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Summary
Summary
This classic tale of deed and honour, truth and madness, is retold for young readers.
Author Notes
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was born in Alcala de Henares, Spain, in 1547. In 1585, a few months after his marriage to Catalina de Salazar, he published his first major work as an author, the pastoral novel La Galatea which was poorly received.
Cervantes became a tax collector in Granada in 1594, but was imprisoned in 1597 due to money problems with the government. Folklore maintains that while in prison, he wrote his most famous novel, Don Quixote, which was an immediate success upon publication in 1605. After several years of writing short novels and plays, Cervantes was spurred to write the sequel to Don Quixote in 1615 when an unauthorized sequel appeared to great acclaim. Though Cervantes' sequel was rushed and flawed, Don Quixote remains a powerful symbol that has endured to present times in many forms.
Cervantes died on April 22, 1616, at the age of 69.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5 Up-- Cervantes's Don Quixote, the moniker and persona adopted by the addled Senor Quijada , who has read a few too many chivalric romances, hardly needs introduction to adults. However, most young people will have hardly heard him mentioned, much less had any firsthand contact with this larger-than-life literary creation. Bogin has taken some of the more involving, outrageous, and well-known adventures of the knight errant and his squire, Sancho Panza, and put them together into a relatively brief narrative that nonetheless is strikingly true to the tone and style of the Spanish original. Her prose, lively and at times employing modern vernacular to good effect, does full justice to Cervantes's mad Knight of the Sad Countenance. It begs reading aloud, and may well start discussion and contemplation. Boix's illustrations are delicate, detailed, gold-washed watercolors that create a kind of fairy-tale ambience. They will grab readers' attention and imaginations and direct anyone picking the book up to delve into it and to find out what's going on. Taken as a whole, this is a lovely job of bookmaking, providing an examplary introduction to a classic work. --Ann Welton, Thomas Academy, Kent, WA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
This imposing volume presents the first part of the quest by the beloved Don, whose name stands for chivalry and courage--``The Impossible Dream.'' The book's heavy stock, binding and design all impart an air of style and prestige, reinforced by Bogin's suave translation, which makes good use of abundant dialogue. (The phraseology and vocabulary, however--``erstwhile,'' ``apothecary,'' ``coherence''--will be beyond younger readers.) Though the paintings by Spanish artist Boix are masterfully executed, some lack the sweep expected from this panoramic work; much of the imagery is somewhat pallid, both in tone and emotional impact. And, though the architectural details, period apparel and scenery are all richly evocative, the characters themselves are often small in scale and dwarfed by their stunning surroundings. Nevertheless, the presence of an elegantly produced, picture book version of this classic merits attention and applause. All ages. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
Gr. 5-9. Beautifully designed, this edition of the Spanish classic features a large, tall format, wide margins with outer borders of marbled paper, and typography that recalls handprinted books and manuscripts of the period. As described on the title page, this is a "faithful translation and adaptation . . . of the first part of Cervantes' original classic published in 1605." How a manuscript can be both faithful translation and adaptation is a bit puzzling, but the text certainly has the vigor of the original. Though the type is distinctively ornate, it's no less readable for that, and readers will soon find themselves swept along by Bogin's lively, fluid style. Boix, a Spanish artist, contributes a series of distinctive illustrations, character studies, dramatic encounters, and sunlit scenes in the Spanish countryside. A handsome edition, with the promising hint of more to come, given the title page reference to its being the first part of the classic and the many tales still to be told. ~--Carolyn Phelan
