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THE CHILDREN OF LIR by Sheila MacGill-Callahan

THE CHILDREN OF LIR

by Sheila MacGill-Callahan & illustrated by Gennady Spirin

Pub Date: March 1st, 1993
ISBN: 0-8037-1121-2
Publisher: Dial Books

In a tale ``loosely based on an Irish myth,'' Lir's four children are turned into swans by jealous stepmother Aiofe, who grants them just one day a year in their true form—but ``on that day your feet may not touch the earth or you will surely die.'' They find refuge on a whale's back; still, she pursues them relentlessly until the spell is broken by friendly birds who form an arch to join two mountains—the ``Man from the North'' and the ``Woman from the South.'' In the original, these are a man and woman, from warring tribes, who marry; 900 years have elapsed; and the aged children join Lir in heaven—this isn't for purists, but it makes a dramatic story in a folkloric style. The Russian- born Spirin uses watercolors to create lush formal paintings in his neo-Renaissance style, with romantic landscapes and ornately clad figures; best are his sinuous, beautifully painted swans and sea mammals. A bit pretentious, but undeniably handsome. (Folklore/Picture book. 5-10)