The Magic Hill - Hardcover

Milne, A. A.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0525461477 ISBN 13: 9780525461470

Publisher: Dutton Childrens Books, 2000

Synopsis

Blessed with making flowers wherever she goes, Princess Daffodil fears ruining her father's royal gardens and so chooses not to walk near them, yet when she finds herself on the top of a special hill one summer's day, the young princess finds the perfect place to let her magic fully bloom.

About this title

About the Author

A. A. Milne (1882-1956) is best known for creating the beloved character Winnie-the-Pooh.
Isabel Bodor Brown lives in La Jolla, California.

Reviews

Kindergarten-Grade 3-This rediscovered original fairy tale, written in 1925, is full of charm and sly humor. Neither complex nor overtly moral, it delivers its own sweet vision of childhood where play is as pleasant as a freshly picked flower. At her christening, Princess Daffodil's parents anxiously await a gift to be bestowed upon her by the Fairy Mumruffin. Will it be Beauty, Wisdom, or Goodness? No, it is that flowers will grow wherever their daughter goes. Upon the child's first birthday, the King returns from hunting to find flowers blooming on his pathways. He decrees that the Princess must be carried across all walkways and can play only in the flowerbeds. The forlorn child finds that the opposite is true for the other children, who are not allowed in the beds. Thus, when the Doctor finds her sorely in need of exercise, he advises, "although she is a Princess, she must do what other little girls do." The Queen finds a solution: a lovely little hill where the child can romp all day and the country children pick flowers come evening. The watercolor and pen-and-ink illustrations define the characters with a light and airy touch. They are full of royal dignity as well as palpable pathos. Facial expressions bring humor and joy to the fore. Minute, loosely detailed flowers are radiant, and the neatly framed pages add to the overall appeal of this fanciful tale.
Martha Topol, Traverse Area District Library, Traverse City, MI
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

For this winsome fairy tale, a first-time picture book illustrator imagines the characters from a story Milne wrote in 1925. Brown's fine ink line combines with pastel and bold hues in delicately detailed, small-scale watercolors. The opening illustration sets the tone: a foppish king of long ago, decked out in an ermine-rimmed red robe, looks quite bewildered by his frisky brood of six boys. The family portrait serves as the perfect foil for Milne's accompanying understated wit: "The first three were boys, and he was glad about this, because a King likes to have three sons. But when the next three were boys also, he was not so glad, and he wished that one of them had been a daughter." After a girl, Daffodil, is at last born, a fairy godmother grants her a christening gift: "Let Daffodil/ The gardens fill./ Wherever you go,/ Flowers shall grow." When the flaxen-haired child takes her first steps and dots the pathways with blooms, the King decrees that Daffodil must walk only on the flower beds rather than play on the paths with the other children. There is, of course, a happy-ever-after resolution, which Brown's art illumines with humor and charm. All ages. (Feb.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Pooh might describe this 1925 offering from Milne as a Very Small Tale, and so it is, but gentle and sweet withal. Princess Daffodil is the only daughter after six sons of the king and queen, and at her christening the Fairy Mumruffin grants her the gift of flowers, which will grow wherever she steps. When the princess begins toddling about the king's favorite thinking place, strewing flowers everywhere, the king decides she must keep off the paths entirely. After a few years of this, the doctor pronounces that she must do what little girls do: ``She must run about more. She must climb hills and roll down them. She must hope and skip and jump.'' So the queen finds a solution in a small hill, where Daffodil can do all those things to her heart's content, and where children play and pick the posies she makes there. Brown, who remembered the story from her own mother's telling, who remembered it from her mother, has created delicate and winsome illustrations that are also precise: the various species of flowers are easily identifiable. Children will be charmed by the little doll-like faces of the characters and the excellent fairy colors, pastel-colored to jewel-toned as needed. (Picture book. 4-7) -- Copyright ©2000, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From the creator of Winnie-the-Pooh comes this magical tale, originally written in 1925, about a princess named Daffodil, who is given a unique gift by her fairy godmother on her christening day: "Let Daffodil / The gardens fill. / Wherever you go, / Flowers shall grow." The repercussions of such a gift are not apparent until almost a year later, when Daffodil takes her first steps: suddenly, paths are dotted with flowers. Ordered to walk only in the flower beds, the girl quickly becomes sad and lonely. The queen spots a barren hill, which the princess soon transforms into a flower-filled delight, a magic place where flowers continue to grow. Brown, who heard the story as a little girl (it was not available in picture-book form), saw the scenes in her head. Her affection for it is apparent in her graceful watercolors, accented with delicate ink line work. An enchanting version sure to be popular with today's youngsters. Lauren Peterson

Edition details

• Publisher: Dutton Childrens Books
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0525461477
• ISBN 13: 9780525461470
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Brown Isabel Bodor
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32