Amazon.com Review
Hans Christian Andersen's "The Emperor's New Clothes," first published in 1837, has been told and retold in hundreds of ways, but never, ever by such a star-studded cast of writers and artists as this. Sure, we still get the vainglorious, fashion-obsessed Emperor who is duped into parading down the street in an "invisible suit of clothes." And, of course, we still welcome the Honest Boy, the only one with enough gumption to point out that the Emperor's fancy-pants birthday suit is exactly that--a birthday suit. In this quirky, comical version, however, the story is crafted from the diverse, occasionally vulgar, often charming narrative perspectives of the Emperor's entire entourage--from his servants to the Spinning Wheel to the Imperial Dresser's spectacles to His Royal Highness's own underwear, all of whom have very good, self-invested reasons for not wanting to reveal that the Emperor's new clothes are nonexistent, however expensive. A smart-alecky moth, drawn by the beloved illustrator Quentin Blake, ironically patches holes in the piecemeal narrative with smoothing, if not soothing, transitions.
Each snippet of story--doused in shameless punnery--is written by one of 23 celebrities, including Madonna (the Empress), Fran Drescher (the Heralding Horn), Jeff Goldblum (the Imperial Wizard), Robin Williams (the Court Jester), and Calvin Klein (the Emperor's Underwear). The Honest Boy? Steven Spielberg himself, the creative director of this ambitious enterprise designed to benefit the Starbright Foundation for seriously ill children. If the startling display of glitterati isn't enough to spark your interest, then the truly astounding, fresh, full-page art of 23 preeminent children's book illustrators (including Maurice Sendak, Mark Teague, Chris Van Allsburg, Tomie dePaola, and William Joyce) surely will. The combined experience of revisiting a favorite old story, tracking the clever narrative play, admiring gorgeous artwork, and indulging in just plain silliness will amuse kids ages 8 to 108. (All ages) --Karin Snelson
From Publishers Weekly
For this star-studded, collaborative interpretation of the egocentric emperor's sober unveiling, the cast of characters expands to include the perspectives of an imperial physician (as told by Dr. Ruth Westheimer) and a court jester (who else but Robin Williams)Aeven the emperor's trunks talk (animated by the voice of Calvin Klein: "nothing comes between me and my Emperor!"). Steven Spielberg, who makes an appearance in the text playing "the honest boy" who blows the whistle on the emperor's birthday suit, also pens the book's introduction. Each character's concise monologue (recorded by the reteller on an enclosed CD) is paired with a portrait, offering the venerable artists here latitude for satiric humor: Sendak's evil prime minister plots the emperor's undoing in the bathtub with repeated images of the crowned man's bare behind on the wallpaper; garbed in white silk bow tie, ruffled cuffs and primped tresses, C.F. Payne's imperial dresser could have prepped the founding fathers; and Daniel Adel's painting of Madonna as Marie Antoinette is a showstopper. As in all such compendiums, some offerings are weaker than others (Do readers really need to hear from the spinning wheel?), and they might all come off as so many disparate vignettes if not for Blake's addled moth providing the comic visual through-line, transporting readers from one end of the empire to the other. The best jokes can be gleaned from a quick perusal, but the book will likely grace the coffee tables of those who care about the celebrity scene. First printing 200,000; $500,000 ad/promo. (Oct.) FYI: All proceeds from the sale of the book go to the Starbright Foundation, which gives assistance to seriously ill children.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
