The Selfish Giant & The Star Child

January 1, 2003
This is the first of a five-volume series of Russell's adaptations of Oscar Wilde's fairy tales into a comics format. The two retellings here, The Selfish Giant and The Star Child , adeptly capture Wilde's ability to bring a gentle, unexpected note of pathos to the conventional fairy-tale mix of anthropomorphic fantasy and whimsical moral guidance. In The Selfish Giant , the eponymous creature kicks a bunch of frolicking youngsters out of his garden, only to find that frosty winter moves in to take their place, refusing to leave because of his selfishness. In The Star Child, a beautiful but mean , narcissistic boy becomes physically repulsive when he rebuffs a ragged beggar who turns out to be his long lost mother. Russell matches Wilde's literary skills with his estimable artistic talent. His colors are brilliant and pure; his linework sure and fluid, at once cartoonlike and elegantly representational, reflecting both his art-nouveau and pre-Raphaelite influences and the inherent charm of Wilde's material. Ages 5-up.

April 1, 1993
Gr 3-6- -Two of Wilde's sentimental tales, "The Selfish Giant" and "The Star Child," adapted into a graphic novel format. The formally written, somewhat depressing stories combine traditional, fairy-tale elements with heavy Christian symbolism and can seem stilted or old-fashioned to today's readers, although Russell's dramatic comic-book style does make them more accessible. The strips are visually readable, providing a straightforward, literal interpretation of the action, unencumbered by symbols. Libraries may find this volume attractive for reluctant readers. Others will prefer Lisbeth Zwerger's more traditional illustrations for The Selfish Giant (Picture Book Studio, 1984). -Linda Boyles, Alachua County Library District, Gainesville, FL Grades 3-6