John Chamberlain
[Salten] has the gift of a tender, lucid style. His observation is next door to marvelous, and he invests the fruits of this observation with pure poetry. His comprehension makes his deer, his screech-owls, his butterflies, grasshoppers and hares, far more exciting to read about than hundreds of human beings who crowd the pages of our novels. -- Books of the Century; New York Times review, July 1928
Publishers Weekly
In 1999, Schulman adapted Salten's 1923 novel, bringing the original tale of a young deer's coming of age to a generation more familiar with the Disney animated version. Here, the woodland story, considered by many critics to be the first "ecological" novel, springs to life via Dolan's fine reading. Young listeners will be eager to follow along on Bambi's first frolics in the meadow, where he encounters a magpie, grasshoppers, butterflies and dandelions. By then, listeners will be hooked enough to stay with this recording as Bambi takes in stride the important, if somber, life lessons imparted by his mother, all the while trying to understand why "life is so difficult and dangerous." And when hunters encroach, taking his mother from him, Bambi knows he has to follow the advice of the stag known as the Great Prince: "Listen, smell and see for yourself; live by yourself; find out for yourself." Dolan's comfortable storytelling style conveys all the wonder, awe and self-discovery of the material and does not over-sentimentalize the deeper emotional current that comes with encountering death. A wide range of listeners will find much to appreciate in this more serious (compared to Disney's interpretation) look at a beloved children's character. Ages 6-up. (Jan.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
New York Times Book Review
With its mystical, exultant evocation of nature, and its unwavering depiction of savage human nature, "Bambi" truly is a story for all ages. Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher's Luminous paintings capture, by turns, the radiance of Bambi's forest world, its beauty, terror and stillness, as the seasons pass and Bambi grows into princely maturity.
—Elizabeth Spires
From the Publisher
Returning to Bambi nearly a century after it was published is an opportunity to attune ourselves to its cacophony of sounds, its ripples of gossip, its characters’ headbutting. The book is a rich and busy ecosystem — much like a Viennese café.” —Maddie Crum, Los Angeles Review of Books
"The novel combines a richly imagined animal world with the narrative trajectory of a Bildungsroman." —Leo A. Lensing, TLS
"Bambi articulates a tension between fear and desire, and an attempt to dominate one’s emotions to avoid the pitfalls of foolishness. . . .Thanks to a new translation from Damion Searls. . .Salten’s name and prose and the true, complex spirit of Bambi are finally restored." —Farah Abdessamad, Observer
"Bambi is a delicious book. Delicious not only for children but for those who are no longer so fortunate. For delicacy of perception and essential truth I hardly know of any story of animals that can stand beside this life study of a forest deer. Felix Salten is a poet." —John Galsworthy
