The Mightiest Heart - Hardcover

Cullen, Lynn

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0803722923 ISBN 13: 9780803722927

Publisher: Dial Books, 1998

Synopsis

A talented new illustrator makes her debut with this touching story based on the legend of Llywelyn, a thirteenth-century Welsh prince who shared a special relationship with his loyal hound Gelert.

About this title

Reviews

Grade 3-5-Dog lovers and those who enjoy medieval tales will appreciate this retelling of a Welsh legend. Prince Llywelyn grew up with his faithful wolfhound at his side through every adventure. When the prince marries, his wife is not pleased with Gelert and complains that "He makes my gown stink of hound." The dog is banished first from the bedroom and then from the nursery when a child is born. One day when Llywelyn finds an empty cradle and a trail of blood, he falsely accuses Gelert of murder and almost kills the animal. The dog has kept the baby safe from a wolf, but because of Llywelyn's lack of trust, he runs away for good. He reappears long enough to give up his life to save Llywelyn from another wolf, and at story's end, the prince's son finds a puppy in the forest that looks suspiciously like Gelert. Thus, the boy-and-his-dog cycle continues. The rich, deep colors of the oil paintings complement the story's 13th-century setting and provide many details to pore over. They are similar in style and design to those in Paul Zelinsky's Rapunzel (Dutton, 1997). The influence of Jan van Eyck can be seen as well, especially in the bridal portrait. The author's note addresses the question of truth in Welsh legends.
Cheri Estes, Detroit Country Day School Middle School, Beverly Hills, MI
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Welsh legend has it that as a boy, 12th-century Prince Llywelyn was blessed with a faithful dog named Gelert, and this strange and sentimental retelling marks novelist Cullen's (Stink Bomb; The Backyard Ghost) picture book debut. Llywelyn and his canine companion are inseparable until he marries a cold princess and begins to ignore his true-hearted dog. One day, the couple's newborn son is missing and Llywelyn, discovering Gelert near the crib with a bloody mouth, raises his sword to the animal, only to find the infant safe and a dead wolf outside. Gelert then disappears, and Llywelyn is doomed to a life of regret. Later the prince is redeemed when the heroic beast reappears to him in two mysterious ways. Though somewhat stilted language dots the prose ("With an anguished roar, Llywelyn attacked Gelert"), the period setting and compelling plot will carry readers along. In a remarkable debut, Long crafts oil paintings that resemble medieval tapestries: steeped in a wide array of greens, sprinkled with blood reds and burgundies and teeming with flower and fauna. Her close-up renderings of expressive faces against deep landscapes of rolling hills and turbulent skies give the tale an epic quality. A handsome presentation of a fairy tale with an unusual moral: "The mightiest heart can come in the humblest vessel." Ages 4-up.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Dial Books
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0803722923
• ISBN 13: 9780803722927
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Long Laurel
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32