Lisbeth Zwerger

Dec 29 2011

Little Red Cap by Brothers Grimm,Lisbeth Zwerger (Illustrator)

We haven’t discussed a Lisbeth Zwerger book here in a while so as we head toward 2012 lets sneak in one more book.  I picked up Little Red Cap – the story most people know as Little Red Ridding Hood – recently and, not surprisingly, I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Children’s Literature review:

This is a reissue of the book that originally was published in 1987. It is a version of the beloved tale of “Little Red Riding Hood.” Once again, children become acquainted with the charming little girl who always wears the red cap that was given to her by her grandmother. One day while on her way to visit her ailing grandmother, she meets the sly and cunning wolf in the forest. He persuades her to wander off the path and gather some flowers for her grandmother, while he rushes to grandmother’s house and gobbles her up. He then pretends to be grandmother and also devours Little Red Cap. Of course, the brave and clever hunter saves both the old lady and Little Red Cap. Zwerger’s beautiful illustrations are an ideal accompaniment to the text as they portray the characters (especially the wolf) with depth and emotion. All libraries should add this to their fairy tale collection.

Unlike some of the other volumes I have covered, this one is perfect for reading out loud. The pages alternate between text – without any unique fonts – and illustrations.  Zwerger offers her reliably evocative and playful illustrations that compliment this classic so well.

As noted above, the wolf  is particularly charming with a variety of facial expressions to match his deviousness as he tricks the innocent, and naive, Red Cap. Keep Reading

By Kevin Holtsberry • Reviews • 1 • Tags: , , , , , , ,

Dec 13 2011

Swan Lake by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Lisbeth Zwerger

Our tour of Lisbeth Zwerger books in my collection continues today with Swan Lake.  Most people think of the ballet when they think Swan Lake but it was initially written as a one-act fairy tale dance piece for the children of his sister.  It wasn’t until four years later that he was commissioned to create the ballet of the same title.  As Zwerger relates in her author note, the presentation of this most famous of all ballets was a disaster.  Sixteen years later, and after Tchaikovsky‘s death, the score and choreography were changed and the story was given a tragic ending.

Zwerger revives the earlier story, the one with the happy ending, in her retelling of this classic.

Booklist:

Confessing in an appended note that she had approached Swan Lake with mixed feelings because of its tragic conclusion, Zwerger found that her research supported a happier ending, based on Tchaikovsky’s original version of the ballet in 1877. In this picture book, Zwerger offers a series of subtle, delicate paintings illustrating that story. Decorated with swans, boughs, and other figures and flourishes, a few bars of music appear on each left-hand page above the text, offering a musical context for each scene. Facing are large, bordered paintings that illustrate part of the story. Their magical yet somber tone and muted colors suit the many night settings. The delicately composed artwork also has surreal touches, such as the thundercloud that enters the ballroom above the villains’ heads, and the swan’s-head effects sometimes created with the swan queen’s hands. Some of the finest pictures are compositions in black, white, and many shades of gray. Told with drama and illustrated with grace, this is a handsome interpretation of the story.

I agree. It really is a wonderful example of a fairy tales coming to life in words and art.  It is a simple story but full of surprising emotion and depth. And with just ten evocative illustrations Zwerger both brings it to life and inspires the imagination; allowing the reader to bring their imagination to the story and fill in the details.

Keep Reading

By Kevin Holtsberry • Reviews • 0 • Tags: , , , , , ,

Dec 2 2011

The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry (Lisbeth Zwerger, illustrator)

Our Lisbeth Zwerger fan appreciation tour continues today with a book perfect for the Christmas season: The Gift of the Magi. For those of you not familar with the O. Henry story here is a teaser:

One dollar and eight-seven cents is all the money Della has in the world to buy her beloved husband a Christmas present. She has nothing to sell except her only treasure — her long, beautiful brown hair. Set in New York at the turn of the twentieth century, this classic piece of American literature tells the story of a young couple and the sacrifices each must make to buy the other a gift. Beautiful, delicate watercolors by award-winning illustrator Lisbeth Zwerger add new poignancy and charm to this simple tale about the rewards of unselfish love.

If for some odd reason you haven’t read this classic tale, you should. It really is poignant and charming.  A young couple struggling to make ends meat determined to give Christmas gifts worthy of the love they share end up giving “useless” gifts but are in O. Henry’s words “the wisest of all who give and receive gifts.”

And this edition is perfect.  The beauty and simplicity allows the story to shine.  But like so many of Zwerger’s work, I think it is much more a gorgeous coffee table book for adults than an example of children’s literature.

The legal pad size book (8 1/2 by 14)  has lots of white space, a stylized font and, of course, Zwerger’s illustrations.  And those detailed, yet delicate, illustrations capture the emotions of the characters as the story proceeds. Many reviews focused on the font and white space as making it hard to read. And I suppose this is true if you are attempting to read it out loud in a classroom setting or at home. But I really like the overall effect.

From Della throwing herself on the couch for a nice long cry, nervously looking in the mirror after her sacrifice, and feeling her now short hair as she prepares supper to her husband Jim coming up the stairs, the awkward exchange of gifts, and the couple sitting across the table talking, the illustrations provide beautiful snapshots as the story unfolds.

It is a timeless story, and one we would do well to remember this – and every – holiday season, and I don’t think there is a better way to enjoy it than in this wonderful package.

By Kevin Holtsberry • Reviews • 0 • Tags: , , , ,

Nov 28 2011

Alice In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, Lisbeth Zwerger (illustrator)

Our Lisbeth Zwerger appreciation tour continues, this time with a literary classic Alice in Wonderland.  And we can say at least one positive thing about Zwerger’s illustrations: they motivated me to read the book again. I don’t believe I had read Alice since high school and it was an interesting experience reading it again as an adult and in this format.

Publishers Weekly, as usual, offers a nice overview:

Zwerger’s (The Wizard of Oz) captivating cover image of the Mad Tea-Party for this edition of Carroll’s 1865 tale conveys the psychological tension of the interior artwork: Alice, at the head of an elongated table with a pristine white linen cloth, stares at the pocket watch that the March Hare is about to lower into his cup of tea. The Hare, bug-eyed, gazes out at readers while the Mad Hatter to his right, wearing a hat box, fixates on a black upturned chapeau (in lieu of a place setting), and the Dormouse between them sleeps. Across the table, an empty red mug is placed in front of a vacant green chair, and a teacup and saucer trimmed in red seems to be set for the reader. The painting conveys the way in which Zwerger brilliantly manages both to invite readers into the story and to keep them at a distance. From the heroine’s first appearance, as she falls down a well while chasing the White Rabbit, with a glimpse of orderly bookshelves at the upper left corner, Zwerger demonstrates the many layers to Alice’s journey: a cutaway view reveals that the bulk of the other “”shelves”" are the result of rats and insects tunneling underground. The supporting cast conveys the artist’s nearly sardonic perspective. The contrary caterpillar, with six of its eight arms crossed, would be at home in New York’s East Village: instead of a hookah it smokes a cigarette and sips red wine, yet–unlike Sir John Tenniel‘s sedated counterpart–this caterpillar is lucid, defiantly staring out at an Alice (and readers) absent from the scene. Zwerger’s penetrating interpretation reinvents Carroll’s situations and characters and demands a rereading of the text.

Two sentences worth noting:

  • “The painting conveys the way in which Zwerger brilliantly manages both to invite readers into the story and to keep them at a distance.”
  • “Zwerger’s penetrating interpretation reinvents Carroll’s situations and characters and demands a rereading of the text.”
Obviously, I found both of these to be true. Captivated by the illustrations I was pulled into the story again.  The illustrations are both wonderful accents to the story but also offer though provoking art along the way; they are neither intrusive nor distracting but they do help the reader to think anew about the story and the characters.

Of course, there is always the question of what does it all mean?

By Kevin Holtsberry • Reviews • 0 • Tags: , , , , , ,

Nov 15 2011

The Merry Pranks of Till Eulenspiegel by Heinz Janisch , Lisbeth Zwerger (Illustrator) , Anthea Bell (Translator)

The Lisbeth Zwerger tour continues here at CM. Today it is Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks by Heinz Janisch.  Illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger and translated by Anthea Bell.

Hans Christian Andersen Medalist Lisbeth Zwerger cunningly illustrates 11 folktales about Till Eulenspiegel, the famous sixteenth-century German folk hero, popular in legend as a shrewd trickster. In this handsome reissue, she chronicles Till’s pranks from his triple dunking at his baptism, to his funeral, at which he leaves a last trick for his mourners. Zwerger’s celebrated wit and insouciant style are the perfect complements to the antics of this notorious merrymaker.

I will be honest: I bought this one mostly for the art. I have a growing collection of folk tales and story books for children but I am not sure my kids would enjoy this one.  It is an interesting reference point for German folklore but it is mostly the art of Zwerger that drew me to the book.

And the art is playful, colorful and evocative.  As PW says, “Both art and text are distinctly quaint and European.”  This is another book that I would be tempted to cut up in order to use the illustrations as prints. But I am too much of a book person to perform something so sacrilegious.

The stories are simple and silly – so maybe they are exactly the sort of thing children would love. Keep Reading

By Kevin Holtsberry • Reviews • 0 • Tags: , , , , ,

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