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JIM HENSON'S 'THE STORYTELLER'

Name: JIM HENSON'S 'THE STORYTELLER'
Author: Anthony Minghella
ISBN: 0-394-58256-X

by Anthony Minghella ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 15, 1991

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Under the aegis of the late Jim Henson, here are nine stories that first appeared as The Storyteller TV series—traditional folk and fairy tales refreshed for a modern audience. Released now as an adult book, this appealing, abundantly illustrated offering is just as suitable for young readers. Minghella looks to a Tuscan proverb (``The tale is not beautiful if nothing is added to it'') for inspiration and, like Italo Calvino in Italian Folktales, adds to and alters the stories, most already available in standard collections—``Hans My Hedgehog'' and ``The Luck Child,'' for example. Some of his variations lack resonance on paper (the troll in ``The True Bride'' speaks in scrambled phrases like ``I'm founded dumb'') and distract from the prime-time themes of fear, trust, fidelity, etc. Most, however, are interesting even when they deviate from the classic story line (Hans has soft bristles and a devoted mother) and often enough Minghella's own language sets the tone: ``in a week with two Fridays,'' he writes, or ``Suddenly everyone could live forever'' or ``Beggars are never what they seem.'' Darcy May's 41 full-color paintings, rendered in a subtle palette, are elegant, expressive compositions faithful to the spirit of the stories and kin to several old favorites. Image for image, they don't quite match the spiritual quality and inner flow of, say, Nonny Hogrogian's (juvenile) The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs, and they lack the penetrating aspect of the (much longer) Segal/Sendak collaboration The Juniper Tree. Good company to these and others already on library shelves, they have a soft, distinctive look that should draw in readers of all ages.

Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1991

ISBN: 0-394-58256-X

Page Count: 192

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1991

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.