This collection contains one tale for each hour including "Master Clock: How Boots Befooled the King," "The Three Little Pigs and the Ogre," and others. A large measure of Pyle's amazing success with youngsters is his genius as an illustrator and this book includes some of his most unforgettable drawings. 148 illustrations.
The Wonder Clock
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
“Pyle was one of the late nineteenth century writers who helped invent the fairy tale novel.” —Jane Yolen
--This text refers to the
Mass Market Paperback
edition.
From the Back Cover
“Pyle was one of the late nineteenth century writers who helped invent the fairy tale novel.” —Jane Yolen
Famous and influential as a preeminent illustrator, Howard Pyle was also a gifted writer beloved by millions — young and old — for his endearing and enchanting fairy tales. The Wonder Clock is a delightful, magical collection of whimsical stories: twenty-four stories for twenty-four hours. And each a timeless masterpiece. Peopled with jolly kings and queens, lovely princesses and evil witches, sly foxes and mischievous ravens, ogres and giants, dashing princes and nasty dragons, these are old fashioned fairly tales in the best and most beautiful sense that can be enjoyed by readers of any age.
This edition also includes Pyle’s dazzling illustrations.
--This text refers to the
Mass Market Paperback
edition.
Famous and influential as a preeminent illustrator, Howard Pyle was also a gifted writer beloved by millions — young and old — for his endearing and enchanting fairy tales. The Wonder Clock is a delightful, magical collection of whimsical stories: twenty-four stories for twenty-four hours. And each a timeless masterpiece. Peopled with jolly kings and queens, lovely princesses and evil witches, sly foxes and mischievous ravens, ogres and giants, dashing princes and nasty dragons, these are old fashioned fairly tales in the best and most beautiful sense that can be enjoyed by readers of any age.
This edition also includes Pyle’s dazzling illustrations.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
31 of 31 people found the following review helpful
By G. Becker
Format:Hardcover
My father heard these stories as a child. He read them to me. I read them to my kids and my grandkids. The vocabulary, the cadences, the varied plots and the sheer magic of these tales is timeless. The poems at the beginning of each chapter are related to the hours. Kids insist that you read them too. Pyle always sees to it that bullies, evil magicians, cheaters and older nasty siblings get their comeuppance. Little ones enjoy that aspect. Great archaic words are dusted off along with long disused similies and metaphores. It's the kind of book that comes to mind when you meet a bright eyed new child who has read everything else or seen everything else. At age 70 I still keep a copy in my bed's head board. Rap, tap, tap he knocked at the door.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
The Wonder Clock book has been a favorite source of bedtime stories for three generations of Leadley boys (my father, myself and and my son). It is best read (and read and read ...) from ages 7 to 10. The book contains 24 separate faux fairy tales that are just the right length for a 15 minute bedtime story. The short stories are bound together by a metastory of the "wonder clock" that whisks the narrator off to observe and recount the other 24 tales. Each story is preceded by a short, illuminated poem, starts with a scrollwork capital and contains at least two wonderfully ornate illustrations. DO NOT buy a copy of this book which doesn't contain the original illustrations! They are part of the "wonder" for young readers. The stories are set in the Middle Ages somewhere in northern Europe (¿Belgium, Holland or southern Germany?) and feature lots of minor kings, princes, princesses, woodcutters, swineherds, ruffians, rogues and magical creatures.
Caveats:
1) Although the Wonder Clock book can be read alone by precocious readers as early as second grade, I would recommend a joint reading the first time through with asides on morality. It is my belief that the actions in stories that feature villians being dragged to death behind wild horses, beatings, blindings, whippings, etc. need to be given moral context when a young child is first exposed to them.
2) I'm not sure whether this book would have as powerful an appeal to girls. Among us, my grandfather, my father and I have only raised one girl out of ten children (my aunt) and don't have much experience to offer. Upon reading the book again from an adult prospective, I've found the female protagonists (the wise queen, the wise princess, the magical Swan Maiden, etc.) curiously passive. Even Princess Golden Hair, who treks to the end of the earth in search of her beloved husband banished by magic, seems unassertive.
Conclusion: Kids, especially boys, love it. Don't feed it to them unadulterated :-).
Caveats:
1) Although the Wonder Clock book can be read alone by precocious readers as early as second grade, I would recommend a joint reading the first time through with asides on morality. It is my belief that the actions in stories that feature villians being dragged to death behind wild horses, beatings, blindings, whippings, etc. need to be given moral context when a young child is first exposed to them.
2) I'm not sure whether this book would have as powerful an appeal to girls. Among us, my grandfather, my father and I have only raised one girl out of ten children (my aunt) and don't have much experience to offer. Upon reading the book again from an adult prospective, I've found the female protagonists (the wise queen, the wise princess, the magical Swan Maiden, etc.) curiously passive. Even Princess Golden Hair, who treks to the end of the earth in search of her beloved husband banished by magic, seems unassertive.
Conclusion: Kids, especially boys, love it. Don't feed it to them unadulterated :-).
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I agree with everything Scott Leadley said, with the additional comments that 1) my daughter, now 10, has always loved these stories as much as my son, in spite of the lack of active female characters (at least on the side of Good); 2) Pyle, like Kipling, understood how to write a story that would be read aloud to children. The paragraphs are short, the vocabulary pointed, and something interesting happens two or three times a page; 3) as Pyle admits in the introduction, the elements of the stories are extracted and mixed from classic fairy stories; for example, in one story the hero kills a dragon by digging a pit, waiting until the dragon crawls over him, and stabbing it in the belly, an obvious borrow from the event in the 'Volsunga Saga' in which the hero Sigurd kills Fafnir the dragon. If you know the older stories you'll enjoy spotting Pyle's sources.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Dodo press has no illustrations, this book is pointless without them
I'll keep it short and sweet, the *Dodo press* edition of this classic title is *completely without illustrations. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Angry Dwarf
5.0 out of 5 stars
A literary treasure (and a personal favorite)
I don't have enough adjectives [or superlatives] to describe how deliriously happy I was to find this for my Kindle! Read more
Published on January 8, 2011 by Jen
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Touch of Fairy Dust
The Wonder Clock is one of my favorite books of all time. I am now 76, but I read it (and it was read to me) throughout my childhood. Read more
Published on September 14, 2009 by Eliot S. Orton
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not a Living Math Book
I bought this book from the recommendation of Livingmath.net's booklists. We love fairy tales, and this book was supposed to tie into a time theme for math studies. Read more
Published on May 14, 2009 by Jimmie
5.0 out of 5 stars
remarkable nineteenth century children's fables
The narrator of the twenty-four stories (plus an introduction) finds a special clock in Father Time's attic, which strikes on the hour with songs and puppet dances. Read more
Published on February 18, 2003 by Harriet Klausner
5.0 out of 5 stars
A masterpiece of storytelling and illustration:
This book has been in my family for four generations, the 1912 edition having been given to my father by his grandmother in 1948. Read more
Published on January 11, 2003 by lindyjulie
5.0 out of 5 stars
spectfantastimarveloso!
I have been searching for this book for quite a while. The stories included are gloriously written and the illustrations are phenomenal. Read more
Published on March 16, 2000
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent collection of fairytales, fabulous illustrations!
This is the most wonderful collection of fairytales, which I first encountered in the third grade and have reread countless times since. Read more
Published on March 14, 1999
5.0 out of 5 stars
A real classic
One of the most wonderful children's books there is. A reader's delight. I miss the larger format of the copy I had while growing up, but the book is well made and the... Read more
Published on September 15, 1998
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great stories, amazing illustrations
If this is the same book my dad had, and used to read to us, it is amazing. Great stories, and the verbiage and illustrations (by howard pyle) are the best. Read more
Published on May 18, 1998
