Swan Lake

Title: Swan Lake
Author: Margot Fonteyn
Illustrator: Trina Schart Hyman
Ages: 5-8
Rating:

Plot: Prince Siegfried must choose a woman to marry, but he cannot find a woman to love. Until one night, standing beside a lake he witness a wonderful transformation of a swan into a beautiful princess. Prince Siegfried vows to break the woman's enchantment and marry her.

Assessment: The narration by Margot Fonteyn helps to translate the ballet from the stage to paper. She effectively relates the wonder of Prince Siegfried towards Odette, and the Swan Princess' despair over her plight.

The smooth flowing lines of the Princess' and the maidens' dresses add a lightness and grace that almost gives the reader the impression they could blow off the page if the wind were too strong. The darkness of the night backgrounds help to make Odette shimmer with a feeling of magic and beauty.

Fonteyn, M. (1989). Swan Lake. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.


Author: Anthea Bell
Illustrator: Chihiro Iwasaki
Ages: 5-8
Rating: 3/5

Assessment: The writing in this version of Swan Lake is targeted towards a younger or more immature audience than that of Margot Fonteyn's. The story is simplified and as a result seems somewhat fragmented. The ending is has been altered to give the story a happy ending for more sensitive readers.

The watercolour illustrations are light and delicate giving the story a dream like feeling. The use of white space in the illustrations almost seems to encourage the reader's imagination to finish the artwork and imagine the action beyond what the pages are showing.

Bell, A. (1988). Swan Lake. Saxonville, MA: Picture Book Studio.