Spanish actress Penelope Cruz arrives for the world premiere of "Nine" at Leicester Square in London December 3, 2009. (REUTERS) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Saturday, December 5, 2009
Nutcracker Week: Lisbeth Zwerger
The Nutcracker illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger is my final entry for Nutcracker Week. Zwerger is no stranger to fairy tales. She has been published in many countries and her version of The Nutcracker is filled with earthy tones and soft images, unlike the brightly colored versions I've shared earlier this week.
The extra images came from Childscapes which sells first editions of her work.
Lovely.
Nutcracker Week: Up and Coming Illustrators
To finish off Nutcracker Week, I wanted to share some of the illustrations I found by up and coming illustrators at Picture Book.
by René Milot (Check out his illustration gallery to see the covers of some familiar book covers and more. He did the illustration for one cover of The Queen of Attolia, from one of my favorite books series. Is anyone else waiting with bated breath for A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan-Whalen-Turner? I preordered months ago and just rebought the other books for my Kindle.)
by Linda Bronson
by John Aardema
by Dan Hubig
by Catherine Kanner
Friday, December 4, 2009
Podcast: Marina Warner
If you enjoy podcasts, you can download and listen to a recent lecture by Marina Warner at Queen Mary, University of London here.
Marina Warner, Distinguished Professor in the Humanities, gave her inaugural lecture entitled ‘Figures in the Carpet: Magic and the 1001 Nights’ (24/11/09). The fascinating lecture explores the magic carpet's appearances in stories through the ages, and how it conveyed the power and sensation of flight long before the dawn of aviation.
I admit I'm not a podcast person, but this one will make me step out of my usual zones.
And if you haven't read Warner's From the Beast to the Blonde, why haven't you? It's a shame it's out of print. It is one of the books that inspired SurLaLune.
Three Little Pigs Toy Set
Melissa & Doug Deluxe Three Little Pigs Play Set Soft Baby Toy
Okay, I had to post this today because once I saw it, it became my all-time favorite Three Little Pigs toy I've seen. (First unashamed thought: I want it!) I like that it is self-contained, has all three houses, numbered pigs and a wolf. It can be used to tell the story to a child or simply to play with over and over. And it's safe for toddlers. Adorable.
Frog Juice Game
Another game loosely inspired by fairy tales, Frog Juice. This one uses some general fairy tale tropes, mostly the generic witch tropes found in fairy tales.
Here's an editorial review from Amazon:
How would you create a magic spell? You might need some unicorn horn or some eye of newt, or maybe some bats or toadstools or star and moon dust. But be forewarned as you're stirring up your potion--you'd better be wary of a black cat or the powerful All-Purpose Witch Wash! One of your opponents might even be brewing up an Uglifying Spell. ("Results guaranteed to crack mirrors at a single glance!") All of these magical ingredients are part of Frog Juice, an imaginative card game for two to four players that uses fairy-tale elements from fair maids to frogs to create a game that both kids and adults will enjoy. This game of strategy includes 44 ingredient cards and 15 power cards, each with an illustration that looks like it came straight out of a fairy-tale book. Cards are played in the center of the game and then captured by other players by matching numerical values or by using stronger powers. --Marcie Bovetz
And a description from the manufacturer, Gamewright, which isn't as helpful:
A clever card game of spells and concoctions. Cast spells, brew concoctions, melt witches...use a smidgen of math and a pinch of probability. Capture cards by matching or adding cards from your hand. Then count ingredients and measure your powers.
The game is said to promote math skills which is always a good thing, too.
Nutcracker Week: Vladimir Vagin
The Nutcracker Ballet by Vladimir Vagin is today's offering for Nutcracker Week. Vagin's illustrations for the story remind me of Jan Brett's work, with the intricate details and I also detect a bit of the influence of Ivan Bilibin among others, understandable with Vagin's Russian heritage. (He also illustrated Jane Yolen's The Flying Witch, a Baba Yaga story, and The Firebird.)
Publisher's description:
It's Christmas Eve in 19th century Europe. And on this magical evening, young Clara's eccentric godfather has given her a beautiful wooden nutcracker. As midnight strikes, Clara's wooden toy transforms into a handsome prince, and Christmas quickly becomes even more enchanting. The prince takes Clara on a romantic overnight adventure into a dream world of delicacies called the Land of Sweets.Clara's adventure ends as she wakes up snuggly tucked in her bed. As she embraces her nutcracker, she realizes that the best part of Christmas...is the magic it brings.
A review from Booklist:
Vagin's intricate period watercolors, not the straightforward telling, will pull readers into this story. Clara and the other children dress in formal nineteenth-century clothing and are lovely; Herr Drosselmeier dons a black cape and an eye patch and is just strange enough to be effective; the Nutcracker stands tall, proud, and well polished (so does the prince); the Mouse King and his soldiers are dark and nasty; and the inhabitants of the Land of the Sweets have a fantastical, dramatic quality about them. The paintings are rich and dense, and Vagin's ability to capture the flavor of the different cultures reflected in the various dances lends credibility and appeal to his version of the story. Children will pore over the details in the Christmas tree decorations, costumes, architecture, and landscapes and always discover something new. --Kathy Broderick
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