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Summary: My All-Time Favorite Story-A Timeless American Classic
Review: "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle" brings together these two classic stories by Washington Irving. The text of this Dover Children's Thrift Classic is accompanied by the whimsical illustrations of Thea Kliros. Both tales are set in the Dutch-American communities of rural New York State."Legend" tells the story of Ichabod Crane, a schoolteacher who lives in an area purportedly haunted by a terrifying spectre: a headless horseman. "Rip" tells the story of a farmer who has a remarkable paranormal experience while wandering in the mountains. Each story explores the intersection of the supernatural with everyday life. The stories are full of vividly drawn characters and are rich with the local color of rural Dutch American communities. Issues such as folk beliefs, geography, history and oral tradition are well handled by Irving. Irving's playful, earthy prose style is a delight to read. Passages such as a description of a Dutch-American feast are memorable. Funny, ironic, and poignant, these tales are true classics by one of the most enduring figures in American literature.
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Summary: excellent story
Review: Actually, I personlly think the story is not as attracting as I have imagined before reading. But what kept me continuing reading from the cover to the end? Curosity! The vivid and animated description often made me laugh, and I seemed to see the scene that is just before my eyes!The author`s precise and elaborate description and his master composing technic is what we can learn from. Though the story is told in the third person, but as if we are told by an intimate friend. I love this story, and also the charming place!
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Summary: Two Classic American Revolution Era Stories @ a BARGAIN $$
Review: First off, this review is of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle" published by Dover Children's Thrift Classics, $.... While most reviews might concentrate on the merits of the stories themselves, this review is meant to support the benefits of purchasing this particular edition over others. That said, the first thing I would like to comment on is the price. You can't ask for more of a bargain that to pay less than a ... of America's most popular and well known Revolutionary War era stories. Great for anyone on a budget, or parents who want to expand their child's library but don't want to break the bank on something they may only read once. .... Secondly, I would like to mention that this book contains BOTH "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" AND "Rip Van Winkle" in their respective unabridged entirety. Both are relatively short, entertaining, and easy-to-read stories that supply a great introduction to period literature, beliefs, and storytelling for children and adults alike. While these are not Washington Irving's only writings, they are perhaps the most well-known. As a former teacher, I have the following suggestion: If you live in the New York metro area, this book would be an excellent jumping off point for a trip to Washington Irving's homestead, "Sunnyside", in Tarrytown, NY, for which you can find plenty of information online. There are several other "living history" sites in the area as well.
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Summary: Americana in Print
Review: These two timeless classics are presented in a very attractive package. The print is large. A few sketches accent the narratives, and obviously the writing is first-rate. Older children will likely enjoy these tales, and any adult who is familiar with both stories, but never actually read them should pick up a copy in the very near future.
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Summary: Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Super Adventures of Wishbone)
Review: This book is scary, classical, fun, and one of the best books. It's anything you would want. This book is the best!!!
Joe, Wishbone, Samantha, and David go on a scavenger hunt to win a $100 gift certificate for Oakdale sports and games.
This reminds Wishbone of the Classic tale, The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow by: Washington Irving. Then Wishbone imagines himself as Ichabod Crane, a superstitious person in the story.
Characters:
Joe Talbot
David Barnes
Samantha Kepler
Wanda Gilmore
Ellen Talbot
The Owner Of Oakdale sports and games.
Damont Jones
Jimmy
Marcus Finch
Milena
Rating:
Summary: excellent story
Review: this story is very exciting.I'm glad that Crane disappeared at the end,whatever his destiny is.The Sleepy Hollow is so secluded and beautiful that we don't allow anyone to spoil the beauty there.I view Crane as an intruder of the Tarry town.People there take story-telling,especially the horrable storys, as a pastime.This brings then some excitment.I myself brought up in the rural area, I can understand this.
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Summary: A Good Escape From Reality
Review: Washington Irving creates a whimsical, dreamy setting in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" that sends a reader into the same reverie in which his characters live. With rich and romantic language, a story of love, mystery, wonder is painted in the mind of the reader. The story is unpredictable and imaginative with a pleasant plot and a shocking ending. Irving adds many historical references to his legend which creates a heightened interest for the reader. Ichabod Crane is a creatively crafted main character. He is the one character that is made very familiar throughout the story. If the story has a flaw, it is the lack of dialouge amongst the characters(most likely because it is told as a legend by a narrator) that prevents the reader from feeling as though he is a part of the story's happenings and rather that he is looking upon them from above.
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Summary: Classic, but...
Review: While The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a timeless tale that has endured the ages and countless retellings from Disney to Tim Burton, the original work contains a rather large error in tone - a blatant one. The story is told in third person as though it's a journal - the sketch book of Diedrich Knickerbocker, in fact. This is fine, except for the climax scene in which Ichabod journeys home through the hollow from Van Tassel's house, and is confronted by the Headless Horseman. This scene is written with all the detailed minutia that characterizes Irving's style, but the obvious problem is that, of course, nobody was there to witness what happened to Ichabod Crane while he was alone in the wilderness, so therefore it could not possibly be communicated by means of somebody's journal - this person would never have known what actually happened in the Hollow since nobody was there to witness it, and apparently Ichabod never survived or stuck around to tell anyone. Irving never deals with this obvious problem in the text (a simple "This is what we think happened..." would've sufficed). The story probably would've worked much better with a traditional "God-perspective" narrator rather than a fictional character's journal. It is nonetheless, a classic work of American literature and should be read by everyone.
This is a fine edition and also includes Rip Van Winkle, another story of paranormal experience and also of the Knickerbocker sketch book. It's a similar tone to Sleepy Hollow, but the characters aren't as memorable.
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Summary: A Folk Artist's Reconception Of America's Classic
Review: Will Moses' illustrated retelling of Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow rivals Arthur Rackham's near century-old version as the best edition of the book ever published. The Rackham version, with its moody, archetypal illustrations, has the slight edge, as it contains Irving's full original text in addition to Rackham's spectacular artwork. However, Moses's simplification of the narrative is masterfully executed, and the colorful, playful, and numerous paintings which adorn the book have a warm period charm of genuine Americana. Moses portrays the Hudson River Valley as a lush expansive valley not unlike the Garden of Eden on the first day of creation. Happy farmers, their wives and children, cows, geese, ducks and pigs frolic together amid fields of wheat and corn; galleons approach dramatically from the river; and the Catskill Mountains, sun, and sky suggested an infinite panorama and endless horizon full of promise. The story tells us that the Dutch colonists were a superstitious lot, and that the Sleepy Hollow region itself was or seemed to be under a spell of some kind. The farmers and their wives suspected witchcraft; strange music was heard in the air; visions were seen; and the inhabitants themselves lived their lives in a kind of continuous dreamy revery. These tales and superstitions give rise to the legend of the headless horseman, said to be the ghost of a Hessian soldier who lost his head to a canon ball in the war, and now nightly prowling the region in search of it. Moses' nocturnal landscapes of the swamps, hills and the Old Dutch Cemetery under a bright harvest moon are particularly effective. Significantly, these stark, haunted landscapes do not violate the spirit of the book, but enrich its sense of wonder. Moses' Ichabod is a cheerful but somewhat hapless fellow, confident and foolish in equal parts. His Katrina is a strong but innocent blond beauty, and a friend to children. Brom Bones is an appropriately square-shouldered, square-jawed hooligan, rowdy and full of mischief, if not absolute spite. Anyone familiar with the tale knows that it is not a horror story but a folktale, a fireside spook story, and a 'legend' as Irving, writing here as Diedrich Knickerbocker, himself called it. This edition of the book is appropriate for children but is equally suitable for adults. Highly recommended.
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