A girl loses her beloved brothers when they are turned into swans by her wicked stepmother. She embarks on a vital quest with one purpose: to find them and turn them back into boys again.
But the task is complicated. She must pick nettles with her bare hands and turn them to yarn, to spin and knit into shirts for each of the eleven brothers. And all the while she cannot speak, for if she does, even so much as a whisper, it will be like a knife in the heart of each swan-boy. And so she knits, silent. And where there is silence people will put words.
The Wild Swans is a beautiful and lyrical extended version of the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen in Jackie Morris's enchanting retelling, complete with delicate watercolour paintings throughout this new edition. A story about love and bravery, about how to listen, and about how, when we do not listen, we hear what we wish to hear.
Jackie has proven in her original writing that she knows how to write a fairytale; she understands the language and the lyricism, the pacing and the indefinable way it needs to feel. Here she takes on the old story of the Swan Princes, using elements that are in the 'original' but don't always show up, while fleshing everything out and illustrating it with her own artwork. It makes for a fantastic package all together, a really beautiful story.
Although it feels like a fat book, the pages speed by. The language would suit a younger child, although some elements of the story might need to be bowdlerised - the prince doesn't have a wicked stepmother in this version, it's a bishop who finds himself drawn to the princess and tries to force himself on her. I absolutely think children could understand this, but parents might like to have a read through first.
The art is absolutely amazing. There are some full colour pages, but almost every page has a little sketch or a header or something. Jackie's style is beautiful, managing to be both realistic and ephemeral. The swans are beautiful and the princess is fabulous. I adore the dog Shadow; some of my favourite illustrations are the princess sitting with Shadow close beside her.
Jackie makes a full length story out of this relatively brief folktale, and it's absolutely brilliant. One to keep and admire. I love it.
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