The Wild Swans: An Adventure in Six Parts Book

Selected by the Children’s Book Committee at Bank Street College of Education as one of the 2004 Best Children’s Books for the Year

In the grand tradition of fairy tales, a king becomes lost in an enchanted forest. In order to save himself, he strikes a dreadful bargain with an elderly witch: he will marry her daughter if only she will show him the way home.

The king fears that the daughter too is a witch, so he hides his eleven sons and his only daughter from the woman he has pledged to marry.

After his marriage, his new queen discovers the children and casts a spell, turning the princes into swans. But she doesn’t know there is a twelfth child, a princess. It is up to the princess to find her brothers and break the spell that binds them.

Renowned storyteller Ken Setterington has borrowed from European folk traditions, including the Brothers Grimm, to tell a timeless story.

Nelly and Ernst Hofer’s exquisite paper cut art make this a beautiful book for reading and for gift giving.

Patricia Silverberg - Children's Literature

The author retells a story by the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson in this wonderfully illustrated six part chapter book. The illustrations consist of intricately designed black on white paper cuts fashioned with the art of scherenschnitt, a traditional folk art of Switzerland. The story concerns a young princess who must rescue her eleven brothers. The siblings have been placed under a curse and turn into swans upon sunrise. In order to break the curse, the sister must weave the brothers shirts of stinging nettles; however, she must not let her new husband, the king, find out or else she will be accused of witchcraft. This retelling features a female character who demonstrates courage and determination despite adversity, and this book would serve as a great bridge from or to traditional fairy tales. Middle readers will want to finish the book in one sitting to discover how the princess pursues her mission. Several classroom activities can be spurred from the reading, such as students making their own paper cut or students creating their own fairy tales. The last chapter features information on paper cutting from around the world. 2003, Tundra Books, Ages 8 to 12.