Sybil Gräfin SchönfeldtRecensioni

kurzweilige Vorstellung der Katzenfigurensammlung der Autorin. Zu jeder Figur weiß die Autorin etwas zur Herkunft der Figur zu sagen. Land, Hersteller etc.

In her old age, living alone, the author has found a way of cooking that suits her, and wastes as little as possible. The recipes are imbedded in the memories of a long life of eating well. The 'little old woman' shares her secrets without pushing them.½

Match found in the German National Library.

Match found in the German National Library.

Durch das Jahr und den Lebenslauf

die 17jährige Charlotte wird 1944 zum Arbeitsdienst eingezogen, wo Ruth plötzlich verschwindet

Although every book should be approached with an open mind, and judged on its own merits, I found it difficult while reading this picture-book adaptation of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, not to measure it against Charles Mikolaycak's version, which happens to be a personal favorite.

The text here, originally written in German, is more exposition than narrative, with copious declarations of fact: "Orpheus was born in the forest... Orpheus fell in love with a wood nymph," etc. Not having seen the original, I cannot say whether it is Schönfeldt that is to blame for this stilted language, or whether the responsibility lies with the translator - Pauline Hejl.

It is the work of the Bulgarian illustrator, Iassen Ghiuselev, that saves this book, and makes perusing it a worthwhile experience. Although his figures are painted almost as if they were statues themselves, somehow the effect is not flat, but dynamic. The scene in which Charon rows Orpheus across the River Styx is especially powerful, perhaps because all the figures are facing away from the reader, creating a sense of motion.

Concerned parents who balk at either the nudity or plot resolution of Mikolaycak's version, might find this picture book more congenial.

A sad love story between Orpheus and Eurydice in Greek Myth-You can enjoy the delicate and detailed illustration of the book.