Sunday, September 28, 2008

Traditional Tales-Review #3-Eric Kimmel book



Kimmel, Eric A. 1994. The Three Princes: A Tale from the Middle East. Ill. by Leonard Everett Fisher. New York: Holiday House. ISBN 0823415538

Plot Summary--

This is the tale of three princes who seek the hand of a beautiful princess. The choice is hers to make and, as is often the case in love, she wants to choose the prince who touches her heart even though he has few possessions. She devises a plan. For a year, the princes will go out into the world to search for and bring back the greatest wonder. At the end of the year, the princes meet together to show each other their wonders. One has found a crystal ball that will let him see what is happening anywhere in the world. Another has found a flying carpet that will carry him wherever he wants to go. The third prince, the princess' choice, has found a magic orange that will cure any illness. As the princes talk, they decide to check on the princess whom they have not seen in a year. Through the crystal ball, they discover she is deathly ill. They ride the flying carpet to her bedside and use the magic orange to cure her. In the end, the princess must decide who found the greatest wonder.

Critical Analysis--

This tale begins in a most satisfying way. "Once there was and once there was not a princess who was as wise as she was beautiful." From the beginning, the reader knows a wonderful story is about to unfold. This traditional, but not so traditional, way of beginning this tale, immediately sets the tone for the story. While the challenges of finding the wonders are not fully related in the tale, the reader glimpses the challenges through carefully chosen words. For the crystal ball, "In a cave guarded by a frightful djinn..." For the flying carpet, "In the tomb of a forgotten king..." For the magic orange, "... [on] the shores of the Great Sea...there I met a sailor who gave me this." The reader is left wondering, what great danger did the third prince face to gain his wonder?

The tale ends as it should. The princess, "who was as wise as she was beautiful--which made her more beautiful still," and her prince "lived together in joy and delight to the end of their days."

Mr. Fisher uses bold colors in his pictures. Camels, desert landscapes, and traditional clothing contribute to an appreciation of Middle Eastern culture. The night sky pictures show a deep midnight blue with bright, white stars and a crescent moon. They remind me of stargazing out in the country when there are hundreds stars and they seem so close, you can almost touch them. My favorite night sky picture is the three princes on the flying carpet rushing to save the princess. There are stars all around them, even below them. I remember this feeling on an overnight airplane flight, as I was gazing out the window, amazed that I was high enough to feel like I was "in" the stars and not below them.


Review Excerpts--

Publishers Weekly--"Kimmel's sprightly retelling of a Middle Eastern folktale and Fisher's ambient artwork shimmer with wisdom and magic."

School Library Journal-"His [Kimmel] smooth narrative is strong and direct-traditional in structure, but with a fresh, contemporary voice. Dark underpainting and dense blocks of bold color give Fisher's illustrations weight and dimension, while his dramatic use of light focuses the eye effortlessly through the pictures. A welcome addition that deserves to become a read-aloud standard."

Booklist--"Kimmel uses the familiar fairy-tale construct, but his telling has precision and a bouyancy that gives the story wonderful life. The text is well matched by Fisher's muscular artwork, here executed in bold evening colors that masterfully mix the Middle Eastern setting and the Arabian Nights goings-on."


Connections--

*Locate the Middle East region on a map.

*Read some other Middle Eastern folktales.



Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)