Mikhail Baryshnikov's Stories From My Childhood: Beloved Fairy Tales from the Queen to Cinderella [Hardcover]

Joan Borsten (Author), Oleg Vidov (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2002 | Grade Level: 3 and up

The award-winning PBS series is now available as a richly illustrated storybook.

The most enchanting fairy tales are retold here in one beautiful volume-and lavishly illustrated with images from the delightful animated series on PBS: Mikhail Baryshnikov's Stories from My Childhood.

In his foreword, the ballet superstar describes the impact of these films-produced by the Russian animation studio Soyuzmultfilm-on his childhood and his appreciation of the timeless stories, which include "Beauty and the Beast" and "Cinderella," as well as tales less familiar to Western readers, including Pushkin's "The Golden Rooster." Full-color stills taken from the animated films capture all the beauty and action of the originals. Whether they are familiar with the PBS series, or encountering these classic stories for the first time, young readers will be enchanted by this beautiful book.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Based on the PBS animated series of the same name, Mikhail Baryshnikov's Stories from My Childhood, ed. by Joan Borsten and Oleg Vidov, presents 11 Russian and European fairy tales, including such lesser known tales as Alexander Pushkin's "The Golden Rooster" and classics like "Cinderella." Baryshnikov provides the foreword; film stills (unfortunately, out of focus and quite grainy) from the Russian animation studio Soyuzmultfilm illustrate the text.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 3 Up-This selection of 11 tales from Europe and Russia commemorates the revoicing and restoration of classic Soviet animated films. The cell illustrations, created by a variety of film artists, are often strikingly colored and elegantly patterned but unfortunately suffer from fuzzy reproduction that dilutes their visual power. The brisk, wooden text has been passed through so many cultures and other literary forms (poems or tales translated into Russian, and retranslated into English) that it lacks resonance. Minimal source notes are provided. For aficionados of animation history, an afterword by the editors describes the strong and spirited tradition of Soviet animation with the establishment of the state-ordered Soyuzmultfilm in l935. Others may pass on this collection.
Susan Hepler, Burgundy Farm Country Day School, Alexandria, VA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (October 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810910179
• ISBN-13: 978-0810910171
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,956,558 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Animation and Story Telling, August 31, 2009

By 

Mary Valentine - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mikhail Baryshnikov's Stories From My Childhood: Beloved Fairy Tales from the Queen to Cinderella (Hardcover)

My daughters absolutely loved these animated fairy tales when they aired on PBS. They were just little girls then; around 7 and 8 years old. They still talk about them fondly even now at 17 and 15. So much so that I decided to try to find them for them to watch again.

The stories are unique, and delightful. The animation is vivid and unusual. Film is slightly grainy; even so, it really doesn't diminish the experience.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars PC-ized titles?, November 8, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Mikhail Baryshnikov's Stories From My Childhood: Beloved Fairy Tales from the Queen to Cinderella (Hardcover)

Sad to see eagerness in trimming everything to the insipid norms of political correctness. Ivan and his Magic Pony was originally Ivan the Fool and the Gibbous Little Horse. So what if they are "handicapped": some sort of handicap is almost required for this underdog-has-to-win type of fairy tales; and the talking horse is a magic creature, no wonder it is a bit weird.
Another adjustment made for no apparent reason is Pinocchio. The tale by Alexei Tolstoy is about Buratino, and it's a very loose variation on Pinocchio, to the point that it's a story in its own right. Why bring the confusion?
As for the fairy tales, they are all wonderful. I read (or was told) them in my childhood.
The Soviet-made cartoons, whence the stills came, are also posh, if you don't mind dull and grainy look of film.