The Wonderful Adventures of Nils

by Selma Lagerlof, Kochka (Adapted by), Olivier Latyk (Illustrator)

Overview

Join Nils as he is shrunk to the size of a thumb and embarks on a fantastical journey across the wilds of Sweden, from the glittering Baltic to the frozen north.

This Scandinavian classic, written by Nobel prize-winning Selma Lagerlöf, is exquisitely illustrated by renowned illustrator Olivier Latyk and incorporates a series of laser-cut pages. These create depth and enhance detail to tremendous effect, lending the book a unique and delicate charm. With soft winter scenes and a gentle but engrossing story, The Wonderful Adventures of Nils would make an ideal gift for any reader, young or old, with a taste for fun and adventure.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781910277195
Publisher:	Words & Pictures
Publication date:	09/28/2016
Pages:	64
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 9.60(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	7 - 9 Years

About the Author

Selma Lagerlof was a Swedish author. She was the first female writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.Kochka was born in Lebanon and she settled in France in 1976 to become a lawyer. She changed her career to follow her passion for writing in 1997. She has written and adapted more than 80 books.

Olivier Latyk was born in 1976 in Strasbourg. He's been an illustrator for children's books f or 10 years. He also designs toys and works for international press such as the New-York Times, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe and many others.

Editorial Reviews

02/01/2017
PreS-Gr 2—Adapted and handsomely illustrated, this newly released version of Lagerlöf's classic Swedish tale unfortunately loses something in the retelling. Stripped of much of the rich, descriptive text that is the story's hallmark, the resulting narrative feels choppy and incomplete. Lagerlöf's original work, published in 1907, was intended as a primary reader for children, seamlessly incorporating an abundance of information about Sweden's geography and flora and fauna into an engrossing adventure. Without those details, the narrative moves roughly from place to place, bypassing whole chapters of the original. That said, the volume is beautifully crafted, with several stunning laser-cut overlays that are a delight to encounter among the nostalgically designed illustrations. VERDICT Much like a Disney adaptation, this offering is in no way comparable to the original but might serve as an attractive impetus to rediscovering the classic. The gorgeous artwork is a draw, and the book is an adequate introduction.—Teri Markson, Los Angeles Public Library

School Library Journal

2016-10-19
Intricate cut-paper overlays highlight the art that accompanies this abbreviated version of the travels of a peripatetic young Swede.Being much abridged and a bit modernized (" ‘Weird-looking bird!' said the fisherman, tying him up and placing him in a basket"), these 22 recast chapters from the 1906 story and its sequel, Further Adventures of Nils, read as a series of partially sketched incidents with abrupt transitions. Still, the overall plot, which features a trickster lad who is transformed into an elf and flies all over Sweden on the backs of birds, remains intact, and the narrative captures the flavor of the originals, strewn with place names—Lagerlöf was commissioned to write the works as geography lessons—and narrow escapes from danger. Latyk's illustrations look like retro screen prints, with thin layers of blue and pink the predominant colors and small, stylized figures placed against misty backdrops. On five spreads, wordless expanses of landscape flank black stencils pierced with the outlines of finely detailed buildings, creatures, and natural details (a sixth cutting fills a large window in the cover). The relationship of these special pages to the tale is, at best, tangential, but they do add a memorable element to the presentation. An artistic showcase that also serves as a teaser for a once-popular, and not entirely dated, children's classic. (map) (Fiction. 7-9)

Kirkus Reviews