Swine Lake [Hardcover]

James Marshall (Author), Maurice Sendak (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 1 and up | Grade Level: K and up

When a lean and mangy wolf stumbles into the Boarshoi Ballet, he finds tasty pigs a-plenty, twirling and whirling in a performance of Swine Lake. Faced with all those luscious porkers, whats a hungry wolf to do? Well, something totally surprising, as it turns out.

Pure fun from Marshall and Sendak--an incomparable duo!

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Wolves and pigs have always been excellent fodder for suspenseful children's stories, and Swine Lake proves it once again, this time in the masterful hands of the late James Marshall and Maurice Sendak. Marshall wrote the book fully intending to illustrate it himself, but when he died in 1992, his good friend Sendak was charged with the challenging task of bringing this delightful work to life. And come to life it does! The rollicking tale opens with a mangy, hungry wolf on the prowl in an unfamiliar part of town. Soon the wolf's nose twitches uncontrollably. He smells pigs! Just across the street is a theater marquee bearing the words Swine Lake. Boarshoi Ballet. The wolf can scarcely conceal his delight, and "soon the aroma of pig, thinly disguised by French perfume, was making him swoon."

Snatching matinee tickets from a swanky ticket-scalping sow who arrives in a limousine, he enters the theater. "Had the ticket taker been more observant, he would have noticed the long claws and much that follows could have been avoided," Marshall adds parenthetically. The wolf is escorted by a distracted usher to his box seat, just a short pounce from the stage. When the show begins, the wolf ponders which might be the juiciest pig. But as he assesses the probable quality of the pork, he begins to get lost in the magical story, and decides to put off his attack until act 2... and in fact forgets to make his move altogether. That very night he breaks into his piggy bank and spends his last penny on a ticket for the evening performance of Swine Lake.

Anyone who is familiar with Swan Lake will be positively giddy to behold Marshall and Sendak's porcine take on this well-known ballet, but certainly no cultural context is necessary to appreciate the simple plot. With a winning story about the power of the theater to soothe the hungriest, toothiest of beasts, this fabulous team has made an absolutely historic contribution to children's literature. Fans will see a lighter, funnier side to Sendak than they've seen before, as Marshall's comic spirit gently guides his paintbrush and pens. (Click to see a sample spread. Text copyright 1999 by James Marshall. Illustrations copyright 1999 by Maurice Sendak. Reproduced with permission of HarperCollins Juvenile Books.) (Ages 4 and older) --Karin Snelson

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-5-It's hog heaven! Sendak, with his signature style, and Marshall, with his delicious wit, are the perfect pair to ham up a spoof on ballet. The scrumptious smell of pigs draws a lean and mangy wolf to the New Hamsterdam Theater where a matinee of "Swine Lake" is being performed by the Boarshoi Ballet. With opportune timing, a fat old sow offers the penniless wolf a ticket for a box seat that ideally positions him for a leap onto the stage. As the plump and juicy dancing pigs interpret the story, the wolf gets so caught up in the excitement and drama that he forgets to make his move. He returns that night, after breaking his piggy bank to buy a ticket, and is so carried away by the music that he leaps to the stage and takes over the role of the monster. The next day a newspaper review cites the special guest appearance as the highlight of the evening: "It was almost as if a real wolf had appeared on the stage." Among the visual puns of ballet and literary references, discerning eyes will notice some discordant notes: a mismatch of blockish typeface for the swirl and flourish of the illustrations, and inconsistency in the time frame. Still, the composition of the pictures seats readers front stage to relish the hijinks of this wickedly funny pig tale. The end result is swinely divine.
Julie Cummins, New York Public Library
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 1 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1st edition (April 21, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062051717
• ISBN-13: 978-0062051714
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 8.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #660,076 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book for both children and adults to love, May 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Swine Lake (Hardcover)

As a Maurice Sendak fan, I immediately purchased a copy of this book for my 28 month old son. I assumed he wouldn't sit still for the long text and some of the big words. I was wrong! He was mesmerized from the first page and has asked for the book every night since.

Marshall's story is amusing and a welcome relief to the parent who is tired of reading five word rhyming sentences over and over. The illustrations are a perfect companion to the story. While drawn with a children's story in mind, Sendak's wonderful illustrations contain lots of visual humor that will appeal to adults.

I found it a refreshing change of pace. This book will definitely encourage a love of reading and help young ones stretch their growing vocabularies.

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolulely charming!, June 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Swine Lake (Hardcover)

I purchased this book as a fan of both Maurice Sendak and ballet. A charming variation of the "big bad wolf" theme, the story left me wanting more (it ends rather abruptly, which is my only complaint), but the illustrations by Sendak are a charm to behold. Sendak's experience in the literary and theatrical worlds (he has designed backgrounds for a number of ballets, including a staging of "The Nutcracker") shows in some of the inside jokes seen in the backgrounds. Marshall's storyline is well-crafted and very amusing. The way the wolf is enamored of the drama of the ballet is excellently depicted, and is quite amusing. A worthy rememberance of such a talented (and lamented) author. I would strongly reccomend this book to help introduce children to ballet and theatre, as well as to be relished by we adults who are already drawn to the classics.

61 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars James Marshall- a real person and one funny guy, June 13, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Waco, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Swine Lake (Hardcover)

If you like Swine Lake, then go buy all the Marshall books you can find!Thirteen years ago, my then-five-year-old son and I read Miss Nelson Is Missing by James Marshall. At bedtime, he decided it was the better part of valor to put this book in a safely-snapped plastic bag and out of the house entirely, into the garage before he was ready to go to sleep. (So.. OK, maybe I messed up a little and he was a trifle too young for this James Marshall delight at that time.) But as a family we grew to love ALL of the Marshall books, especially the George and Martha ones. Our favorite line quoted often in the family lo these many years after preschool time is, "let's not discuss it-- you'll weigh a ton" as did George and Martha in the short story about Martha being overweight ( mind you, they are both hippopotami!). My son David and I wrote to James Marshall and received a hand-written and illustrated (!) letter from him thirteen years ago which was just delightful. I think now it is time to frame it. We regret his untimely death greatly. Does anyone know what was the cause of death? He was Texan living in New England when we wrote to him from our home in Texas.