Spellbound: Tales of Enchantment from Ancient Ireland

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Spellbound: Tales of Enchantment from Ancient Ireland

Paperback(First Trade Paper Edition)

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Paperback(First Trade Paper Edition)
$12.99

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Overview

Eight ancient legends of Ireland, told for younger children by an acclaimed Irish writer and reviewer. The stories are all linked by themes of magic and enchantment, and are perfectly matched by Irish illustrator Olwyn Whelan's brightly coloured and decorative paintings. The stories included are: Butterfly Girl; The Children of Lir; Labhra with the horse's Ears; The Enchanted Birds; Cu Chulainn and Emer; The Enchanted Deer; The Land Under the Waves; Oisin in Tir na nOg.

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About the Author

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781847804594
Publisher:	Frances Lincoln Children's Books
Publication date:	05/13/2014
Edition description:	First Trade Paper Edition
Pages:	64
Product dimensions:	8.37(w) x 10.62(h) x 0.25(d)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

SIOBHAN PARKINSON grew up in Galway and Donegal, and writes for adults and children. The Moon King won the Bisto Merit Award and an IBBY Certificate of Honour for Writing; Four Kids, Three Cats, Two Cows, One Waitch (Maybe) also won the Bisto Merit Award; and Sisters... No Way! won the Bisto Book of the Year Award. Siobhan lives in the Republic of Ireland with her husband and son.Olwyn Whelan was a newspaper cartoonist and graphic designer before becoming a freelance illustrator. Her goal is to produce timeless books that children will treasure for life. She has illustrated many children's picture book collections, including Celtic Memories, The Mermaid of Cafur and The Barefoot Books of Princesses (all Barefoot Books). She lives in Ireland with her husband and two children.

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Editorial Reviews

'The language used is, as expected, skilful so that the words flow smoothly as the tales are explained in an absorbing way, drawing in the young listener as the stories unfold.'
Enchantment and magic are interwoven in these beautifully told stories, and the scene is wonderfully set by Olwyn Whelan's delicate and intricate illustrations.
'The perfect introduction to Irish folk tale.'
'Whelan's fabulously colourful watercolours are a perfect match for Parkinson's skilful versions of the old tales.'
'Lavishly and delightfully illustrated.' 'An enchanting book.' 'Siobhán Parkinson ... is a prolific, versatile and extremely talented writer, who deserves to be much better known in the UK.'
'The language used is, as expected, skilful so that the words flow smoothly as the tales are explained in an absorbing way, drawing in the young listener as the stories unfold.'
'Wrought in a compelling way . . . An excellent introduction to Irish myth.'
'Wrought in a compelling way . . . An excellent introduction to Irish myth.'
'The perfect introduction to Irish folk tale.'

From the Publisher

09/02/2013
Former Irish Children’s Laureate Parkinson retells seven stories of Gaelic origin in engaging, lucid prose. Magic and dreamlike imagery intersect with practical lessons and warnings about the powers and dangers of human emotion. In “The Children of Lír,” the jealous wife of a widowed king transforms her husband’s children into swans; in “Land Under Wave,” a man’s kindness to an “ugly bedraggled old hag” results in her turning into a beautiful woman. Though they marry, their bond comes with one proviso: “Do not remind me three times about how terrible I looked when you first met me.” (Guess what he does.) The layers of meaning attached to the stories are echoed in Whelan’s vivid watercolor paintings, which feature quiltlike emerald fields, monsters with fangs and wings, and heroines and heroes dressed in patterned robes, capes, and gowns. Ages 7–9. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

12/01/2013
Gr 4–8—Some of the best children's collections of Irish folklore, such as Seamus McManus's Hibernian Nights, Virginia Haviland's Favorite Fairy Tales Told in Ireland, and Malachy Doyle's Tales from Old Ireland, are out of print, which makes it especially disappointing that this effort by Irish Children's Laureate Parkinson has so little to recommend it. The richness of description and musicality of language that distinguish so many Irish folktales are missing here. The narratives flow unevenly. "Butterfly Girl" rambles for 13 pages, detailing magical transformations and a rebirth, only to end with the princess married—rather creepily for a second time—to the bigamous chieftain who'd abducted her decades before. After spending so much time on that tale, it's surprising that Parkinson offers a mere scrap of the many wonderful stories about Fionn Mac Cumhaill. Whelan's brightly painted illustrations are an attractive distraction from the text, but they are inexplicably populated with random fairies who seem to be spectators of the action, rather than figures in the stories. Batt Burns's The King with Horse's Ears and Other Irish Folktales (Sterling, 2009) or Kathleen Krull's A Pot O' Gold (Hyperion, 2004) are both better additions to folklore collections.—Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Library, NY

School Library Journal

2013-09-01
Pretty pictures aren't enough to compensate for indifferent storytelling in this slender gathering of tales from a former Irish Children's Laureate. Readers familiar with the lore should recognize the standard-issue versions of the "Children of Lir" and the tale of Labraid Lorc (here "Labhra" Lorc), a legendary king with horse's ears. In addition to these, Parkinson presents four tales of beautiful princesses transformed into various animals (and, in one, an ugly hag), plus a cursory account of Cú Chulainn's exploits up to his wedding. The patchy prose alternates between flights of lyrical description (of, usually, one princess or another) and plain exposition with occasional awkward phrasing: "Gentle Etain got to hear that poor Ailill was very unhappy…." One entry, "The Enchanted Deer," feels more like a fragment than a full story. There are no source or introductory notes, and rather than being at the front where it would be more immediately helpful, the pronunciation guide is tacked on at the end. The stylized illustrations add lyrical notes of their own with jewel-rich hues and delicately drawn figures, but they sometimes fight with the text. Whelan portrays an "old woman" gathering rushes in the "Land Under Wave" as quite young-looking. Anemic despite the art and no match in scope or style for Marie Heaney's Names Upon the Harp, illustrated by P.J. Lynch (2000). (Folk tales. 10-13)

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