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Author: Lemieux, Michele Subjects: - FAIRY TALES WOLVES-FICTION
Since its debut in the '30s, Prokofiev's now-classic orchestral fairy taleof a boy who captures a wolf with the aid of some animal friends has been hugely popular. Here, with a nod to its musical origins (an introductory illustration showing each ofthe characters with his corresponding instrument), Lemieux ( A Gift from St. Francis ; Voices on the Wind ) delivers a straightforward, tightly written version of the tale. She takes some libertiesthe hunters cart the wolf off to the zoo in the end, for example, instead of slitting him open to free the duck he's consumedand purists may lament the separation of the story from its musical score, but children will stillthrill to the bravery of Peter, who ignores his grandfather's warnings andcatches a wolf by the tail. Dark, highly stylized oil paintings resound with suitably Russian elementsGrandfather looks like Tolstoy, the hunters are dressed as Cossacksand create a fittingly atmospheric backdrop to thisbeloved story. All ages. (Oct.) Gr 1-4 Not another Peter and the Wolf ? Alas, yesjoining the 15 already in print. This retelling is not especially sensitive, and the pictures are faithful but not extraordinary. Lemieux's calm neo-classicism has a few restrained Slavic touches, and the stylization of the wolf and of g Grandfather may render these characters less frightening. The palette is rich, especially in blues and greens. But little is done with the musical and theatrical potential of the original: there are no closeups of the instruments, nomusical transcription of the distinctive themes, none of the inventive staging, framing, or perspective to be found in Jorg Muller's version (Knopf, 1986), which has a companion cassette. That edition, and Erna Voight's (Godine, 1987) remain better choices. Patricia Dooley, University of Washington, Seattle | |
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