Overview
A fully illustrated retelling of the classic fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen complete with compact disc of more than forty-five of the grandest talents in the entertainment world. “The cast is A-list. The plot, legendary” (USA Today).
Among the writers are Academy Award -winning and -nominated actors and actresses and other personalities from the worlds of entertainment and popular culture. Each celebrity contribution is illustrated with a stunning piece of art by illustrators who have created some of the most treasured classics of children's literature-Caldecott Medal and Honor winners, Kate Greenaway Award winners, Pulitzer Prize -winning cartoonist, New Yorker cover contributors, and many other internationally esteemed artists.
The contributors' talents are outshined only by their generosity: All of the royalties and contributors' fees from this book have been donated to Starbright, an innovative charitable foundation committed to improving the lives of seriously ill children. The result is a gift book like no other, a glorious celebration for the whole family.
Two rascally weavers convince the emperor they are making him beautiful new clothes, visible only to those fit for their posts, but when he wears them during a royal procession, a child recognizes that the emperor has nothing on.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly -
Duntze embroiders the classic story with exquisite visual details; her lanky, angular people with a jaundiced glow add a playfully sinister note. Ages 5-8. (Apr.)Publishers Weekly -
In a starred review, PW called this a "witty new edition, set in 1913. The emperor's pursuit of fashion becomes such frivolous fun that he is quite a likable fool especially when his tan lines are showing." Ages 6-9. (Nov.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.Publishers Weekly
John Alfred Rowe (Monkey Trouble) takes his accomplished paintbrush to Hans Christian Andersen's The Emperor's New Clothes. The rosy cheeked, rotund potentate is attended to by an elite troupe of mime-ish monkeys, their noses as high as their yellow bowties; the hucksters are depicted as roguish foxes with a pirate-like patch and swagger. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.Children's Literature
It takes a clever, talented artist to bring new life to an old tale. Rowe has "re-cut, pinned and stitched" it, briskly, retelling the story with an emphasis on the emperor's love of shopping for new clothes. This makes him easy prey, of course, for the "tricky rascals" who come to town to swindle him by promising to weave cloth visible only to those who work hard. His best servant, his hairdresser, and all his helpers pretend to see the magical cloth, and of course the king himself has to "see" it because he feels he works hard as well. The climax occurs at the great procession, when a child dares to tell the truth about the naked emperor. This version ends with a good laugh had by all, including the good-natured emperor, seen only from the rear. He is introduced on the jacket/cover elaborately costumed, turbaned and bedecked, a child-like innocent smiling in anticipation of further sartorial adventures. His empire is populated with a cast of anthropomorphic animals in odd clothes. The rascals are a pair of foxy con men exuding guile. The settings are in an ageless fairy-tale land, sometimes mysterious but always amusing. 2004, Penguin Young Readers Group, Ages 4 to 8.—Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz