The Nightingale Music Edition

by Hans Christian Andersen, Kevin Lau (Adapted by), Amy Scheidegger Ducos (Illustrator)

Overview

This classic story comes to life with QR codes that link to music and narration!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781737885993
Publisher:	Silversmith Press
Publication date:	12/07/2022
Pages:	42
Sales rank:	430,868
Product dimensions:	11.00(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.25(d)
Age Range:	Up to 12 Years

About the Author

Hans Christian Andersen (1805~1875) produced 130 volumes of outstanding children's stories during his lifetime. Today, his stories are loved and recognized all around the world.

Jin-kyeong Lee illustrated The Nightingale in Indian ink and color painting. The simplicity of the story and the use of oriental painting techniques create a relaxing and natural work.

Date of Birth:

April 2, 1805

Date of Death:

August 4, 1875

Place of Birth:

Odense, Denmark

Place of Death:

Copenhagen, Denmark

Editorial Reviews

The exquisite jacket-which features delicate red lettering on a damask-patterned gold background and a cutout revealing a painting of a nightingale-sets up high expectations, and both Mitchell (The Frog Prince) and Ibatoulline (Crossing) meet them. Elaborate, harmonious watercolors pay homage to the flat style of Chinese brush paintings with iconic fidelity; brilliant interiors crammed with architectural and sartorial details alternate with muted landscapes and ancient, unchanging rocks and trees. The illustrations sometimes appear in several long panels set side by side, like scrolls hung on a wall. Mitchell's language is light and melodic: just as Death is about to claim the Emperor, "the whole room filled with the most beautiful singing. It was the nightingale, perched on a branch right outside the window. She had heard about the Emperor's sickness and had come to bring him hope and comfort with her song." In one panel, the bird perches on a gnarled pine branch above the ornate porcelain curlicues and red tiles of the imperial palace; the next shows the reviving Emperor, his crown askew and his brocade robes creased, raising himself up to hear the voice of his loyal friend as the specter of Death departs. This volume has a more formal elegance than Jerry Pinkney's recent The Nightingale, and it is just as impressive. Ages 6-10. (Oct.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

K-Gr 4-The classic Andersen tale of a songbird's mystical powers is retold in a style meant to be "light, clear, swift, and funny." This updated version includes some new elements, among them an amusing scene in which a search party mistakes the sounds of a cow and frog for the nightingale's song. Contemporary phrases are sprinkled throughout the text. Travelers "ooh" and "ahh" at the sight of the emperor's porcelain palace and gardens. The kitchen girl is promised a "promotion" if she leads them to the nightingale. Eleven butchers' children are named in honor of the bird, including one who is "tone-deaf." The entire kingdom, from the emperor to "rag-a-muffins in the street," "Zee-zee-zee, gloo-gloo-gloo" along with the mechanical bird. Death's visit causes the emperor to break out in a "cold sweat." Unfortunately, these attempts at modernization diminish the tale's lyrical flow. In contrast to the narrative's casual tone, the illustrations are formal and conventional. The Chinese setting is portrayed in paneled mural paintings dominated by elegant jewel tones, and the art adorns rather than enlivens the story. Those looking for a new twist on this old tale should consider Jerry Pinkney's version (Penguin Putnam, 2002) with its dramatic Moroccan setting, lush and lively illustrations, and engaging poetic retelling.-Heide Piehler, Shorewood Public Library, WI Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

Hot new illustrator Ibatoulline (Signs for Sale, p. 579, etc.) exchanges sentimental, Norman Rockwell–like realism for elaborate chinoiserie to go with a gently massaged version of Andersen’s popular tale. Mitchell leaves the original, with its satiric views of court life and the contrasting tenderness of the relationship between Emperor and avian mentor, intact, adding an occasional bit of amusing officiousness and loosening up stiff dialogue. Ibatoulline passes up the fun-poking in favor of richly decorated scenes filled with brightly patterned clothing, ornate architecture, and finely detailed scenery—plus enough individualism in gestures and facial expressions to avoid becoming generic. Editions of Nightingale abound, but this makes a sumptuous, readable alternative that is true to its original. (afterword) (Picture book. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews

"An unusually beautiful version of an old favorite." Book Magazine on The Ugly Duckling, illustrated by Pirkko Vainio.

From the Publisher