An engaging interpretation of the poem whose richly detailed pages demand and reward attention.
The children’s classic nonsense poem from Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass (1871) gets new and colorful illustrations by Rodgers.
The original John Tenniel illustration for the Jabberwock was black and white, but this newly illustrated version of the poem renders scenes in full color, spreading the 28-line poem in snippets over 18 pages. (The final page gives the poem in full.) In his debut book, Rodgers conjures up an alien landscape for “Jabberwocky.” It has some of the primeval feeling of Tenniel’s, whose Jabberwock had the leathery wings of a pterodactyl, but is richly colored and original. A variety of creatures, some blobby, some multilegged, some tentacled, inhabit this lushly verdant world. The young warrior is green and hairless, wearing Bronze Age–like clothing, and of course well-armed with the vorpal sword. He poles himself through swampland, then climbs up to a high clifftop to find his manxome foe. The Jabberwock itself is a frightening creature with its red eyes, lobster-claw–ish horns, and low-set bulk. And its horrible tongue could well burble; Rodgers adds some burbling for effect as the hero lures the Jabberwock to destruction and headlessness. Galumphing, in this case, involves using floating creatures roped to the Jabberwock’s head to transport it home. The father is rather frightening himself, a giant many times the size of his son, but his pride is palpable; an onlooker jumps for joy. Rodgers does a wonderful job opening up the poem, commenting on it artistically, and reimagining its figures.
An engaging interpretation of the poem whose richly detailed pages demand and reward attention.Pub Date: March 21, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4800-9565-6
Page Count: 24
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Even so, this remains Macbeth, arguably the Bard of Avon’s most durable and multilayered tragedy, and overall, this enhanced...
A pairing of the text of the Scottish Play with a filmed performance, designed with the Shakespeare novice in mind.
The left side of the screen of this enhanced e-book contains a full version of Macbeth, while the right side includes a performance of the dialogue shown (approximately 20 lines’ worth per page). This granular focus allows newcomers to experience the nuances of the play, which is rich in irony, hidden intentions and sudden shifts in emotional temperature. The set and costuming are deliberately simple: The background is white, and Macbeth’s “armor” is a leather jacket. But nobody’s dumbing down their performances. Francesca Faridany is particularly good as a tightly coiled Lady Macbeth; Raphael Nash-Thompson gives his roles as the drunken porter and a witch a garrulousness that carries an entertainingly sinister edge. The presentation is not without its hiccups. Matching the video on the right with the text on the left means routinely cutting off dramatic moments; at one point, users have to swipe to see and read the second half of a scene’s closing couplet—presumably an easy fix. A “tap to translate” button on each page puts the text into plain English, but the pop-up text covers up Shakespeare’s original, denying any attempts at comparison; moreover, the translation mainly redefines more obscure words, suggesting that smaller pop-ups for individual terms might be more meaningful.
Even so, this remains Macbeth, arguably the Bard of Avon’s most durable and multilayered tragedy, and overall, this enhanced e-book makes the play appealing and graspable to students . (Enhanced e-book. 12 & up)Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2013
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: The New Book Press LLC
Review Posted Online: Nov. 6, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2013
Using modern language, McDonald spins the well-known tale of the two young, unrequited lovers. Set against Nagar’s at-times...
A bland, uninspired graphic adaptation of the Bard’s renowned love story.
Using modern language, McDonald spins the well-known tale of the two young, unrequited lovers. Set against Nagar’s at-times oddly psychedelic-tinged backgrounds of cool blues and purples, the mood is strange, and the overall ambiance of the story markedly absent. Appealing to what could only be a high-interest/low–reading level audience, McDonald falls short of the mark. He explains a scene in an open-air tavern with a footnote—“a place where people gather to drink”—but he declines to offer definitions for more difficult words, such as “dirges.” While the adaptation does follow the foundation of the play, the contemporary language offers nothing; cringeworthy lines include Benvolio saying to Romeo at the party where he first meets Juliet, “Let’s go. It’s best to leave now, while the party’s in full swing.” Nagar’s faces swirl between dishwater and grotesque, adding another layer of lost passion in a story that should boil with romantic intensity. Each page number is enclosed in a little red heart; while the object of this little nuance is obvious, it’s also unpleasantly saccharine. Notes after the story include such edifying tidbits about Taylor Swift and “ ‘Wow’ dialogs from the play” (which culls out the famous quotes).Pub Date: May 10, 2011
ISBN: 978-93-80028-58-3
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Campfire
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2011
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