The Royal Raven

Rating:
Summary: Delightful illustrations - disappointing tale
Review: "The Royal Raven" is - literally - a glamorous book about a raven who is very disappointed with his boring looks. He feels that he is very special, and at first the only way he can think to show how special he is, is by pulling all kinds of antics. When this fails, he tries to change his looks. When he realizes anything he does is only temporary and of little use, he goes to an old woman for a special potion that will make him look beautiful. In exchange for two feathers to use for another concoction, the witch agrees to make him into a beautiful bird. The raven is overjoyed and goes off to show his friends who don't recognize him. So he goes to the royal gardens, where the princess wants him for his beauty and gives him the attention he's so desperately desired. He eventually winds up lonely in a cage, ignored and neglected as the novelty's worn away. When he realizes that he's only been loved and then kept for his looks he recognizes what he must do to be happy again and with his friends. He pulls out all his colorful and glitzy feathers and when the princess finds him plucked, she has him thrown out. He returns to his friends who happily welcome him back. While the blurb on the dustjacket claims this book hails "the freedom to be yourself" as its message, at the same time it seems to squelch the freedom to be unique. I greatly approve of the first message, but never at the expense of squelching the other. I find it rather disappointing how the only way the raven could show how special he was - which isn't emphasized nearly enough for the sake of the book's message - is to dress him up and change his appearance. And if it isn't bad enough that Wilhelm had to use such a shallow example, the raven had to fail. Worse, the reader never finds out what it really is that makes the raven special, nor why the raven's so beloved by his friends. Which is really too bad, because the illustrations are delightful. The raven's portrayal is endearing and comical, a wonderful character in this book. The message might suppose to be "freedom to be yourself," but actually I believe it is more one that endorses conformity. The book fell short of its great expectations, but it was a joy to look at.

Rating:
Summary: Delightful illustrations - disappointing tale
Review: "The Royal Raven" is - literally - a glamorous book about a raven who is very disappointed with his boring looks. He feels that he is very special, and at first the only way he can think to show how special he is, is by pulling all kinds of antics. When this fails, he tries to change his looks. When he realizes anything he does is only temporary and of little use, he goes to an old woman for a special potion that will make him look beautiful. In exchange for two feathers to use for another concoction, the witch agrees to make him into a beautiful bird. The raven is overjoyed and goes off to show his friends who don't recognize him. So he goes to the royal gardens, where the princess wants him for his beauty and gives him the attention he's so desperately desired. He eventually winds up lonely in a cage, ignored and neglected as the novelty's worn away. When he realizes that he's only been loved and then kept for his looks he recognizes what he must do to be happy again and with his friends. He pulls out all his colorful and glitzy feathers and when the princess finds him plucked, she has him thrown out. He returns to his friends who happily welcome him back. While the blurb on the dustjacket claims this book hails "the freedom to be yourself" as its message, at the same time it seems to squelch the freedom to be unique. I greatly approve of the first message, but never at the expense of squelching the other. I find it rather disappointing how the only way the raven could show how special he was - which isn't emphasized nearly enough for the sake of the book's message - is to dress him up and change his appearance. And if it isn't bad enough that Wilhelm had to use such a shallow example, the raven had to fail. Worse, the reader never finds out what it really is that makes the raven special, nor why the raven's so beloved by his friends. Which is really too bad, because the illustrations are delightful. The raven's portrayal is endearing and comical, a wonderful character in this book. The message might suppose to be "freedom to be yourself," but actually I believe it is more one that endorses conformity. The book fell short of its great expectations, but it was a joy to look at.