Adaptations Books

THE AESOP FOR CHILDREN WITH PICTURES by Milo Winter is a wonderful storybook full of stories every child should own. Aesop's fables are short stories with a moral at the end. This is a beautifully illustrated hardcover book that will last much longer than a paperback version. I highly recommend this out-of-print edition over the paperback that is readily available just for this reason! This book is very well organized and has mostly small illustrations (either 3x5 or 5x7; but eleven are full-page illustrations!) The moral is in italics at the end of each fable so it is easy to spot. Sometimes I choose a moral first and then read that fable to my daughter.

There are a total of 112 fables! I will not list them all but some of the more popular ones which happen to be my personal favorites: THE FOX AND THE GRAPES, THE LION AND THE MOUSE, THE SHEPHERD BOY AND THE WOLF, THE CROW AND THE PITCHER*, THE DOG AND HIS REFLECTION, THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE**, THE FOX AND THE CROW, and THE NORTH WIND AND THE SUN. (The * means my favorite-- ** means my second favorite.)

THE AESOP FOR CHILDREN WITH PICTURES has so many fables I am confident that you will find your favorites as well as discover many new favorites! I highly recommend this book full of wisdom and morals for anyone at any age! Enjoy this alone or with your children or grandchildren!

The illustrations are great and my son insists on reading a minimum of three fables every night. However, the fables are written using wording and morals that require a good bit of translation and explanation -- just like reading the bible -- into today's language. This was definitely a great buy!

Captivating illustrations. Beautiful cover treatment. Text appeals to young people. Great read aloud. The classics have never been better!

James Rumford, Beowulf: A Hero's Tale Retold (Houghton Mifflin, 2007)

James Rumford's challenge in writing this short adaptation of Beowulf was to do it using only words that would have been present in its original language. He found that he couldn't do it-- Old English lacked indefinite articles, for one thing, and Old English already had some cognates he couldn't get around ("dragon", for example)-- but that he managed to come as close as he did, and still manage to adapt the story in such a way as to make it suitable for young readers, is quite a feat. Some parents might find the resultant text a bit strong for their youngsters, but let's face it, you can't tell the story of Beowulf and his epic battles against various monsters without a bit of nastiness. And, to be fair, the kiddies are going to love it. There's nothing here any more violent than one finds in the Roadrunner cartoons. The diction is clipped and precise, though fast-paced, and the drawings are exquisite, if a bit crude (one assumes, given the subject matter, this was by design). Well worth it, especially if you're using it as part of a larger plot to introduce your kids to the classics. ****

and one that is beautiful and very different.

It takes a bit of chutzpah to recommend a particular Cinderella. Google Books is a rich source of the Cinderella stories: there's a collection of 345 different versions in CINDERELLA by Marian Roalfe Cox (1892), over 2,300 books with "Cinderella" in the title, an opera by Gioacchino Rossini, and 37,600,000 hits on Google.

This "Cinderella" is special in a couple of ways. It reminds the reader of Charles Perrault who gets pride of authorship for this book. He published "Histoires et Contes du Temps Passé" ("Mother Goose Tales", 1729). There were eight fairy tales told in a polished style, including five that have become icons: "Cinderella", "Sleeping Beauty", "Puss in Boots", "Bluebeard", and "Red Riding Hood".

Roberto Innocenti paints in a realistic and detailed style, with delicate colors and a refined lines. This CINDERELLA is one of his first major works in English.

He placed Cinderella in an English village during the Roaring Twenties. That would reduce the influence of previous illustrators and freshen the tale. He kept the glass slipper, of course, although in some versions the slipper is made of fur.

The story is very easy to read, either to oneself or aloud to kids. Here's the introduction, for example:

"There was a gentleman who married, for his second wife, the proudest and most haughty woman that was ever seen. She had, by a former husband, two daughters who were, indeed, exactly like her in all things. He had, by another wife, a young daughter, but of unparalleled goodness and sweetness of temper, which she took from her mother, who was the best creature in the world."

The cover is a fair representation of the artwork; there are many details that kids love to look at after the reading is done. If you aren't convinced, search Google Books for " Roberto Innocenti Cinderella ". You'll find several other illustrations. A small drawing of Cinderella in a window is achingly poignant -- she might be in a prison cell. The illustration at "Once upon a time" is more complex but equally poignant.

The man tips his hat to his wife and her two daughters while Cinderella washes clothes below them. The details are wonderful: Cinderella's hair net contrasts with the flapper hats of the three women; there is a strong family resemblance, but each of the three women have their own personalities; the snow in the wall crevices makes your hands ache with cold as you empathize with Cinderella. [As an eight year old pointed out, no steam comes up from the running water on this cold winter day.]

Is the man Cinderella's father? Both the man and Cinderella are brunettes, and the hair cut is similar. But would the husband tip his hat to his new wife and daughters in the Roaring Twenties? Generally, where was Cinderella's father in any of the versions of this fairy tale? How could a father have permitted a good and sweet tempered girl to be so mistreated? Innocenti may have left a clue in the pinched face of the man in this image.

Patty Campbell wrote in the "New York Times Book Review" that this "witty flapper era [rendition] has been widely admired." This book will appeal to book collectors, but more importantly will appeal to children of all ages. I admire it greatly.

Robert C. Ross

Sweet telling of the old story. The illustrations are the recommending factor here. I personally was touched by this version because it is the only Cinderella I have seen portrayed with dark hair.

If you are a Cinderella fan, this book, illustrated by Roberto Innocenti, is a must. I have read countless versions of Cinderella and looked at numerous illustrations. I have never seen the story treated like this. Innocenti sets Cinderella in the 1920s with flapper clothes and cars (instead of a pumpkin carriage). Never fear, a glass slipper is still here. I am usually tired of Cinderella books, to be honest, but this one kept me turning pages to see what was going to happen. I have become selective in my Cinderella purchases, but I had to own this one.

The ISBN for the Roberto Innocenti version is 1568461305. The reviews for the different versions of Cinderella sometimes get confused, but this is the book you will want to get.

This is a "gender-sensitive" version of the standard Jewish Publication Society (JPS) Tanakh. Normally I tune out whenever someone rewrites segments of the Torah or Siddur to be "gender sensitive" or "gender neutral". When I have seen such approaches in liberal Jewish writings, I've often found rewriting of the Bible itself in order to serve current modern-day political correctness (which is short sighted, since the politically correct positions of today may not resonate with readers in the next few generations!)

However, once I read the introduction of this new work, I was heartened to find a responsible, academic approach to the issue. Instead of retranslating the Bible for promoting current social and political purposes, the emphasis here is on the peshat, translating the text as it was meant to be understood by the original audience. This is done in a way that the translator hopes will remove unconscious or misleading gender errors. In the introduction to this volume David Stein notes that the current JPS Torah and Tanakh (New JPS, or NJPS) already engaged, to some extent, in gender-accuracy and sensitivity. Stein writes:

"Where the Torah's language suggested a neutral sense, NJPS avoided misleadingly ascribing gender, not only by rendering inclusively some "male" nouns, but also by rendering masculine inflections and pronouns idiomatically rather than literally. Thus, for example, what kjv had rendered as "thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause" appears in NJPS as "you shall not subvert the rights of your needy in their disputes" (Exod. 23:6). In short, NJPS inadvertently led the way among contemporary translations in "gender-sensitive" rendering. Limitations of NJPS Despite its overall strengths, the gender ascriptions in NJPS can still be called into question on a number of counts...."

The Contemporary Torah is an adaptation with respect to social gender of the NJPS (New Jewish Publication Society) translation (1962, 1985, 1999) of the Torah (first five books of the Bible). Therefore, this translation (as the subtitle states) is gender-sensitive, not gender-neutral. This is a significant distinction. A gender-sensitive rendition means approaching the text on its own terms with the aim of rendering an accurate and clear translation without passing judgment.

David Stein, the revising editor, and his consulting editors have done an admirable job of achieving their goal. Stein formed a mental model of the original audience and its view of society and adapted the translation. He kept the following important issues in mind:

1. The prevailing social roles and expectations, that is, what ancient Israelite society noticed and valued.

Social gender involves more than physical characteristics.

In addition, lives are determined by more than gender alone.

2. The inclusivity or exclusivity of the language and how the audience understood the text.

If the meaning of the text dictates the inclusion of both men and women, then the translation must reflect that meaning.

If the meaning of the text signals a specific gender, then the translation should indicate the gender.

3. The divine is beyond gender.

The four-letter personal (but unpronounced) name of God is rendered by four Hebrew letters, a gender-neutral rendition that reflects the monotheistic view of God. However, this perspective does not forbid translations that reflect male characteristics when required for poetic license (for example, God as a warrior).

Angels are rendered according to their function, for example, emissary, agent, envoy, and so forth.

The editors analyzed the original audience thoroughly, consulting modern biblical research as well as traditional sources and the role of literary genre (for example, legal texts). Then, Stein identified where social gender was an issue and translated into idiomatic English. He kept in mind not only the audience of the ancient world but also the audience of today and how it would construe a translated word.

For example, where the NJPS version translated a Hebrew word as herdsmen, the editors of The Contemporary Torah translated it as herders. This was not for the sake of gender neutrality but because those occupied in this type of work in the ancient Near East included both men and women (as evidenced by Rachel and Zipporah), and a contemporary audience might assume from herdsmen that only men practiced that occupation.

I liked this translation because it combines the best of what I expect from a translation of an ancient Hebrew text. It is faithful to the original text and audience yet acknowledges the sensitivity of a contemporary audience to language. It speaks to the readers of today without making judgments or ignoring ancient realities.

This is a well written and easy to read book. Joslin takes a scholarly (and not snobbish) look at the Dracula movies made over the past few decades. My only complaint about McFarland books in general is that I wish they contained more photos and illustrations. However, the end-all-be-all of "Dracula at the Movies" books still belongs to Midnight Marquee's Dracula book.

While a scholarly work of high-quality content, organization, and thoughtfulness, this book is easy-to-read and a pleasure to behold!

For any fan of all things gothic/Dracula/vampires, this is a must-have!!!

A very good book. The longitudinal study described here is amazing. At an 85% retention rate over 26 years, this is definitely a study with a lot of validity. There are obvious limitations, like applicability to other cities wtih different cultures than this Minnesota city. Otherwise, every scale, every measure, every (you make it up) that could be applied, was applied - that's what makes this study really great and worth reading about. Lots of developmental theories, yet leaves room for discovery. I'm reading it for a graduate class - it can be really dense at times, but smooth during others. Overall, good book.

I enjoyed it very much to read this book and even the methodological part with descriptions of all the measures did not stop me reading it - and English is a foreign language for me. It is the whole spirit of the book, the attempt to find answers for central questions concerning human development which provides a red line. And this is what caught me. So if English is a foreign language for you, don't hesitate to get that book: The Clarity in writing and the clarity of thoughts makes it easy to follow.

Christopher Finch is one of the premier authors on Disney and animation history. Winnie-the-Pooh: A Celebration of the Silly Old Bear is definitely one of his best works. While it may not quite match up to the sheer power of his most recognized book on Disney, The Art of Walt Disney, it is definitely a wonderful look at Winnie-the-Pooh. The book appropriately starts out with a look at A.A. Milne, the author of the original Pooh books. The chapter on Milne is clear, concise, and very informative. As the book slides into the Disney version of Pooh is starts to "Disnify". There is the chapter on the four Pooh shorts, the chapter on each of the characters, etc. While these sections are interesting, they seem a little static. There could be more on the relationships and interactions between the characters. The book serves as more of a basic guide to the world of Pooh than anything else.

If you want a nice gift book that is a fantastic overview of how the Disney pooh came to be, you will probably enjoy this book. There is yet to be a book published, though, that truly delves into how Disney made Pooh such a worldwide smash success, but right now this is the definitive book on the Disney Pooh.

The greatest thing about this book is the large number of pictures that show the evolution of the "pooh" phenomenon. It has a large number of cell reproductions, artist storyboard sketches, as well as drawings from the original books. The writing is also wonderful, covering the orginal books, each of the movies, and pooh collecting! A must have! I received one as a gift, and am ordering copies for my pooh collecting friends.

I really enjoyed this book, rapidly consuming every word and phrase. It's an old yet interesting and very relevant novel. The plot is shaped like a clever allegory describing mans most vicious and precious moments. Mr. Stevenson tells the tale with an appealing and fast phased language, in spite of its old origin. I could really feel the wrath of Hyde, as the story line was unfolded in front of my eyes. It's a classic in every sense and should be a must read for everyone. What singles out this copy of horror from the shelf is the fact that it takes you further, offering more than a just a good chill and some thrilling suspense.

What you are offered is a trip inside the very essence of man. Our split self: Good and bad locked in a bound of exiting co-existence. The setting is mystical yet cleverly portrayed trough the 1800's London, told and witnessed with the views of a bachelor. A Scientific project that went terrible wrong, along with mans most intimate thoughts is beautifully exposed in this epic novel. If you look just a little deeper in the ever-present allegory you could truly gain some interesting visions.

To understand the complexity of the allegory Harry M. Geduld did a solid job, providing even more interpretations and background information than you would ever look for. This if anything might put some readers off a bit. I found it a little comprehensive at first, since the descriptions and comparisons relies on some previous knowledge on the subject. It should be noted that this was the first time I read the story and this book as a whole is more of a study in the general field of split personality, or the double (the term widely used throughout the book) and its usage in past and present literature. This should not be an obstacle for anyone, just skip right too the original novel and go from there. If you like me find the allegory interesting there is heaps of information to dig in on. After deciding to do so you get an in depth analysis on every aspect of the novel, along with various related information. It covers: how it came to life, the author, comments, critics, comparisons and parallels to other works of literature, and last but not least the role of Jekyll and Hyde in theatre and movie productions. Several short novels based on the same subject or indeed even the story itself makes for a relaxing in between reading.

While this is not the easiest of reads you could really gain some self-insight and general understanding of the human mind, and its mysterious ways. I know I did.

This is a book I would recommend without hesitation! But if your not ready to "dig in", the stand alone novel could be a better choice.

Actually, I have to admit, that I didn't read this book. In fact, I don't really like reading. But still, it's worth 4 stars. Email me and tell me what you think.

Bought this for our 5-1/2 yr old granddaughter. Had taken her to see the movie --- she LOVED the book on Christmas -- remembered everything as she looked at the pictures. The necklace with it was a plus.

Children will enjoy this adaptation of the Disney movie "Enchanted." Although the cover is different from the one shown here, this is a quality hardback book with lots of color illustrations from the movie (both the animated and the live action parts). A small locket is included (pasted inside the book), and cheapens the book somewhat, but most likely little girls will enjoy it; the locket opens and closes and a small photo could be put inside. A nice keepsake of the movie. For those who aren't familiar with the movie, it is the story of a girl, Giselle, who meets Prince Edward in the cartoon world and they decide to wed upon seeing each other for the first time. The prince's evil stepmother has other ideas though and thrusts the poor maiden into the "real" world: New York City. The rest of the movie is about Giselle and Edward's search for each other in NYC and the divorce attorney, Robert (played by Patrick Dempsey) who helps along the way.

Pretty pix from the movie; not exactly what I expected. Still made a nice gift.

My 7 year old granddaughter had seen the movie Enchanted and has enjoyed this book as a reminder of some of the scenes in the movie.