East of the Sun and West of the Moon (Hardcover)

by Nancy Willard (Author), Barry Moser (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In the form of a play, Willard retells the Norwegian folktale with verve, relying entirely on witty dialogue and pared-down stage directions to conjure up the world of the Troll King and his captives. Karen is the youngest daughter of a poor woodcutter, and when Bear comes to the door promising riches to her family if she will go with him, she agrees. She fails to break the spell on him--he is a prince in bearskin--and later must follow him to the Troll King's castle to rescue him. Moser provides glowing watercolor portraits of the cast, keying into Willard's modern references (telephone and TV) with his own contemporary touches: both Karen and her father are figures cut and dressed from this decade. From these collaborators, readers will expect the elegance of the volume, but will be surprised and pleased by the humor in the script. Ages 8-up.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description
Rendered in play format, this is the traditional tale of a spirited young girl in a wretchedly poor household, and the magical white bear who chooses her to share his lavish palace.


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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books; 1st edition (April 10, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152247505
• ISBN-13: 978-0152247508
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #833,771 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for children and adults, December 23, 2000

By A Customer

"East of the sun" is my favorite folktale. Willard transforms the tale into something even more enchanting and the illustrations by Moser are beautiful (most of them are face and upper torso shots of the characters in the play, but the illumination on the sides of the pages and acts are a nice touch). It makes a great "story" to read aloud, and better if you get people to play the different roles. I've found myself, at nearly 32, singing parts of it aloud. It's a fleshed out rendition of the tale, adding a lot of character to the flat folktale people and beasts. I've not bought anything by Willard before and was pleased to get this; Moser is one of my favorite artists--his most recent masterpiece is adding dimension and depth in illustrating the Bible. I don't think you could be disappointed with this (unless you're a folktale purist) and if you have children, they will enjoy acting it out for you.

5.0 out of 5 stars A very hard play to do, but a great story., March 21, 1998

By A Customer

I got the lead role in this play that we performed for the school. I had a lot of fun. I think this is a very worthwhile performence for anyone who wanted to perform a play. This was a great play to perform and I reccomend it to anyone who wants to read or perform a play.