The Happy Prince and Other Tales

by Oscar Wilde, Katie Meeks (Editor), Richard Wilber (Foreword by)

Overview

A timeless classic of deceptively simplistic and fantastical stories.

Originally published by Oscar Wilde in 1888, The Happy Prince and Other Tales is a collection of five short stories packed with heartfelt meaning for children and adults alike. This is a fine new edition of moral tales of selflessness, friendship, sacrifice, and kindness- and the dangers of not having them.

Wilde's eloquent and poetic writing makes these stories evoke a world in which tenderness and compassion are often endangered by greed, selfishness, and callousness. This new edition includes a new foreword by award-winning author Rick Wilber, and appeals to an entirely new generation of children, while imparting wisdom that withstands the test of time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781680575255
Publisher:	Wordfire Press
Publication date:	06/27/2023
Pages:	108
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.26(d)
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (1854-1900) was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s. Today he is remembered for his epigrams and plays, and the circumstances of his imprisonment which was followed by his early death.

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

Table of Contents

The happy prince -- The nightingale and the rose -- The selfish giant -- The devoted friend -- The remarkable rocket.

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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