The Mysterious Tale of Gentle Jack and Lord Bumblebee - Softcover

Sand, George; Spirin, Gennady

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0416085326 ISBN 13: 9780416085327

Publisher: Methuen Publishing Ltd, 1988

Synopsis

Adopted by the evil Lord Bumblebee, Gentle Jack refuses to learn to be as wicked as the lord and his followers and escapes to an island where only goodness is known.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 3 The good son of wicked, greedy parents, Gentle Jack is adopted by the wealthy Lord Bumblebee who, in fact, only wishes to corrupt him. But Jack is steadfast in his virtue and escapes to the enchanted Island of Flowers, where he remains for 100 years (a single day in island time), dancing, making merry, and learning the lesson of love. In the end, he is given the choice of remaining on the island or returning to the Kingdom of the Bumblebees to release it from the tyrant's hold. Andpredictably, sentimentallyhe willingly sacrifices himself for the greater good. Smoothly translated, lavishly illustrated, rich with images of honey, flowers, and bees, this is an elegant but flawed curiosity. Like many fairy tales by noted authors, it is wordy, didactic, and full of little inconsistencies. Spirin's silver- and gilt-bordered paintings are astonishing in their execution and detail. Appropriately lush and honey-toned, they are clearly imitative of the works of the Renaissance masters, but unlike many illustrations in the pseudo-Great Master vein, these have a liveliness, energy, and humor all their own. Unfortunately, they have been carelessly placed in relation to the text, appearing sometimes well before, sometimes well after the action they portray, more often interrupting than illuminating the narrative that they adorn. A lavish spectacle and little more. Marcia Hupp, Mamaroneck Public Library, N.Y.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly:

Loving and kind, Gentle Jack is scorned by his family; knowing this, the mysterious Lord Bumblebee tries to tempt Jack into living with him. His plans for the boy include convincing him to discard compassion and honesty in order to become a warring bumblebee. Gentle Jack's godmother, by the power of the fairies, wages war on the evil Lord Bumblebee; when he is about to become a pawn in the battle, Jack flings himself on a pyre and dies nobly. Spirin's art treats the French writer's tale with reverencealthough the bees's clothing may be courtly in their half-human incarnations, the battle scene is an fierce piece of staging. Sand's story, encompassing both quest and fable themes, is illuminated by the artist's magnificent borders, page decorations and floral motifs. The personalities of the characters are in full evidence in the paintings: from the moment readers see the round, doltish faces of Gentle Jack's siblings and his own refined features, they will know that he has been chosen for a very spe cial task. All ages.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Methuen Publishing Ltd
• Publication date: 1988
• ISBN 10: 0416085326
• ISBN 13: 9780416085327
• Binding: Paperback