Saviour Pirotta

Apart from an unfortunate penchant for devouring horses, the Wolf is clearly the hero of the story. I'm interested in reading other versions of this tale, though: is Prince Ivan always such a dolt?

Though at first glance, this appears to be a children’s picture book, the strange story and dark, elegant paintings are almost better suited to an adult’s coffee table book than a book for kids. A retelling of a Russian folk tale, the story follows a young prince who discovers that a magical firebird has been eating the king’s golden apples and sets out to find the firebird and bring it home. On the way, he meets a wolf who helps him with a series of tasks, including saving a princess show more with whom the prince falls in love. The prince and princess marry, and the prince releases the captured firebird. The fairytale-like nature and high fantasy setting of the story would appeal to young children, but they may find the strange narrative progression confusing. The paintings that accompany the text are dark and impressionistic interpretations of the story’s scenes, though children would enjoy the shiny accents of gold leaf. This book could function as a simplified primer of the Firebird story for parents who wish to introduce their children to the Firebird ballet, but those parents would appreciate the book more than the children would. The book’s striking artwork and famous story may appeal to adults, but their significance may be lost on children. Additional Purchase. Grades 3-5 show less

I'm concerned. There's no author's note, no bibliography. Are these stories really representative of the cultures listed? The first story is an American version of the Bremen Town musicians... really?? Another story listed for the Americas is The Golden Horseshoe, which strongly resembles the several versions I've seen of The Princess on the Glass Hill. I don't know what's going on here, but I don't think it's really a lesson in multi-cultural diversity.

The pictures seem old-fashionedly show more casually offensive, too. Very stereotypical & simplified. And always *pretty.* The stories are *nice* - in both senses of the word. Even Disney didn't bowdlerize this much.

Maybe I'm over-reacting. Maybe it's ok that kids have these stories shared with them - it could be worse; they could have no stories read to them, no inkling of other cultures. I will keep reading. I just wish the author had addressed the concerns of authenticity.

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Ok done. Pirotta adapts even tales of known provenance, for example Andersen's The Princess and the Pea." I'm just so frustrated, as this could have been a wonderful collection. Some of the fables and little adventures are worth reading on their own merits - but this is an epic fail on any measure of cultural awareness. Sorry." show less

This book offers a different look into the tale of Robin Hood. It's a very detailed illustrated version of the tale and it provides a lot of emphasis on the story. The illustrations also help the reader visualize or place themselves in England during this time period. I know children love to hear about great adventures but I know sometimes its hard to imagine yourself there...this book does a great job of transporting readers into Midevil England. I would recommend that this book is for a show more more mature audience so, late 3rd grade through 4th and 5th grade. At their age, I think they should hear stories about always doing right and helping others no matter what and how to stand up against "the bad guys". There are also notes of the importance of friendship and loyalty. show less