Customer Reviews

The Firebird

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

 

 

The Firebird is a traditional Russian fairy tale. It tells the story of a king who wants to find out who is stealing his golden apples. He directs each of his sons to keep watch overnight to catch the thief. Only the youngest son is successful in discovering who is stealing the apples - the legendary Firebird - but he is unable to capture the beautiful bird. The king becomes heartsick over his longing to see the bird and sends his sons out again to find it. Each son is approached by a vixen and asked for food. The older sons attempt to kill the vixen, but the youngest shares his food with her. The vixen then offers to help him find the Firebird and leads him on a magical journey. With the vixen's help, he is able to return home with a beautiful princess, a magnificent horse, and the legendary Firebird. However, the youngest prince's brothers find him sleeping along the way and become jealous. They kill him and return home with the treasures themselves. The vixen again helps him, though, and he is brought back to life and returns home to reclaim his treasures.

This book would be appropriate for children ages 10 and 11. Children in this age group like stories of survival and would enjoy reading about the young prince's independence and perseverance. They would also appreciate the complex fantasy plot of the story. I would recommend that children read this book on their own for enjoyment. The beautiful watercolor illustrations reflect the mythical quality of the story. Drawings of golden apples wrapped around vines are used creatively to separate narrative sections. However, while the artwork matches what is happening in the text overall, the pictures do not always line up properly to match the text on the page you are reading.