The Boy who Knew what the Birds Said - Illustrated by Dugald Stewart Walker

by Padraic Colum, Padraic Colum

This illustrated edition of Padraic Colum's children's story, "The Boy who Knew what the Birds Said," was originally published in 1925. Padraic Colum (1881 - 1972) was an Irish novelist, poet, biographer, dramatist, playwright, children's author, and folklorist. He is hailed as being one of the most important writers of the Irish Literary Revival. This charming and timeless tale is sure to entertain modern children as it did when first published and is not to be missed by collectors of classic children's literature. These tales are accompanied by the beautiful and intricate illustrations of Dugald Stewart Walker. Walker was one of the most highly-celebrated illustrators of children's books during the early twentieth century and are best remembered for the lavish, magical realm that they frequently described. He is perhaps best known for his contributions to "Fairy Tales from Hans Christian Andersen" (1914), but also illustrated books such as "Rainbow Gold - Poems Old and New" and "Dream Boats and Other Stories." Contents include: "How he came to Know what the Birds Said," "The Stone of Victory," "And How Feet-in-the-Ashes, the Swineherd's Son, Came to Find it," "The King of the Birds," "Bloom-of-Youth and the Witch of the Elders," "The Hen-Wife's Son and the Princess Brightbrow," "The Giant and the Birds," and more. Pook Press celebrates the great 'Golden Age of Illustration' in children's classics and fairy tales - a period of unparalleled excellence in book illustration. We publish rare and vintage Golden Age illustrated books, in high-quality colour editions, so that the masterful artwork and story-telling can continue to delight both young and old.

Genres: Fantasy, Fairy Tales

180 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1918

About the author

Padraic Colum was an Irish poet, novelist, dramatist, biographer and collector of folklore. He was one of the leading figures of the Celtic Revival. (Source)

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

project gutenberg

Oh, I'm loving it already. I love the style of the illustrations... not sure if they're art nouveau exactly but they remind me of some of that. I love that the boy has to *learn* how to speak the language of the birds, not just eat a magic fruit or whatever. I love Colum's lilt in the narration, and how he uses a different 'voice' in dialogue... for example the grouse are clearly clucking and chuckling the way fowl like that do. I would love to read this aloud to a child....

Done. A fair bit of sword-work, but also cleverness. Nothing too disturbing for modern sensibilities. And very enjoyable for those of us who appreciate classic stories. I will read more by Colum.

[Ryan McCarthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like his other children's novel, The King of Ireland's Son, Colum's The Boy Who Knew What the Birds Said embeds several folktales into a single narrative. Unlike that other book, the tales here are not woven so cleverly and intricately together to form a single cohesive story- nevertheless, The Boy Who Knew... is permeated with the same wit and wonder. The prose is sparse but graceful and suggestive; the dialogue, simple yet pregnant with wry humor. The skeletal plot of the book is that a boy unwittingly averts an apocalypse (known only to the birds) when he throws his hat at an oncoming cuckoo and its pursuer. As a reward, the birds decide to teach him their various languages. The boy uses this new knowledge to eavesdrop on different birds and hear the wondrous stories they tell each other. Thus does Colum set up a frame on which to hang disparate tales, not all of them Irish. Some of them are Aesop-style morality tales, while others venture into more fabulous territory a la the Arabian Nights. The book, as a whole, did not settle into my heart in the same way as The King of Ireland's Son; nonetheless it has its own distinct charms and is well worth the small amount of time it would take to read it.

[Jaide · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charming and enchanting, a collection of fairytales told to a Boy Who Knew What the Birds Said.

My favorites included “The Stone of Victory”, (Ash Lad meets Iron Hans) “Bloom-of-Youth and the Witch of the Elders” (a slightly cooler Rumpelstiltskin story), “The Sea Maiden Who Became a Sea-Swan” (kinda the opposite of The Little Mermaid), and “What the Peacock and the Crow Told Each Other” (fairytale meets Aesop).

[Kent]

Bedtime stories for Rhino and Ghator