Little Daylight [Hardcover]

North-South Staff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1945

At her christening, the princess, Little Daylight, receives a curse from a wicked fairy that she shall never see the sun until kissed by a prince.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Like Sleeping Beauty, the princess in MacDonald's tale is cursed at her christening by a jealous fairy. Little Daylight can awaken only at night, and her beautry must wax and wane with the moon until "a prince comes who shall kiss her without knowing it." A young prince glimpese the beribboned princess dancing in the moonlight and falls in love, but when he next finds her, there is no moon and the princess looks as "wrinkled and drawn" as a withered old woman. The pirnce, thinking the woman is dying, kisses her and the spell is broken: Little Daylight's face shines "as bright as the never-aging dawn." Ingraham's paintings ( Cross-Country Cat and Porcupine Stew ) are meticulously rendered. He combines the luminosity of Renaissance portraits with an almost photographic detail, creating a fairy tale world of moonlit beauty. All ages.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4Little Daylight is Sleeping Beauty in Victorian guise, with the old story expanded with newly invented detail and the archetypical characters given a measure of individuality. MacDonald's principal change, however, is in the nature of the curse: instead of sleeping 100 years, Little Daylight must sleep when the sun is in the sky. Worse yet, she is ruled by the phases of the moon; young and beautiful when it is full, she ages with its waning. While this embroidered version sacrifices some of the dramatic tension of the original, there is compensation in the haunting nature of the curse and the formidable barrier it presents to a prince's required kiss. There are barriers, too, to an easy assignment of age or interest level for the book. Although adapted, the text retains much of MacDonald's rich style, putting it somewhat at odds with the picture book format in which it is set. Like the text, the full-color acrylic paintings on every page also depart from tradition. In place of generic princesses and fairies, Ingraham's characters reflect the crisp individuality of photographs, although they move in enchanted settings. This will be best used as a read-aloud to primary grade children, who will be moved by the ``Lost Horizon'' poignancy of the tale whether or not they understand every word. Janet D. French, Centennial School District Libraries, Warminster, Pa .
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: North-South (July 1, 1945)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558580379
• ISBN-13: 978-1558580374
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,024,085 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Little Daylight--- review, April 8, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Little Daylight: A Fairy Story (Hardcover)

Illustrations are magnificant,the story is different from every day fairy tales too. It's a must have!

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Story, July 9, 2008

By 

H. Basham - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Little Daylight: A Fairy Story (Hardcover)

This is a wonderful story, with the language as only George Macdonald can do it. Its a classic fairy tale story with all the magic and love anyone could ask for. I highly suggest getting it.