Shadow Play: Story - Hardcover

Fleischman, Paul

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060218657 ISBN 13: 9780060218652

Publisher: Harpercollins, 1990

Synopsis

A puzzle version of the classic fairy tale about a beautiful young girl whose love breaks an evil spell that had transformed a handsome prince into a hideous beast, is set against the backdrop of a shadow-puppet production

About this title

From School Library Journal

A boy and girl use their last dimes to enter Monsieur LeGrand's shadow-puppet play of Beauty and the Beast , during which the audience is treated to an elaborate, elegantly narrated production with many characters and scene changes. The climax of the play finds Beauty changing the rampaging wild beast, a bull, into a docile creature, illustrating the play's moral that " . . . appearances are as thin and deceptive--as shadows." An invitation backstage to the playgoers reveals the necessity of looking beneath the surface; to the audience's surprise, all the puppets have been manipulated solely by Monsieur LeGrand. As in many of Fleischman's books, the power, beauty, and subtlety of this fairy tale within a play within a story is not quickly revealed, but time invested in repeated readings reaps dividends. Although readers' appreciation of this will be greater if they are familiar with Beauty and the Beast, since only the barest bit of the plot is included here, all will be dazzled by Beddows' accomplished drawings. Using black pencil, he effectively contrasts the three-dimensional world of the children visiting the county fair with that of the intricate, flat silhouettes of the puppets and scenery. An unusual book, one best appreciated by and most rewarding for patient readers who are willing and able to use their own knowledge to enrich a special experience. --Ellen Fader, Westport Public Library, CT
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly

With its continually surprising plot, Fleischman's intriguing story cleverly teaches that "appearances are as thin and deceptive--as shadows." A boy and girl at a turn-of-the-century fair spend their last pennies to see a production of Monsieur LeGrand's shadow puppet version of Beauty and the Beast. Another carnival attraction, Stupendo, "the world's largest and meanest bull," seems to interrupt the show, but when the children are taken backstage afterwards, they discover that, except for the puppetmaster himself, all the stage creatures--including the beastly bull--are mere shadows. While the plot is tricky, Beddows's ( Joyful Noise ) superb black-and-white drawings make the story-within-a-story clear, and Monsieur LeGrand, with his Punch-like nose and grin, will surely beguile young readers. Ages 7-up.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harpercollins
• Publication date: 1990
• ISBN 10: 0060218657
• ISBN 13: 9780060218652
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 33
• Illustrator: Beddows Eric