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321st out of 791 books
—
891 voters
The Sorcerer's Apprentice
A retelling of the centuries-old tale follows Sylvia, a spirited girl apprenticed to a sorcerer, as she steals from his castle a powerful potion that she is sure will help her complete a difficult task.
Hardcover, 32 pages
Published
October 1st 1993
by Scholastic
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Most readers will be reminded of the Disney version of this tale (you know where Mickey loses control of the magic and the brooms take over?) And you're meant to as that tale and this tale are taken from the same source - the late 18th century poem by Goethe titled
Der Zauberlehrling
.
In this version (told in verse by Nancy Willard - A Visit to William Blake's Inn) Sylvia arrives at the powerful magician Tottibo's house ready to learn the craft, but is impatient when she learns she is expected t...more
In this version (told in verse by Nancy Willard - A Visit to William Blake's Inn) Sylvia arrives at the powerful magician Tottibo's house ready to learn the craft, but is impatient when she learns she is expected t...more
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The story begins with an old sorcerer who leaves his workshop for a day leaving his apprentice in charge with his simple chores to perform. Bored of fetching water, the apprentice enchants a broom to do the work for him. The floor is soon awash with water, and the apprentice realizes that he cannot stop the broom because he was not fully trained to put the spell on to begin with.
Unable to control the enchanted broom, the apprentice splits it in two with an axe, but to his surprise, each of the p...more
Unable to control the enchanted broom, the apprentice splits it in two with an axe, but to his surprise, each of the p...more
Nancy Willard is way, way up there on my list of wonderful (and unusual) children's literature authors, and I'm a huge, huge fan of the Dillons. I'm not surprised, therefore, that I like their collaboration. In this version of this famous tale, the apprentice is a girl. But the essentials are there: the apprentice tries to use magic she's not ready to use and near catastrophe results. Willard's poetry is marvelous and the Dillons' illustrations invite repeated close inspection.
It rhymes. Magic can be difficult to learn. Practice is the answer. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Above all don't make it worse by attacking the problem with a magic rusty floating in mid air ax. I learned that a Gryphon is the same as a griffin.
Some of the most beautiful illustrations paired with rhyming text. What more can I say?
I love the rich illustrations and lyrically rhyming, unusual fairy-tale!
This is a nice interpretation of the tale "The Magician's Assistant" by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. It's written in rhyme, which reads really nicely, and it's illustrated by the Dillon's so the pictures are AMAZING! I'm just not crazy about the tale - I always think of the Disney Fantasia movie which I don't really care for.
Sylvia, the new apprentice to the great magician Tottibo, steals one of his spells to complete an impossible task and accidentally creates chaos.
Lower grades - K-3
Topic - Subtopic: Behavior-Stealing; Fantasy/Imagination-Misc./Other; Mysteries-Magic
Lower grades - K-3
Topic - Subtopic: Behavior-Stealing; Fantasy/Imagination-Misc./Other; Mysteries-Magic
Read this earlier this year, but forgot to add it. Loved the illustrations!
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NANCY WILLARD is an award-winning children's author, poet, and essayist who received the Newbery Medal in 1982 for A Visit to William Blake's Inn. She has written dozens of volumes of children's fiction and poetry, including The Flying Bed, Sweep Dreams, and Cinderella's Dress. She is also the author of two novels for adults, Things Invisible to See and Sister Water, and twelve books of poetry, in...more
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