The Singing Ringing Tree [Hardcover]

Selina Hastings (Author), Louise Brierley (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 7 and up

A prince seeks the Singing Ringing Tree to please a vain and selfish princess so she will marry him, but the quest is dangerous and results in great misery for both before true love puts everything to rights.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This tale, credited as possibly taken from Slavic folklore, reveals the fate of a prince who has the misfortune to fall in love with a beautiful, scornful princess. Although he succeeds in fulfilling her request to bring her the Singing Ringing Tree, she breaks her promise to marry him. A dwarf who had bet on that outcome imprisons the would-be lovers in his land: the prince becomes a bear and the princess grows ugly. She is cured of her selfishness by the bear's unfailing kindness, and when she declares her love for him, the dwarf's spell is broken. Brierley's elongated figures and angular perspectives create an eccentric elegance for Hastings's haunting, gentle telling. Less familiar than many of its fairy tale cousins, The Singing Ringing Tree is a beautiful old story, of apocalyptic events measured against the redemptive power of love. Ages 5-8.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-5 A magical tree with leaves of tinkling glass appears as a motif in Eastern European tales, and here it is adapted into a smoothly-written folk tale with novel episodes. A handsome prince, performing a task demanded by an arrogant princess, procures the fabled Singing Ringing Tree from a devilish dwarf. When his gift fails to win the love of the princess, he is forced, with her, into servitude in the dwarf's kingdom. There the prince is transformed into a great black bear and the princess becomes ugly. It is not until her arrogance melts into compassion that the spell is broken. Brierley's bordered pictures feature a surrealistic landscape in pale colors, people with mysteriously elongated, highly stylized figures. It is hard to distinguish facial expressions, which makes it difficult to satisfy curiosity about the princess' ugliness. The soft coloring makes the book a poor choice for group reading, but the moral of the redemptive power of true love will appeal to middle-grade readers who enjoy fantasy in picture book format. Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River, N.J.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 25 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holth & Co (J) (October 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805005730
• ISBN-13: 978-0805005738
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,662,058 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars The Grimm's Forgotten Fairy Tale, November 10, 2004

By 

Jacqueline Hackett "Lazy P Publishing" (Kununurra WA AUSTRALIA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Singing Ringing Tree (Hardcover)

First written in 1802 and published in their complete works in 1812, this Brothers' Grimm fairy tale is of the same calibre as Beauty and the Beast.
Made in 1956, the movie is true to the original tale and is available in DVD or VHS through Amazon.com and Amazon.de.
Retold by Selina Hastings in 1988, "The Singing, Ringing Tree" loses much of its magic. The tale has been cut severely to fit into 32 pages and the illustrations are dull.
As a children's book on its own, it is a lovely addition to your child's collection. As a true representation of the tale, I fear it is not.
Lazy P Publishing is currently involved in the new publication of the tale. Look out for the new title in 2005.