Egrin and the Painted Wizard

Egrin #1

by Amanda Walsh

Egrin the wizard was kind: he used his magic to help his friends, the animals and birds of the forest. When he was not helping his friends he liked to paint. One day he painted a picture of himself, and suddenly it came alive!

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 2 out of 5]

A kindhearted wizard gets into trouble in this original fairy-tale from Australian author/illustrator Amanda Walsh, painting a portrait of himself that is accidentally brought to life when his cat spills magic powder on it. Stepping off the canvas, this painted wizard proves himself an evil twin to his creator, enchanting and imprisoning Egrin. But when he heads into the forest to torment Egrin's animal friends, the rain washes his paint (and him) away...

I am familiar with Walsh largely through her 1991 picture-book, The Buried Moon , which presents a lovely retelling of a traditional English folktale, and which is (I believe) the only one of her books to be published here in the states. I've long been aware of her trilogy of tales about Egrin the wizard, originally published from 1972 through 1988, and have wanted to track them down. Unfortunately, most of the copies I have seen for sale over the years have been prohibitively expensive, so I have refrained. Just this evening however, I discovered to my delight that all three books were available digitally, through Apple Books, and I immediately purchased them in this format.

I'm not sure if my expectations were simply too high, given my long years of waiting, and my enjoyment of Walsh's illustrations in The Buried Moon , but although I found Egrin and the Painted Wizard engaging enough, as a story of magical adventure, I was conscious of a sense of disappointment, while reading it. It feels fairly slight, from a textual perspective, and the artwork, while interesting, didn't strike me in the way that the artwork in The Buried Moon did. It's quite creative - black and white drawings, with the sole use of color being in the depiction of the painted wizard - but I didn't find it particularly beautiful or appealing. That said, I don't regret reading it, and I do intend to read the two sequels, Egrin and the Wicked Witch and Egrin and the Hungry Troll . Tastes vary, so I think it might still have some appeal for picture-book readers who enjoy fairy-tales, and stories of magic and wizards.

[Ange · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book that screams 1970's and I enjoyed it, particularly for the illustrations which are a nice mix of black and white with colour appearing throughout as appropriate for the story (read it to see why!). The story is quite mild. Egrin is a happy, friendly wizard, whose world is turned upside down by a not-so-nice wizard. With the help of a little inclement weather the not-so-nice wizard gets his comeuppance and order is resorted to Egrin's world.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Found this in a garage sale, remember it from my childhood. The illustrations are memorable, but as a young child they scared me.