SOLDIER AND TSAR IN THE FOREST

Spectacularly illustrated, the unspectacular tale of a runaway soldier's promotion to general after he spends a night in the forest with the disguised tsar, whom he saves from a band of robbers by whacking off the intruders' heads. There is both suspense and humor in the overnight adventure (to which Shulevitz gives an ominous intensity) but little of the rhythmic language or the richness of detail and diverting characters that distinguished Ransome's The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship (1968). Some of Shulevitz' outdoor scenes resemble those he did for the previous tale, but there are also views of the night forest with haunting blues and mauves added to the natural colors, and depictions of cottage and castle, with elaborated folk art figures and motifs, that make muted, shadowed use of the heavy black lines and fluorescent rainbow colors of Oh What a Noise (1971). Shulevitz brings all these styles together with aplomb and unabashed artifice, signifying a considerable advance over Oh What a Noise but perhaps a decadent departure from the exhilarating fresh air loveliness of The Fool of the World.