The Tale of the Vanishing Rainbow

English (translation) German

Grade 1-3-- A fable should have some solid foundation in our mundane world. This one, in which once-peaceful bears and wolves fight over a rainbow, rings false because it tries to make readers believe that reason can keep them from making war, that generals can be talked out of fighting by logical argument. The pictures used to depict Bearland and Wolfland are much more attractive. There is a lush solidity to the hilly landscape, and the tree trunks of the forest are used effectively to create appearances of strongholds. Pastel chalks are blended, and a thin white line is exploited to produce whiskers, distant figures, bird beaks, etc. Hues vary to manipulate readers' emotions from bright blue when both animal kingdoms play together to somber greens when the generals--one in a Napoleonic black hat and the other in a Russian red jacket bedecked with medals--start a war in which no one joins. Most of the double-page illustrations provide naturalistic scenes, but there are a couple of stunning surreal pictures which help maintain the fairy tale character. The story is weak, lacking the bite of traditional fables or such moral tales as the Grimms transcribed. But the pictures, with their distinctly middle-European character, engage the imagination in such a way as to override the text. --Kenneth Marantz, Art Education Department, Ohio State Univ . , Columbus
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