The Happy Prince and Other Tales (Hardcover)

~ Oscar Wilde (Author)
Key Phrases: little dwarf, Roman Candle, Don Pedro, Catherine Wheel (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-5-A statue of a privileged prince develops a social conscience and a swallow intends to pause just a moment to assist him. Together they conspire to bring a modicum of contentment, financial security, and compassion to the beleaguered poor of a nameless city in northern Europe and both receive their rewards in a heavenly paradise. In this morality tale originally intended for the childlike rather than the child, Wilde addresses issues of social injustice, the loss of innocence, and the redemptive power of love. The otherwise verbatim retelling of the original contains two omissions: reference to Jewish merchants in the ghetto and part of a descriptive passage of life on the Nile that included pygmies and strange religious practices. The watercolor illustrations, varying in size and irregular in shape, are literal extensions of the text. A brief biography of Wilde is appended. Though the winsome swallow and wistful prince have appeal, buy only where literary fairy tales have a ready audience. A more evocative interpretation can be found in Ed Young's version (S & S, 1992).
Carol Ann Wilson, Westfield Memorial Library, NJ
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Review

'The Puffin Classics series is a perfect marriage of the old and the new. Enjoy some of the best books from the past and find out why and how they inspired some of the best writers of the present. - Julia Ecclesshare, Lovereading4kids' - Julia Eccleshare, Lovereading4kids --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Everyman's Library; First Edition, Thus edition (October 10, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679444734
• ISBN-13: 978-0679444732
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 6.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #543,799 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent beyond compare!!!!, January 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Happy Prince and Other Stories (Books of Wonder) (Hardcover)

As a child I didn't have the books of Oscar Wilde but rather the records. My imagination soared with his descriptions of life, and my eyes overflowed with tears at each story. The record of the Happy Prince was read by Bing Crosby and Orson Wells and each year at Christmas we still play that old scratched thing, just to hear it's wonderous love story and that of The Selfish Giant. Now I have to get the book so my nieces and nephews will share in my treasures of love!!!! What is this world if it isn't all about Love?

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderfully fanciful, May 20, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Happy Prince and Other Stories (Books of Wonder) (Hardcover)

I remember this book from my childhood. I had my parents read each story to me over and over. When I learned how to read I read this book until the pages fell out. In short it is a great book that encourages youthful imaginations. And, it makes for great bedtime stories. A real classic. I bought it for my children.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There is always some salvation, May 22, 2003

By	Jacques COULARDEAU "A soul doctor, so to say" (OLLIERGUES France) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

In these tales, most of them being sad and even very sad, Oscar Wilde looks for a way to save one's soul in front of the misery of the world. Anyone in society who lives in the upper classes does not necessarily see the ugliness and suffering of the world when one looks at the lower classes. But in these tales the Happy Prince, or the Selfish Giant, or any other character will manage to get salvation out of their upper class blindness, by opening their eyes to misery and suffering and by doing what they can to repair these pains and evils because they will realise they have to feel responsible for the world, because they are more powerful and could easily impose their selfish rule. But the giant will discover nature, if not God, punishes him for his selfishness. The nightingale will try to redeem a young student by giving him a red rose in a season when read roses do not bloom. And yet the student will not get the love he wants because he is nothing but a non-entity for the girl he would like to be loved by. There is also a very sad note in A Devoted Friend and how friendship can become a mask for selfishness, a nice appearance for an ugly and egoistic attitude. Those tales are sad and at the same time they convey a moral full of hope. All is not lost if the Happy Prince can give away his happiness for those who suffer, even if later the powerful of his society will reject him when he does not look happy and beautiful any more

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University of Perpignan