I love the gorgeous pictures - they are exquisite.
There were a couple changes to other versions of this story that I've read. I don't remember the fairy Morgana being in the story. Also in s...more
There were a couple changes to other versions of this story that I've read. I don't remember the fairy Morgana being in the story. Also in s...more
May 11, 2010
Chandra
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Chandra by:
Abigail A.
**The following review is for the version translated by Naomi Lewis and illustrated by Angela Barrett.
Hans Christian Andersen's The Wild Swans tells the story of Princess Elisa and her eleven brothers all raised in extreme luxury until their father the king chooses a wicked woman for his new bride. Their new step-mother expels the boys with a curse which turns them all into wild swans and banishes Elisa to a remote country cottage. It is up to Elisa alone to reverse this black magic so that she...more
Hans Christian Andersen's The Wild Swans tells the story of Princess Elisa and her eleven brothers all raised in extreme luxury until their father the king chooses a wicked woman for his new bride. Their new step-mother expels the boys with a curse which turns them all into wild swans and banishes Elisa to a remote country cottage. It is up to Elisa alone to reverse this black magic so that she...more
When I first saw "The Wild Swans" in the children's book section, I didn't know what it was. Cased in a beautifully illustrated box (by Thomas Aquinas Maguire), I thought it was a misplaced gift item. It didn't help when I opened it and all I saw was the seemingly endless accordion-booklet of wordless illustrations. Luckily, I saw the little booklet and took some time to read the Hans Christian Andersen adapted fairy tale.
This books is more of a lesson of perseverance. It show us true and familiar love. Although I would like to read that the father and the stepmother would have gotten a punishment and that the king wouldn't have let himself convince; but that is how life exactly is. Not always happens what we want.
The princess sets out to find her brothers who have not been in her life. As she discovers they are bewitched, she goes above and beyond to set them free. I would use this story as another form of exposure to students. This story is not one I had picked up before.
Seems to be a fairy tale that isn't very well known. I like that the princess perseveres in order to save her brothers and has a happy ending. The illustrations seem to show all of the children about the same age, which is kinda weird.
In the mid-1800s, Andersen wrote many original fairy tales. He has many common themes however to the stories that had been passed down for generations. This story is of a young girl sent away by her evil stepmother. She then must rescue her eleven brothers from the spell that has been placed upon them. In a dream, a fairy came to her and gave her the answer. So after, a king falls in love with her at first sight. This tale is a bit lengthy and has a few passages of irrelevant information, but be...more
I remember being given this book for Christmas. I loved it. It became one of my favorite stories, and I love the illustrations in this edition. When I went walking in Ireland many years later, I was thrilled to find real stinging nettles like in the book and was half tempted to collect them to see if they could actually be formed into thread.
one of yvonne gilbert's illustrations (not sure if it's included in the wild swans though) ..
This was one of my favourite fairytales when I was little! The evil step-mother strikes again, but children turn out to be smarter and better than her :)
Nov 16, 2009
Sam Grace
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommended to Sam by:
Abigail
Shelves:
geeky-mythic-stuff,
pretty-pictures
Barefoot Books strikes again. I have yet to disappointed with something by these publishers.
The story is, of course, wonderful, and I enjoyed the beautiful artwork.
The story is, of course, wonderful, and I enjoyed the beautiful artwork.
Maddie: Elisa, there's a princess and her name's Elisa, and she has 11 brothers and there's a fairy and swans and the girl is beautiful.
Dec 29, 2012
Megan
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
folk-fairy-tales-fables-kids,
kids-favorites
death by burning might have been a bit much for my kids (age 4 AND 5) but they liked it =)
I love fairy tales and this one has beautiful illustrations which enhance the story wonderfully! Reading it to my children and of course for myself!
Naomi Lewis' beautiful illustrations make this fairy tale even more wonderful.
I love this book it is a wonderful book for sports fanns
Love this book. Brother and sister love!
Jan 29, 2013
Cheryl
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fairy-tales-and-ghosts
Kaarina Kaila's illustrations are beautiful!!
Love the illustrations!
I could never imagine that there comes a day in my life when I read H.C.Andersen in his own language! As I nver dreamed about living in Denmark. But all these happened, and I tried to read some of Andersen's works in Danish, well, let's say Old Danish, which is different. Now I know a bit about Danish culture as well, so I would say Andersen has more dimensions than I imagined him in Persian.
Mommy says: Kept both kids rapt for the whole book. However, typical Hans Christian Anderson (this is s aretelling of his original); there is some violence.
Like all of the books that have been retold by Amy Ehrlich and illustrated by Susan Jeffers, this is beautiful in both words and pictures. This faithful retelling of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale is not a little kids book any more than they would the original REAL "Little Mermaid". But older children and adults will find it wonderful.
not the same illustrated version I have (mine is by Susan Jeffers circa early 80s and outrageously beautiful) but I love this fairy tale. I really return to it as a center of personal mythology over and over again especially in my work. xoxoxo
Another classic I hadn't read before. Good story about enduring family love and sacrifice.
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Also known as Anne Yvonne Gilbert
One of the most prolific and acclaimed illustrators practicing today, Yvonne Gilbert’s work runs the gamut from children’s book illustrations and postage stamps to posters and record sleeves. The richness of her imagination reflects her lifelong research and interest in the quality of materials and surfaces, from the familiar glint of an embroidered cloak to the so...more
More about Yvonne Gilbert...
One of the most prolific and acclaimed illustrators practicing today, Yvonne Gilbert’s work runs the gamut from children’s book illustrations and postage stamps to posters and record sleeves. The richness of her imagination reflects her lifelong research and interest in the quality of materials and surfaces, from the familiar glint of an embroidered cloak to the so...more
Oct 01, 2009 01:21pm
Oct 01, 2009 01:51pm
Oct 01, 2009 06:58pm