Birdwing

商家名称	信用等级	购买信息	订购本书
		Birdwing
		Birdwing

基本信息·出版社：Scholastic Paperbacks
·页码：359 页
·出版日期：2007年02月
·ISBN：0439211689
·条形码：9780439211680
·装帧：平装
·正文语种：英语
·外文书名：鸟儿翅膀

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Once upon a time,  a girl rescued her seven brothers from a spell that had turned them into swans.  But one boy,  Ardwin,  was left with the scar of the spell's last gasp: one arm remained a wing.  And while Ardwin yearned to find a place in his father's kingdom, the wing whispered to him of open sky and rushing wind.  Marked by difference,  Ardwin sets out to discover who he is:  bird or boy,  crippled or sound,  cursed or blessed.  But followed by the cold eye of a sorceress and with war rumbling at his kingdom's borders,  Ardwin's path may lead him not to enlightenment,  but into unimaginable danger.
编辑推荐 From School Library Journal
Grade 6-10–This fantasy continues the Grimms' tale of The Six Swans, in which six brothers are turned into swans. Through the great sacrifice of their sister, the spell is broken, but the youngest is left with a swan's wing. Ardwin is torn between his life as a prince and his yearning to take to the skies and rejoin his avian companions. Believing his father will force him to replace his wing with a mechanical arm and marry a rival king's daughter, he flees. His friends Stephen and Skye (on whom he has a secret crush) accompany him. Feeling betrayed after finding them together as a couple, Ardwin goes his own way, hoping that by switching horses with Stephen, he'll elude his father's pursuers. His adventures have only begun as he seeks out the swans he once knew, is attacked by a lion, and rescued by the same wizard who designed the mechanical arm. He also meets the wizard's automatons, his enchantress stepmother, an unusual horse, and a goose girl who is not who she thinks she is. In true fairy-tale fashion, all's well in the end and Ardwin wisely realizes that his wing is a blessing, not a curse. Like all fairy tales, there are lots of plot twists and turns and perhaps that contributes to the sometimes meandering narrative. Overall, this is a well-realized, but unexceptional story.–Sharon Rawlins, NJ Library for the Blind and Handicapped, Trenton
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
Gr. 5-8. This coming-of-age novel begins with a retelling of the Grimms'fairy tale "The Six Swans," in which six princes are transformed into swans by their stepmother, and even after they are saved, the youngest brother retains a wing instead of one arm. Now 14, Prince Ardwin must deal with everything his wing brings: the taunts of cruel boys, his longing to rejoin the swans, his secret power of understanding animal speech, and a neighboring king's "gift" of a golden arm and a princess to wed if the prince is severed from the wing. Ardwin begins a journey that takes him into peril and leaves him with greater self-acceptance, fuller knowledge of his past, and, eventually, the girl he loves. Martin deftly weaves fairy tale into fiction, giving the novel a rich context and Ardwin a familiar past. Though the happy-ever-after ending lasts a whole chapter, readers won't begrudge their beleaguered, sympathetic hero his measure of happiness. The many original characters and unusual adventure scenes ensure that readers will remember this well-paced fantasy. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review
Birdwing , by Rafe Martin (Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine, $16.99; ages
12-up). Remember the Grimms' story "The Six Swans"? A wicked queen
turns her stepsons into wild swans; the spell will be broken only if
their little sister stays mute for six years and weaves each of them a
nettle shirt. When the time is up, she has not quite finished a sleeve
on the last shirt. The brothers regain human form, but the youngest is
left with one arm and one wing. The end of that fairy tale is the
starting point for this extraordinary novel. The youngest brother is
now a teenager in the household of his father, the king. Alone among
his brothers, he still feels part of the wild world, even as he works
to overcome what the human world sees as a handicap. In the best
fairy-tale tradition, "Prince Freak" sets out to discover how he must
live. The marvelous thing about Birdwing is that, given its highly
literary origins, it is so tough, colloquial, funny and moving. But
then, having been sent back to the Grimms, you realize Martin has
merely emulated his masters. A book for kids who appreciate the likes
of William Mayne and Ursula K. Le Guin. - Washington Post

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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