Customer Reviews

Firebird

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"In a certain land, in a certain kingdom--as they say in old Russia--on the far side of a certain tangled wood" was a garden ruled by an evil wizard, Kostchei the Deathless. Kostchei holds the princess and her nine maidens captive in his garden, anyone who attempts to rescue them is turned to stone. Prince Ivan is out hunting and follows the magical firebird to this garden. The red firebird bestows one of his magical feathers to Prince Ivan, but will that be enough to help him conquer Kostchei and free the princess and her maidens. Vagin's exceptional illustrations display the folktale as well as depict scenes from the famous ballet.

I loved this book! The language flows naturally making this book ideal for a read aloud; this is an essential element of traditional literature. The Firebird also exhibits other features of quality traditional literature, for instance, the simple story structure, the struggle between good and evil, references the oral tradition, has an indistinct setting, and succinct language. The illustrations are so entrancing that I had to go through and look at all the illustrations on every page before I read the story. Yolen includes an author's note at the end that provides the reader with some insight into Russian folktales. The Firebird is a reoccurring character in many Russian tales and sometimes dwells in a golden cage. My four-year-old son actually introduced me to this folktale via Disney's "Little Einsteins - Rocket's Firebird Rescue" (a movie made for preschoolers), and we were both ecstatic to learn that the hero in the traditional version is Prince Ivan because Ivan is my son's middle name :). I am very excited to start reading other variants and versions of this magical tale!

With one reading this book became my four year old's favorite. After fifty readings it still is. The story is short enough for a bedtime story, yet detailed enough to be interesting, and the drawings are colorful and captivating. Each double page has a panoramic of the story on the top 1/2, text below, and a panoramic of the stage ballet on the bottom. My girls (4 and 6) love comparing the dancers to the story characters, noting how the cosumes make the people look like the characters. It's a perfect opportunity to discuss real vs. pretend. For example, they are quick to point out that although the villain is killed the dancer is only pretending to be.

The story is obviously meant to be told aloud, although in a few places I find the ryhthm awkward. Overall, it is excellent. My daughters' favorite line is, "And Kostchei the Deathless met Death at last." As expected, the story ends happily. And my daughters are happy to hear it - again, and again, and again....