THE MAGICIAN OF CRACOW
By
Turska has at last found a Polish folk tale worth retelling and has responded with illustrations that replace the flashiness of Tamara and the Sea Witch (1972) and The Woodcutter's Duck (1973) with charmingly detailed designs in intriguing borders. The magician of Cracow is a sort of Polish Faust who becomes so distracted by the riches and comforts brought by his pact with the devil that he forgets his heart's true desire--to go to the moon. The story ends, wittily, with both magician and devil foiled by their own trickery and the magician perched on the moon forever.