Alberic the Wise [Hardcover]

Norton Juster (Author), Leonard Baskin (Illustrator)

Book Description

In the days of the Renaissance, Alberic leads the reader among the folds of a rich tapestry in his search for wisdom.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The author of The Phantom Tollbooth spins a classically structured yarn about a simple, wisdom-seeking country youth of no particular talents. The boy is so taken by a stranger's exotic descriptions of the great world beyond that he embarks on a journey of his own. He apprentices first with one tradesman, then another, excelling at nothing. Yet his search for knowledge continues. After many years, when he enraptures others with stories of his own experiences, he is given the name Alberic the Wise. Juster's elegant command of language is immediately evident--"More than many years ago when fewer things had happened in the world and there was less to know, there lived a young man named Alberic who knew nothing at all." Though the story is overlong for a picture book market, the author's compelling prose, elevated without being lofty, will draw in advanced readers. Rendered in rich, earthy tones, Baskin's bold, expressionist watercolors function primarily as vigorous character studies, though they do little to advance the story. Ultimately, this multi-faceted and sophisticated tale about art, wisdom and life itself may find its most appreciative audience with adults. Ages 6-up.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (Juv) (September 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0887082432
• ISBN-13: 978-0887082436
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,476,210 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Feudel vassel Alberic learns it is alright to fail, February 6, 1998

By 

John Robbins (chesterton, indiana) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Alberic the Wise (Hardcover)

The story was originally written in 1965 but has been reissued in 1992 accompanied by some wonderful paintings by Leonard Baskin that are, indeed, reminiscent of Barry Moser (both of whom, interestingly enough, founded their own private presses). In this day and age, children are basically taught that success is everything and the only thing. This book tells a remarkably different tale: it is alright to fail, as Alberic learns repeatedly. Alberic does not wallow in his failure, he picks up and moves on to new chapters of his life. Ultimately, he learns he is a success by being thought wise, yet he remains uncomfortable in the trappings of success. Why, because he has learned that life is lived best by continual striving, that it is a process, a journey wherein "the freedom and the joy [is felt by] not knowing where each new step would take him." An altogether wonderful lesson for children and wonderful paintings.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The True Meaning of LIfe, April 22, 2006

By 

William G. Straub "Bill" (Silver Spring, MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Alberic the Wise (Hardcover)

If one is searching for the true meaning of life, you can find it between the few pages of this "picture book." It is not the successes and the failures that we encounter daily, but what is important is how we get to them and what we do with them. THE JOURNEY.