The Happy Prince - Softcover

Wilde, Oscar

4.21

34,085 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0143427334 ISBN 13: 9780143427339

Publisher: BookSurge Classics, 2009

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About the Author:

Oscar Wilde was a playwright, essayist, and novelist. He was the author of The Importance of Being Earnest and The Picture of Dorian Gray. Carole Bloch is the central coordinator of the Stories Across Africa Project, which is developing shared anthologies of stories for children in the many languages of Africa. She has written extensively on early literacy and multilingual education in South Africa and Africa, as well as writing several picture books for young children. Joan Rankin has illustrated more than 30 children’s books, including A Frog in the Bog and Off to First Grade. She is the recipient of the Katrina Harris Award for Children's Book Illustration and the ME Rothman Prize for best illustrated children’s book.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 2-5-- Young has created stunning illustrations for Wilde's fairy tale. He uses an impressionistic style which evokes rather than defines the characters. His illustrations are predominantly sweeping two-page spreads with large swathes of color. Cool blues, blacks, and greens for the statue's surroundings provide a strong contrast with the warm yellows and oranges of the Swallow's tales and thoughts of Egypt. Dusky reds are used in the scenes in which the Swallow delivers the Prince's charity to the poor seamstress, playwright, and matchgirl. For all of the visual beauty of this version, however, Wilde's story today seems blatantly sentimental and will appeal primarily to adults wanting to share a warmly remembered story with their children. The depiction of the old Jews in the Ghetto bargaining and weighing money, although merely mentioned in passing, is the kind of stereotype common in Wilde's time but offensive nowadays. As The Happy Prince is part of the "Great Books" discussion program, schools using the program may find this a priority purchase but for others, despite its beauty, it is likely to be a shelf sitter. --Louise L. Sherman, Anna C. Scott School, Leonia, N.J.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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