Happy Prince

by Oscar Wilde

Overview

In these delightful tales, Oscar Wilde employs all his grace, artistry and wit. The Happy Prince tells of the statue of a once pleasure-loving Prince which, with the help of a selfless Swallow helps people in distress.

As well as The Nightingale and the Rose, The Devoted Friend and The Remarkable Rocket, this collection contains The Selfish Giant, a remarkable story of the redemptive power of love.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781853261237
Publisher:	Wordsworth Editions, Limited
Publication date:	01/01/2000
Series:	Children's Classics
Pages:	80
Product dimensions:	5.08(w) x 7.80(h) x 0.17(d)
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Oscar Wilde was a playwright, essayist, and novelist. He was the author of The Importance of Being Earnest and The Picture of Dorian Gray. Carole Bloch is the central coordinator of the Stories Across Africa Project, which is developing shared anthologies of stories for children in the many languages of Africa. She has written extensively on early literacy and multilingual education in South Africa and Africa, as well as writing several picture books for young children. Joan Rankin has illustrated more than 30 children’s books, including A Frog in the Bog and Off to First Grade. She is the recipient of the Katrina Harris Award for Children's Book Illustration and the ME Rothman Prize for best illustrated children’s book.

Date of Birth:

October 16, 1854

Date of Death:

November 30, 1900

Place of Birth:

Dublin, Ireland

Place of Death:

Paris, France

Education:

The Royal School in Enniskillen, Dublin, 1864; Trinity College, Dublin, 1871; Magdalen College, Oxford, England, 1874

Editorial Reviews

Ray's (Magical Tales from Many Lands; The Story of Christmas) folksy, gilt-laden artwork graces this somewhat formal abridgment of Wilde's tale about an enchanted statue. The Happy Prince, who had lived a happy life and died a happy man, is now immortalized high above the city as a golden and bejeweled statue. For the first time the royal sees the suffering, poverty and misery of the common people. Sharing his sympathetic view with a sparrow, the prince persuades the bird to postpone its migration and instead to deliver his gold leafing, his sapphire eyes and ruby belt to those who need them. Soon the sparrow dies of cold and the prince, now shabby, is removed from its pedestal and melted down. Though young readers may appreciate the lessons of selflessness and sacrifice here, the telling may seem to them stilted and even occasionally disjointed. Ray's characteristically rich palette and her delicate borders and backgrounds provide the visual magic that keeps this sentimental tale afloat. Ages 7-up. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

K-Gr 3-Ray has done a masterful job of retelling and illustrating one of Wilde's more accessible fairy tales. Using most of the author's words and all of his intent, she has omitted the more flowery and verbose prose and subplots. The result is a tightened tale that expresses compassion in a simple, heartfelt story of a statue and a little bird. Alternating full-and double-page illustrations with panels, Ray has put enormous detail into her paintings, and each one is burnished with a kind of verdigris gold. Readers will especially appreciate the pictures that depict the wonders of Egypt. Not piteous or sentimental, The Happy Prince is a balanced tale; in fact, Leo Lionni's modern classic, Tico and the Golden Wings (Knopf, 1975), seems to revisit its universal themes.-Harriett Fargnoli, Great Neck Library, NY

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