Customer Reviews

The Emperors New Clothes: An All-Star Illustrated Retelling of the Classic Fairy Tale

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I have three boys 10,7,and 6. They absolutely loved this book, especially my 7 year old! He must have listened to it 50 times in 2 weeks. We read a lot of books and I have never heard him laugh out loud like he did for this book. He has talked about it ever since he first read it. This version adds humor and wit to an old classic without ruining the story line. The story is told from the perspective of the people and objects involved in it. This is a fabulous way to tell the story! The wonderful artwork and change of voices on each page holds the attention of younger children all the way through this rather long book. The kids enjoyed looking at the pictures and retelling the story themselves without listening to the CD as well. The only problem we had with this was the fact that the CD couldn't jump to the page we left off on. We always had to start the story over. The kids never seemed to mind it - just me!

As a Reading Recovery and Title I reading teacher I am thrilled when a book comes out that gives children an opportunity to enjoy literature in such a unique and non-threatening manner. I work with children everyday that see reading as a chore and never pick up books on their own. This book, and hopefully more like it, allow a child to listen to a story with (quite a bit!) detail and descriptive language. It is fairly long but can be listened to while playing,etc. This book, I believe, was not intended for reading aloud or teaching reading and a great deal of the content is way over a young child's head - as is a good Bugs Bunny cartoon! That's what makes this book so wonderful for children of all ages! The content and language will grow with them and they will pick up something new everytime they listen. Do not buy this book as a follow along or to teach children to read. Buy it for fun!

The book itself is beautiful and the CD is wonderful and easy to follow. Its a great way to entertain a child or children and get tham interested in reading. My daughter never liked the story until now. She almost has it memorized and is beginning to recognize words. My one criticism and caution to other parents is the Fran Drescher character because of the use of an inappropriate term considering the audience this was meant to address. I was shocked to hear it and surprised that it was not edited out. Children hear enough bad language elsewhere, there was no need to tarnish such a wonderful product in this manner. I hope that the Starbright Foundation and Steven Spielberg will gift us with many more such books.

This book is absolutely wonderful. My sons, ages 7 & 11, enjoyed this book more than any other we have read together. It had us laughing out loud. The illustrations are far better than any I've seen. We checked it out of our local library. We have purchased it since. It is a must for any family library.

This book is wonderful!!! I purchased this a little while ago and I love to listen to it. It has Beautiful illustrations by major illustrators including: Steven Kellogg, Tomie dePaola, and Graeme Base. Plus, if you get the CD with it, you get to hear Stars like Robin Williams (Jester), Johnathan Taylor Thomas (Prince), Melissa Joan Hart (Princess) and the Narrator, Jay Leno, read their own words. Spielberg did a great job giving actors parts that match their personalities like Fran Dresher as the Heralding Horn, Angela Lansbury as the Spinning Wheel, and Madona as the Empress. This is a great rewriting of a traditional story. The one thing that I didn't like was that the CD isn't broken up into sections so you can't just skip ahead to your favorite actor's part. But that doesn't really matter because the whole thing is great.

I am buying this book again because the first one I bought years ago is worn out from being loved and enjoyed by my oldest grandchild. Now that my youngest grandchildren are seven and eight, it's time to introduce it to them.

It probably is too sophisticated for younger children, but anyone from seven years and up will enjoy it tremendously. The illustrations pop off the page and, on the CD, the actors emote to fairy tale perfection. The fact that it raises money for a good cause is icing on the cake!

After hearing General Schwartzkoff promote this book, I immediately ordered it for my new grandson. I knew it would be a few years before he could understand it but thought this would be a book to treasure until then. I sat down with the CD playing to follow along expecting to be delighted - and I was from time to time. The illustrations are wonderful, everything I had hoped for. The narration, alas, is not. My overall impression is that of an inside joke and it isn't the Emperor being naked. The famous personalities that contribute to the narration should add to the entertainment value but I confess I was often bored. Was this written to amuse adults? Robin Williams was an exception. I could imagine my grandson giggling at his portrayal but thought there needed to be much more humor or wit in the other characters to hold a child's attention through a fairly long story. I love the concept and admire the enormous effort that went into this project. I really wanted to be thrilled. I will give it another try. Another small quibble: the CD narration varies from the words on the page quite frequently, for those that use a book to teach reading. That might be a bit confusing to a child.

I have the cassette version of this (bought about 5 years ago).
Opted to NOT buy the book as we just wanted a funny story to listen to.
It was perfect for listening. At the time, the boys were quite young (ages 3-6) but thoroughly enjoyed the story.
Am certain they did not understand all the nuances. But, we generally discussed the story afterwards, and I was surprised that the older ones did get the concept.
I think they found it engaging and humorous, which was the point.
This was NOT meant to be a learn-to-read experience -- nor was it meant to be a study in fine literature.
We do have a classic version of this story and that provides for a nice comparison to this one.
I now have four boys (youngest is 3), and I want to get a CD version as we no longer have a cassette player in the van.
Was surprised to see nay-sayers.
Listen...you cannot take this so seriously. It's a FUN story to listen to. Great ad-libs, use of descriptive words (adj & adv) and it is NOT boring.
Also, I would highly recommend the Starbright's "Fairy Tales".
Again, don't expect to read along.
We often listen to the story and read the book separately.
Hope this helps.

This is a wonderful version of the story. This is my second purchase and I will be shipping it later on for birthday gifts. I highly recommend it.

I love books, and I love movies, and I love music. And I love famous people. This is just great! I think this book is funny and cute. I'd buy it if it weren't so expensive. That's why it's good to have nice, rich friends. You get to freeload. Or just sneak a peak at the Price Costco.