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Title: The Enchanted Wood by Ruth Sanderson ISBN: 1-56876-012-4 Publisher: Soundlines Entertainment Pub. Date: September, 1998 Format: Audio Cassette Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.86 (7 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Glorious Paintings, Predictable Story
Comment: First of all, I need to clarify what at least two other reviewers have mistaken: this book is NOT Enid Blyton's 'Enchanted Wood' as part of her Faraway Tree trilogy. This is a children's picture book confusingly by the same name - an original fairytale by author and illustrator Ruth Sanderson, also know for her works 'The Crystal Mountain', 'Cinderella' and 'The Golden Mare, the Firebird and the Magic Ring'.
That said, this book is an interesting mix of truly beautiful paintings (its a pity there isn't a picture of the cover on this webpage, as that always puts people off buying products) and a traditional, predicable story.
After a beautiful kingdom becomes plauged by a drought the king sends his three sons Edmund, Owen and Galen to find the Heart of the World that lies within the Enchanted Wood to restore the kingdom - in finding it their purpose will be magically achieved. Successively the three head off, and individually come to a cottage on the verge of the forest, where an old woman warns them not to wander off the path no matter what. Well, you don't really need to be told any more to know exactly what happens. The two older sons succumb to temptation, while the youngest remains true to his quest and succeeds, inheriting the kingdom and marrying the old woman's beautiful daughter Rose who accompanied him through the forest (for both mother and daughter had been unwilling gatekeepers of the forest, though eventually liberated by Galen's nobility). It is an old formula, encompassing all the cliches of a beautiful maiden, the threefold trial, the cursed kingdom, the virtueous youngest brother... Even though children will certainly not be bothered by this, seasoned fairytale lovers will know the tune oh-so-well and be frustrated at its predictability. Thus the title 'original fairytale' is somewhat misused.
On the other end of the scale however, some points of the story are quite confusing. It is unclear why finding the Heart of the World restores the land to its former glory, nor how it actually manages to achieve this. Furthermore, though Edmund and Owen's submissions to temptation (respectively to hunt a white stag and engage in battle with a Black Knight) are indeed vices, we are never really certain whether Galen did the right thing in turning his back on his own brothers when witnessing them in peril. Lastly, the meaning of the silver key that Rose drops into the Heart's waters and the 'ceremony' that she performs is unclear in its meaning and point.
However, *please* don't let my grousing over this feature stop you from finding this book as they pale in comparison to Sanderson's exquisite oil paintings, and are in fact (in my opinion) her best. In no other book of hers has she reached the level of detail and realism that she does in 'The Enchanted Wood'. She captures motion perfectly, her animals (deer and horses) are beautiful, and all little girls be satisfied that the heroine Rose is stunning. The best part however is Sanderson's illustrations of the forest - their misty, mysterious, shrouded depths are gorgeously created, from their forbidding entrance at the iron gates to the Heart of the World - three treetrunks intertwinging to make one.
The illustrations more than make up for the story and make this book a must-have for all lovers of great art, children's books, fairytales or beauty in general.
It is unfortunate that it has such a well-used title, as I know of two other books by the same name (Enid Blyton's, and another 'Enchanted Wood' by the Australian writer and illustrator Shirley Barber) but the illustrations *are* worth the effort to tracks this book down, either from Amazon or your library.
Rating: 5
Summary: Beautiful!
Comment: Ruth Sanderson is an excellent story-teller and author. This is a fine book to add to anyone's collection of fairytales or picture books. Highly recommended!
Rating: 5
Summary: This is not the original "Enchanted Wood" Story...
Comment: I've never read Ruth Sanderson's version of this book but when I was about 8 years old I found an old hardcover book by the same name in my uncle's basement. It was by Enid Blyton and had been published in 1939. I just about read the covers off that book and I still have it today. I recently started reading it to my children (ages 5 and 8) and find that they love it as much as I always did. I hope Ruth Sanderson has kept the same sense of wonder and innocence that the original book had. Just a note; the original book by Enid Blyton was followed by a sequal called The Folk Of The Faraway Tree which was filled with more adventures that Joe, Bessie and Fanny had with Moonface, Silky and all the other friends they made in the first book.
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