The Wild Swans

The Wild Swans, illustrated by Anne Yvonne Gilbert.

Since the time I was a child, I have always had a deep and abiding love of folk and fairy-tales, and have taken great pleasure over the years, as both a reader and collector, in comparing the different artistic approaches used by various illustrators, when undertaking to interpret the same stories. Sometimes - as with the Isadora, Archipowa and Pinkney versions of The Little Match Girl - I find that a number of different editions all have equal appeal for me. At other times - with Edward Gorey's Rumpelstiltskin, for instance, or Evelyn Andreas' Cinderella - the edition of my youth retains its hold on my imagination, always coming first in my affections. And at still other times - as show more with Angela Barrett's Snow White - I have stumbled, as an adult, across some new edition that has become my favorite.

But although I have read countless folk and fairy-tale retellings, and keep an ever-growing list of artists whose work in this vein I admire, I do not think - with the exception of Vladyslav Yerko's superb The Snow Queen - that I have ever come across a book which so perfectly captures the wonder and terror, the beauty and cruelty, and the dream-like vividness of the fairy-tale world, as this edition of Hans Christian Andersen's The Wild Swans, retold by Naomi Lewis and illustrated by Anne Yvonne Gilbert, has done.

The narrative flows smoothly, but it is the artwork - Gilbert's beautiful artwork, by turns dreamy and sharp, so poignantly expressive and tender - that make this a fairy-tale masterpiece! The portrait of the wicked stepmother whispering her falsehoods in the king's ear, or kissing the poisoned toads she intends to use against the heroine, evoke true anxiety in the reader, who immediately recognizes that evil is afoot. The beautiful depiction of Elisa reunited with her brothers - all gathered in a group, and lovingly touching one another, as if to make sure that they are truly together again - has the power to move anyone who has ever loved brother or sister. The moment in which the king secretly watches Elisa, wanting to believe no wrong, but beginning to fear the worst, will have the reader wishing that she could but speak! And of course, the scenes in which Elisa goes to meet her death, surrounded by an angry mob, only to find salvation at the last (through speech!) will send shivers down the spine of any person who knows - as we all do, on some level - that justice is not always done.

It is difficult to imagine a more pitch-perfect interpretation of the story, with all its cruelty and injustice, loyalty and love. There is power here, and Anne Yvonne Gilbert had tapped into the heart of it, transforming us from mere readers to witnesses. For that, all true fairy-tale lovers owe her a debt of gratitude. show less

Ah,what a treasure! This fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson about Princess Elisa and her eleven brothers, is one of Anderson's best, complete with an evil stepmother and enchanted swans. For me, though, the real magic of this book is the volume itself - it is illustrated by Shiba Productions as one of their Living Storybook series, with a lenticular 3D pastedown on the cover depicting the princess and one of her brothers, and is filled with photos of puppets posed in handcrafted miniature sets that are absolutely magical to gaze upon. There are many black-and-white drawings, too, but they are of the mundane sort. The adventure and pathos of the story is borne out well by the magical illustrations. I am 54 years old now, and the show more thrill and the wonder of reading this book as a child (the first edition in 1966) has never left me, all because of the illustrations. A true reader loves a book because of the story it tells, whether it is a torn paperback or a crisp new hardcover, but we are not immune to the physical beauty of books. When we experience a literary masterpiece showcased in a true work of art, we are absolutely over the moon! I am so grateful that my parents gifted me with this book for Christmas so long ao. I didn't ask for it and I have no idea where they got it, since we lived in a very small town with no bookstores within 35 miles. My parents now are gone, and I never told them how much this book meant to me, so let me close this review with a word of advice - if someone has given you a book that you treasure, tell them! Tell them now!

In case anyone is interested to learn more about Shiba Productions, here is a link: http://nishikataeiga.blogspot.com/2011/12/shiba-productions-little-tin-soldier.h... show less

The Wild Swans, illustrated by Angela Barrett.

Adapted from a traditional Danish folktale, De vilde svaner has always been one of my favorite stories from Hans Christian Andersen, and I have vivid memories of reading it over and over again, as a girl. So when I discovered that Angela Barrett - the illustrator responsible for my favorite edition of Snow White - had also done an edition of The Wild Swans, back in the early 1980s, I was immensely excited. When I learned that the translator of this edition was none other than Naomi Lewis - whose subsequent 2005 translation of the same tale was used in the stunningly beautiful Anne Yvonne Gilbert edition - I was even more keen to obtain a copy.

Unfortunately, although this edition has definite show more narrative and artistic merit, it simply didn't live up to my (wildly high) expectations. Lewis' translation is everything I would expect: faithful and complete. I found myself wondering what, if anything, she changed for her 2005 effort. Barrett's artwork - apparently this was her first picture-book - has moments of true enchantment, but was rather uneven. Her scenery is gorgeous, but her people aren't quite there yet. Still, I could definitely see the seeds of her future brilliance, and while I wouldn't really recommend this one to the reader looking for the best visual interpretation of this tale (Anne Yvonne Gilbert, people!), Angela Barrett fans might be interested in seeing the beginning of her picture-book career. show less

The Wild Swans, illustrated by Kaarina Kaila.

As mentioned in my review of Susan Jeffers' interpretation of The Wild Swans, the strong folkloric associations of this tale make for an especially powerful story, one that has always been a particularly beloved favorite, amongst Andersen's many brilliant works. I was consequently quite pleased to discover this lovely edition, previously unknown to me. Adapted by Deborah Hautzig, and illustrated by Finnish artist Kaarina Kaila - whose only other English-language title appears to be a version of Thumbelina - it offers an engaging narrative, joined to appealing artwork.

Although Hautzig's translation is somewhat abridged - Elisa's vision of the fairy Morgante's castle-in-the-air is omitted, for show more instance - it is mostly faithful to the original, and never feels especially pared down. Kaila's watercolor illustrations are very sweet, and although her human faces didn't entirely convince me (they are not meant to be realistic), the composition of her paintings, and her use of a soft palette, eventually won me over. There is none of the power of the Anne Yvonne Gilbert edition here, but this would still make a worthy addition to any fairy-tale collection. show less

The Wild Swans, illustrated by Marcia Brown.

I've been struggling to recall, since beginning this Hans Christian Andersen project of mine, just when it was that I first read The Wild Swans, when it was I decided that it was one of my favorite fairy-tales, and what edition I owned at the time. I do remember that we had a massive, two-volume complete edition of Andersen in the house, from the time I was very young, but I also have this vague memory of a picture-book version. A picture-book with fuzzy black and white illustrations, shot through with pink...

Imagine my delight, lo these many years later, to discover that that edition - long since vanished from my shelves - was in fact this 1963 picture-book, illustrated by Marcia Brown, a show more celebrated mid-century artist twice awarded the Caldecott Medal, for her version of Cinderella, and for her Once a Mouse.... I cannot say, in looking this over, that either the illustrations, or the translation (done by M.R. James), were quite to my taste, but I am certainly delighted to have run into it again, and to have solved the question of my first exposure to this tale. As for when that happened, I still have no idea... show less

Definitely one of Mr. Andersen's best stories, it was nice having a female protagonist who was interested in saving her brothers more than romance or wealth.

Like most fairy tales, there's a bit of weirdness in this one - most notably, the fact that the king just picked up a mute girl and married her. Like, did she consent to this? How could he know - she wasn't able to communicate with anybody! (If she had been able to, she would've been able to also let them know why she was so obsessed with nettles.)