The Witches and Wizards of Oberin [Hardcover]

Suza Scalora (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 21, 2001 | Age Level: 9 and up

We are the original magicians, the alchemists.
We are the witches and wizards who
collaborate with the elements,
the forces of nature,
to conjure,
to dazzle,
to bewitch.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Suza Scalora follows up the bestselling The Fairies with The Witches and Wizards of Oberin. Front and back pages set the scene: a team of anthropologists discover a mysterious mountain cave in France. Soon after, the witches and wizards who used the cave as a gathering place abduct the noted Frenchman responsible for unlocking their secret mountain lair. Artful design, stunning photography and laminated pages combine to tell the stories of, among others, Orella, Enchantress of the Dawn, Lalezar, Witch of the Forests, and Maruk, Warrior Wizard.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Gr 6 Up-The creator of The Fairies: Photographic Evidence of the Existence of Another World (HarperCollins, 2001) uses the same highly manipulated photo-collage technique to present a gallery of mages, each of whom is associated with one of the Four Elements. Scalora started with elaborately costumed, formally posed live models, then blurred their outlines into maelstroms of saturated color created from filtered photographs of natural settings; the effect is mannered-almost to the point of abstraction in some cases-but melodramatic. Each magic worker comes with a bit of commentary: Orella, Enchantress of the Dawn, for instance, once stopped an army of giants by transforming herself into the scent of orange blossoms; water witches Euromie and Europa united rival kingdoms by changing a river's course; and Ogma and Malik, Wizards of Illusion, permanently switched day and night for a Caspian village. The descriptive text, printed in a variety of fine scripts and ornamented typefaces on super-glossy paper stock over backgrounds of mottled, intense color, is hard to read, but the perfunctory story line is really secondary to the art; fans of romantic high fantasy and readers who enjoy creating entire imaginary worlds will linger over these mysterious, evocative portraits.

John Peters, New York Public Library

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: HarperTeen; 1st edition (August 21, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006029535X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060295356
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,698,625 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lovely photographs, October 9, 2002

By 

La Coccinelle - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Witches and Wizards of Oberin (Hardcover)

This is just a really nice book all around. Besides the beautiful photographs, the layout and glossy pages really make this book a treat to read.

The different pictures are held together rather loosely by a short story. While it does help to tie the book together, I found it almost unnecessary. The pictures are enough on their own.

After enjoying this book immensely, I went in search of Scalora's other picture book, The Fairies. It too is wonderful to look at, and either book would make a great gift for anyone who is intrigued by the idea of fairies and magic.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars nice picture book, September 18, 2002

By 

Martin Wierschin (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Witches and Wizards of Oberin (Hardcover)

To start off, at 20+ years I probably skew a bit older than the target market for this book. And yes, I did buy it for myself.

The best part of the book is the photographs (it is mainly a picture book after all). The witches and wizards in the book are grouped into the four elements, and each shot is heavily themed. The makeup, costuming, and sets are all very complete and otherworldly. Nearly everything has some sort of glow, sheen, or sparkle to it. The only visual element I disliked was the rather heavy use of motion blur. It does add an ethereal element to the shots, but I would have preferred it been used less.

The story and writing were tolerable at best, most often saccharine, and in a word, tacky. I can see the possible appeal for younger readers, but you can find better. But then you don't buy a picture book for the text. Still, I felt the text distracted from the overall quality, and is the reason I took a star off.

Overall a very pretty and stylized book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful! Pure Eye Candy, November 2, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Witches and Wizards of Oberin (Hardcover)

This book is amazing! I have Suza Scalora's first book, The Fairies, which I love! But this new book about witches and wizards is so beautiful and imaginative. I love the story that the Spirit Keeper tells of his clan of mysterious witches and wizards that travel the world casting spells. The color photographs are gorgeous! Can't wait for the next one.