Description
From Publishers Weekly In 1999, Schulman adapted Salten's 1923 novel, bringing the original tale of a young deer's coming of age to a generation more familiar with the Disney animated version. Here, the woodland story, considered by many critics to be the first "ecological" novel, springs to life via Dolan's fine reading. Young listeners will be eager to follow along on Bambi's first frolics in the meadow, where he encounters a magpie, grasshoppers, butterflies and dandelions. By then, listeners will be hooked enough to stay with this recording as Bambi takes in stride the important, if somber, life lessons imparted by his mother, all the while trying to understand why "life is so difficult and dangerous." And when hunters encroach, taking his mother from him, Bambi knows he has to follow the advice of the stag known as the Great Prince: "Listen, smell and see for yourself; live by yourself; find out for yourself." Dolan's comfortable storytelling style conveys all the wonder, awe and self-discovery of the material and does not over-sentimentalize the deeper emotional current that comes with encountering death. A wide range of listeners will find much to appreciate in this more serious (compared to Disney's interpretation) look at a beloved children's character. Ages 6-up. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. A delicious book...Felix Salten is a poet. He feels nature deeply and he loves animals. -- "John Galsworthy, Nobel Prize-winning author" Marked by poetry and sympathy [with] charming reminders of German folklore and fairy tale. -- "Catholic World" The reader is made to feel deeply and thrillingly the terror and anguish of the hunted, the deceit and cruelty of the savage, the patience and devotion of the mother to her young, the fury of rivals in love, the grace and loneliness of the great princes of the forest. -- "Dallas Morning News" Felix Salten was an Austrian author and critic whose most famous work is Bambi . He was born Siegmund Salzmann in Budapest, Hungary, but immigrated with his family to Vienna, Austria, when he was only four weeks old. Whittaker Chambers (1901-1961) was an American writer, editor, Communist Party member and spy for the Soviet Union who defected and became an outspoken opponent of Communism. He is best known for his testimony about the perjury and espionage of Alger Hiss. Frank Dolan is a film, television, and voice actor. From AudioFile A little different from the Disney version, this CD tells a fuller story of Bambi's life. While Disney emphasizes Bambi's relationship with Feline, his mate, this version extends further into his family tree to include cousins and other deer friends. Read smoothly by Frank Dolan in a proper British accent, Bambi's difficult winter and grief over his mother's and cousin's deaths are well done. Frolicking with Feline as a young deer, he grows to fear man. Haunting flute music ends the side. Containing an anti-gun and pro-God message, this refined production provides listeners another side of Bambi's classic story. A.G.H. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine Read more
Features & Highlights
- Bambi's life in the woods begins happily. There are forest animals to play with-friend Hare, the chattery squirrel, the noisy screech owl, and Bambi's twin cousins, frail Gobo and beautiful Faline. But winter comes, and Bambi learns that the woods hold danger-and things he doesn't understand. The first snowfall makes food hard to find. Bambi's father, a handsome stag, roams the forest, but leaves Bambi and his mother alone. Then there is Man. He comes to the forest with weapons that can wound an animal. He does terrible things to Gobo, to Bambi's mother, and even to Bambi. But he can't keep Bambi from growing into a handsome stag himself and becoming the Prince of the Forest.
