cesspool_princess's review against another edition
5.0
Another one!! This was so much fun to read aloud w Laura! The thematic depth and allegory was on point, the premise and writing were genuinely funny and charming, the little details like the illustrations changing from looking into the future to looking back at the past once they take Sicily and begin the process of self domestication. Also this thing is an epic and we get taken so much farther than I ever expected just from reading the basic premise beforehand. The range here also was astounding, not just in terms of tone but also literally In terms of medium! There is poetry, prose, illustration, character lists and captions etc. it felt so dynamic. Like 5 stars for the werewolf character alone tbh
600bars's review against another edition
5.0
Picked this up because it had an intro by Lemony Snicket, and Kai is Sicilian and also used to work at a bear sanctuary. Plus it had cute drawings. We read the whole thing out loud, including all the discussion questions at the end. It took 3 hours and time just flew on by.
The Bears are starving on their mountain, so they invade the capital of Sicily. The Bear’s leader, King Leander, has an ulterior motive– his bear-cub Tony was kidnapped by hunters, and he hopes that he can search for Tony during the invasion. The bears have bloody battles and face trials and tribulations and intrigue along the way. (Spoiler alert) Tony is found in a dramatic scene about halfway through the book, so I was like where is this going to go from here? In the second half the bears rule over the city, but they fall into corruption and vice the further they get from their original way of life. There is more intrigue and power struggle, with some shocking surprises. King Leander feels it was a mistake for the bears to come to civilization, and that everyone was happier when they lived in harmony with nature eating berries all day. It has a fairy tale/fable tone, but it doesn’t feel like it exists only to hammer the moral message down your throat. The story is witty and engaging in its own right.
This translation kept the italian quotation marks like << >> which I thought was cool. There are also so many lovely drawings. There’s doodles throughout, and a big drawing on each chapter page, and then a detailed color drawing for all of the important scenes in the book. You could get the gist of the story if you only looked at the color images with their captions. The downside is that the drawings were placed oddly, like there would be a major spoiler in the image and you wouldn’t get to that reveal in the page until the next page. Most of the story is in prose, but a lot of it is in verse, and the verse is extremely clunky. The translator seemed to prioritize rhyme over meter, and let's just say they were really stretching it on the rhymes. It could also just be like this in Italian too. This made for some hilarity when reading out loud.
The reader’s guide, by Lemony Snicket, has some intense questions about morality. The suggested activities include kidnapping. There are also cocktail recipes, and some ASOUE hints. I just love zany dark children’s stories. They are so fun to read out loud, and this one really had it all:, a great story about corruption, power, and the value of a simple life, doodles, poems, drawings, recipes, thought provoking questions, violence, comedy, Lemony Snicket. What more could you ask for.
I googled the author when we finished, and realized I have his adult graphic novel! I bought Poem Strip without knowing anything about it. I bought it purely because I had never seen an NYRB classic be a graphic novel. Can’t wait to read it if the children’s book is this good.
The Bears are starving on their mountain, so they invade the capital of Sicily. The Bear’s leader, King Leander, has an ulterior motive– his bear-cub Tony was kidnapped by hunters, and he hopes that he can search for Tony during the invasion. The bears have bloody battles and face trials and tribulations and intrigue along the way. (Spoiler alert) Tony is found in a dramatic scene about halfway through the book, so I was like where is this going to go from here? In the second half the bears rule over the city, but they fall into corruption and vice the further they get from their original way of life. There is more intrigue and power struggle, with some shocking surprises. King Leander feels it was a mistake for the bears to come to civilization, and that everyone was happier when they lived in harmony with nature eating berries all day. It has a fairy tale/fable tone, but it doesn’t feel like it exists only to hammer the moral message down your throat. The story is witty and engaging in its own right.
This translation kept the italian quotation marks like << >> which I thought was cool. There are also so many lovely drawings. There’s doodles throughout, and a big drawing on each chapter page, and then a detailed color drawing for all of the important scenes in the book. You could get the gist of the story if you only looked at the color images with their captions. The downside is that the drawings were placed oddly, like there would be a major spoiler in the image and you wouldn’t get to that reveal in the page until the next page. Most of the story is in prose, but a lot of it is in verse, and the verse is extremely clunky. The translator seemed to prioritize rhyme over meter, and let's just say they were really stretching it on the rhymes. It could also just be like this in Italian too. This made for some hilarity when reading out loud.
The reader’s guide, by Lemony Snicket, has some intense questions about morality. The suggested activities include kidnapping. There are also cocktail recipes, and some ASOUE hints. I just love zany dark children’s stories. They are so fun to read out loud, and this one really had it all:, a great story about corruption, power, and the value of a simple life, doodles, poems, drawings, recipes, thought provoking questions, violence, comedy, Lemony Snicket. What more could you ask for.
I googled the author when we finished, and realized I have his adult graphic novel! I bought Poem Strip without knowing anything about it. I bought it purely because I had never seen an NYRB classic be a graphic novel. Can’t wait to read it if the children’s book is this good.
theeternaldodo's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
frahorus's review
3.0
Dino Buzzati ci regala una fiaba per bambini ma che riguarda soprattutto noi grandi, attualissima e che non è per niente invecchiata male, anzi, l'ha resa immortale come solo i grandi scrittori riescono a fare. Buzzati io lo apprezzo molto, non a caso ho reputato [b:Il deserto dei Tartari|171306|Il deserto dei Tartari|Dino Buzzati|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1538122205l/171306._SY75_.jpg|1245179] un capolavoro e tra i miei romanzi preferiti e scrive bene anche di fantascienza col piacevole [b:Il grande ritratto|9652176|Il grande ritratto|Dino Buzzati|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1319827632l/9652176._SY75_.jpg|11991120].
La fiaba narra la storia di re Leonzio al quale viene rapito il figlio Tonio e che un giorno decide di scendere coi suoi orsi dalle montagne in città per ritrovarlo. Tra magie, mostri, castelli incantati, fantasmi, tradimenti, atti di coraggio vivremo una fiaba adatta, perché no, alle atmosfere del periodo natalizio.
La morale che si potrebbe trarre da questa fiaba, a mio parere, è il rispetto che bisogna avere per la natura che ci circonda, e l'autore ci fa intendere che l'uomo allontanandosi dalla Natura e imborghesendosi diventa pieno di vizi, egoista: cattivo, in poche parole.
La fiaba narra la storia di re Leonzio al quale viene rapito il figlio Tonio e che un giorno decide di scendere coi suoi orsi dalle montagne in città per ritrovarlo. Tra magie, mostri, castelli incantati, fantasmi, tradimenti, atti di coraggio vivremo una fiaba adatta, perché no, alle atmosfere del periodo natalizio.
La morale che si potrebbe trarre da questa fiaba, a mio parere, è il rispetto che bisogna avere per la natura che ci circonda, e l'autore ci fa intendere che l'uomo allontanandosi dalla Natura e imborghesendosi diventa pieno di vizi, egoista: cattivo, in poche parole.
mrjesse's review against another edition
4.0
This was such a random title and had such an intriguing cover that I just had to pick it up when it caught my eye at the library. It was very short, I finished it in about half an hour. There were fun illustrations and a happy ending. All in all a delightful, light, afternoon's reading.
sisteray's review against another edition
4.0
This is a rather adorable book following the adventure of the bear king Leander. Perhaps a little too old world conservative in that the moral of the story is that it is better to starve to death rather than be prideful or debaucherous, but the journey of the bears is endearing and the illustrations are gorgeous. I'm tempted to buy a second book just to tear it apart and frame the plates.
I do have some issues with this edition. It seems that the illustrations aren't placed very well within the text. They either give away the reveal too soon, or when the story calls for you to look at the illustrations, you have to read/flip forward a couple pages before you get to see it.
The Daniel Handler stuff is totally worthless. I understand why the publisher wanted to use the Lemony Snicket name to sell this book, but it is annoying that the waste of paper reader guide gets more accentuation on the cover than the actual author himself. I guess it all comes down to taste, but I'd rather that dude stick to playing back-up for Stephen Merritt. Having him here is like buying a great album, but having to skip over the track with Jay Z guesting on it.
I do have some issues with this edition. It seems that the illustrations aren't placed very well within the text. They either give away the reveal too soon, or when the story calls for you to look at the illustrations, you have to read/flip forward a couple pages before you get to see it.
The Daniel Handler stuff is totally worthless. I understand why the publisher wanted to use the Lemony Snicket name to sell this book, but it is annoying that the waste of paper reader guide gets more accentuation on the cover than the actual author himself. I guess it all comes down to taste, but I'd rather that dude stick to playing back-up for Stephen Merritt. Having him here is like buying a great album, but having to skip over the track with Jay Z guesting on it.
natsume00's review against another edition
4.0
I like this typical Buzzati story. But isn't it too bitter for children? The illustration by Buzzati himself is very cute.
pieradeglispiriti's review
5.0
5 stelle sono troppo poche per dire quanto questo libro mi sia piaciuto
chaarloutre's review against another edition
3.0
Un peu mitigée sur cette lecture, que je n'ai de toute manière pas pris le temps de savourer puisque je le lisais dans le cadre de mon mémoire.
L'histoire est simple, elle reprend un schéma classique d'affrontement entre deux peuples, et des thèmes courants dans la littérature jeunesse comme la magie ou la notion de justice. Comme souvent dans les contes, les animaux occupent une place centrale. L'originalité tient au fait qu'ici, les ours sont les véritables héros de l'histoire, et les êtres humains sont clairement en retrait. Mais la deuxième partie vient nuancer cela, et casser la dichotomie entre bons et méchants. J'ai bien aimé cette partie, qui agit comme une suite au conte de la première partie, et nous pose de nombreuses questions. La morale ne tient pas en trois lignes assénées à la fin de l'histoire. Au contraire, elle est développée subtilement sur plusieurs pages, et permet à l'enfant de la découvrir par lui-même et presque de se faire son propre avis.
Malheureusement, c'est un peu pour la même raison que j'ai eu du mal à accrocher : le mélange des genres est trop important. On est dans un conte au schéma presque traditionnel, mais c'est en même temps une quête épique quasi odysséenne. La théâtralité du texte est aussi très importante, avec notamment des passages qui rappellent un choeur qui raconterait l'histoire d'un point de vue extérieur et lyrique. C'est dynamique, entraînant, on s'y croit vraiment, mais stylistiquement c'était un peu too much pour moi. Il faut dire aussi que j'apprécie peu le ton de l'auteur : traits d'humour, adresses au lecteur, etc. Ce sont des choses qui marchent probablement très bien avec les enfants, mais qui ne prennent pas avec moi.
C'est donc purement une question de goût si je n'ai pas vraiment aimé, parce qu'objectivement c'est une histoire intéressante, bien pensée et bien réalisée.
L'histoire est simple, elle reprend un schéma classique d'affrontement entre deux peuples, et des thèmes courants dans la littérature jeunesse comme la magie ou la notion de justice. Comme souvent dans les contes, les animaux occupent une place centrale. L'originalité tient au fait qu'ici, les ours sont les véritables héros de l'histoire, et les êtres humains sont clairement en retrait. Mais la deuxième partie vient nuancer cela, et casser la dichotomie entre bons et méchants. J'ai bien aimé cette partie, qui agit comme une suite au conte de la première partie, et nous pose de nombreuses questions. La morale ne tient pas en trois lignes assénées à la fin de l'histoire. Au contraire, elle est développée subtilement sur plusieurs pages, et permet à l'enfant de la découvrir par lui-même et presque de se faire son propre avis.
Malheureusement, c'est un peu pour la même raison que j'ai eu du mal à accrocher : le mélange des genres est trop important. On est dans un conte au schéma presque traditionnel, mais c'est en même temps une quête épique quasi odysséenne. La théâtralité du texte est aussi très importante, avec notamment des passages qui rappellent un choeur qui raconterait l'histoire d'un point de vue extérieur et lyrique. C'est dynamique, entraînant, on s'y croit vraiment, mais stylistiquement c'était un peu too much pour moi. Il faut dire aussi que j'apprécie peu le ton de l'auteur : traits d'humour, adresses au lecteur, etc. Ce sont des choses qui marchent probablement très bien avec les enfants, mais qui ne prennent pas avec moi.
C'est donc purement une question de goût si je n'ai pas vraiment aimé, parce qu'objectivement c'est une histoire intéressante, bien pensée et bien réalisée.