The Emperor's New Clothes - Hardcover

Starbright Foundation; Foundation, Starbright

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 015100109X ISBN 13: 9780151001095

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1998

Synopsis

Forty-six of the greatest talents in the entertainment world collaborate to form a hip retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale, which is lavishly illustrated by award-winning artists and written for the benefit of a unique children's foundation.

About this title

About the Authors

Virginia Lee Burton (1909-1968) was the talented author and illustrator of some of the most enduring books ever written for children. The winner of the 1942 Caldecott Medal for THE LITTLE HOUSE, Burton's books include heroes and happy endings, lively illustrations, and a dash of nostalgia. She lived with her two sons, Aristides and Michael, and her husband George Demetrios, the sculptor, in a section of Gloucester, Massachusetts, called Folly Cove. Here she taught a class in design and from it emerged the Folly Cove designers, a group of internationally known professional artisans. She is the author of many classic children's picture books, including MIKE MULLIGAN AND HIS STEAM SHOVEL and KATY AND THE BIG SNOW.

Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) was a prolific Danish author and poet best known for his fairy tales. His stories have crossed all limitations of time and space, having been translated into more than 125 languages,and have become an integral part of children’s literature worldwide. A master of the genre, his stories present lessons and entertainment for readers of all ages.

From the Inside Flap

In This bold, hilarious, and sumptuously illustrated book, Hans Christian Andersen's beloved fairy tale is given star treatment. The celebrity cast includes renowned actors and actresses, award-winning illustrators, and many other highly acclaimed personalities whose talent are outshined only by their generosity. This remarkable group of contributors has donated all of the royalties from this book to Starbright , an innovative charitable organization committed to improving the lives of seriously ill children. Their gift to the Starbright Foundation is a gift for every reader, a brilliantly reinvented classic that will delight children of all ages.

Reviews

Grade 3-6-In this well-intentioned fund-raiser for the Starbright Foundation, well-known public figures and media celebrities are paired with notable children's book illustrators to relate the story of the monarch's foppery from multiple perspectives. The unifying thread among the differing points of view is the narration of a small moth that flits from scene to scene and monitors the reactions of all the players as the action unfolds. Each character/celebrity is allotted a single page with the opposing page featuring an appropriate likeness. Some of the casting is in itself humorous with Madonna making a perfect vain empress and Calvin Klein being well suited to the part of the emperor's underwear. Unfortunately, the book is marred by a lack of artistic and literary continuity. Some of the stars acquit themselves more favorably than others in their contributions. Dan Aykroyd's Holy Man is awfully avaricious and cynical for young readers' sensibilities. Similarly, the Court Jester, as portrayed by Robin Williams, employs crass, scatological humor. The overall tone is adult and sarcastic. The distinguished group of illustrators assembled for this project do produce some fine individual efforts. However, the disparate artistic styles' lack of cohesiveness interrupts the visual flow of the story.
Rosalyn Pierini, San Luis Obispo City-County Library, CA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

For this star-studded, collaborative interpretation of the egocentric emperor's sober unveiling, the cast of characters expands to include the perspectives of an imperial physician (as told by Dr. Ruth Westheimer) and a court jester (who else but Robin Williams)Aeven the emperor's trunks talk (animated by the voice of Calvin Klein: "nothing comes between me and my Emperor!"). Steven Spielberg, who makes an appearance in the text playing "the honest boy" who blows the whistle on the emperor's birthday suit, also pens the book's introduction. Each character's concise monologue (recorded by the reteller on an enclosed CD) is paired with a portrait, offering the venerable artists here latitude for satiric humor: Sendak's evil prime minister plots the emperor's undoing in the bathtub with repeated images of the crowned man's bare behind on the wallpaper; garbed in white silk bow tie, ruffled cuffs and primped tresses, C.F. Payne's imperial dresser could have prepped the founding fathers; and Daniel Adel's painting of Madonna as Marie Antoinette is a showstopper. As in all such compendiums, some offerings are weaker than others (Do readers really need to hear from the spinning wheel?), and they might all come off as so many disparate vignettes if not for Blake's addled moth providing the comic visual through-line, transporting readers from one end of the empire to the other. The best jokes can be gleaned from a quick perusal, but the book will likely grace the coffee tables of those who care about the celebrity scene. First printing 200,000; $500,000 ad/promo. (Oct.) FYI: All proceeds from the sale of the book go to the Starbright Foundation, which gives assistance to seriously ill children.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 015100109X
• ISBN 13: 9780151001095
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 96