The Firebird

by Jane Yolen, Vladimir Vasilevich Vagin (Illustrator)

A well-known ballet is presented to young readers as Prince Ivan, with the help of the Firebird, must win great battles to save the lives of ten maidens held captive by the evil wizard Kostchei the Deathless.

Genres: Picture Books, Fairy Tales, Childrens, Fantasy, Russia, Fiction, Folk Tales

32 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2002

About the author

Jane Yolen is a novelist, poet, fantasist, journalist, songwriter, storyteller, folklorist, and children’s book author who has written more than three hundred books. Her accolades include the Caldecott Medal, two Nebula Awards, the World Fantasy Award, three Mythopoeic Awards, the Kerlan Award, two Christopher Awards, and six honorary doctorate degrees from colleges and universities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Born and raised in New York City, the mother of three and the grandmother of six, Yolen lives in Massachusetts and St. Andrews, Scotland.

Reviews

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book! The bottom third of each page shows what the ballet would look like, while the upper third illustrates the Russian folktale. In a land in old Russia was a garden belonging to the evil wizard Kostchei the Deathless. He held nine maidens hostage and the garden was littered with stone statues that were once living men. Prince Ivan was wandering through the woods when he saw the Firebird. It gave him a feather. He followed the Firebird and came to the garden. One beautiful maiden told him he would have to fight demons and Kotschei the Deathless or he, too, would turn to stone. Prince Ivan was frightened but determined to defeat the evil Kotschei.

The illustrations are simply gorgeous...bright, elegant, lovely.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jane Yolen tells the ballet version of the Firebird Folktale; illustrations of the storyline are also paralled beneath the books' illustrations by ballet dancers telling the story too;

Story of Prince Ivan, who starving and lost, captures the Firebird. The Firebird promises to help him if he lets her go. Follow Ivan on a quest to face a seemingly immortal Wizard of Darkness with a gorgon stare and save 10 beautiful princesses from him and his horde of demons. Can he do it...alone?

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked the ballet touches that border the pages. I also like the gorgeous illustrations.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed how the ballet was depicted, starting with the orchestra, throughout the book. The use of traditional Russian phrases was a nice touch.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous art.

A fun book by one of my favorite authors.

[Jessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations here are incredibly detailed and full of color. On most of the page we see the story, and along the bottom we see the ballet of the story.

[Congetta · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a beautiful picture book. The colors were bright and gorgeous. I liked that the bottom third of each page showed what the ballet would look like versus the upper two-thirds that showed the folktale picture book. We were familiar with the tale as we had watched the Little Einstein’s version when my son was young.

[Juliette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed for use as a book in classrooms K-3

This would be a great book for an introduction to the Firebird Suite by Igor Stravinsky.

Storyline is average with simple characters, and a simple storyline, but will captivate the students.

Author has provided extensive notes on the reason why she was inspired to write this story along with a long list of bibliography that she referred to while writing this tale.

Illustrations are wonderful, telling the story in two different ways. One is the story literally and below it is the story drawn as you might see it in a ballet. Clothing, objects, and style fits the setting.

Text Accuracy: the culture is clearly represented, names of characters are fitting to the culture, the characters behave in the ways that is culturally fitting.

This story is about nine maidens (ten) being held captive by Kostchei the Deathless. Among the gardens where they are being held captive are golden fruits that the Firebird eats in order to keep her voice clear and beautiful. Prince Ivan is lost in the woods and captures a bird for his dinner to find that it is the Firebird he has caught. The bird offers Prince Ivan a magical gift if he sets her free, so he accepts and receives a bright feather in return for her freedom. As the Firebird flies away she sings "Wave the feather in the air-Firebird will be right there." Prince Ivan follows the bird until he comes upon a golden fence, as he is hungry he sets off for the house beyond the gate. When he arrives at the house Prince Ivan encounters nine beautiful maidens and a princess who warns him to leave or Kostchei the Deathless will harm him. Though he is afraid Prince Ivan says he is not and tells them that he will free the maidens from Kostchei. With the help of the Firebird's feather, Prince Ivan defeats the demons of Kostchei and Kostchei himself, freeing the maidens and the princess whom he marries.

[Randie D. Camp, M.S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yolen, Jane. (2002). The Firebird. V. Vagin. Hong Kong: HarpersCollinsPublishers.

Literary Genre: Traditional Literature (Picture Book)

“In a certain land, in a certain kingdom—as they say in old Russia—on the far side of a certain tangled wood” was a garden ruled by an evil wizard, Kostchei the Deathless. Kostchei holds the princess and her nine maidens captive in his garden, anyone who attempts to rescue them is turned to stone. Prince Ivan is out hunting and follows the magical firebird to this garden. The red firebird bestows one of his magical feathers to Prince Ivan, but will that be enough to help him conquer Kostchei and free the princess and her maidens. Vagin’s exceptional illustrations display the folktale as well as depict scenes from the famous ballet.

I loved this book! The language flows naturally making this book ideal for a read aloud; this is an essential element of traditional literature. The Firebird also exhibits other features of quality traditional literature, for instance, the simple story structure, the struggle between good and evil, references the oral tradition, has an indistinct setting, and succinct language. The illustrations are so entrancing that I had to go through and look at all the illustrations on every page before I read the story. Yolen includes an author’s note at the end that provides the reader with some insight into Russian folktales. The Firebird is a reoccurring character in many Russian tales and sometimes dwells in a golden cage. My four-year-old son actually introduced me to this folktale via Disney’s “Little Einsteins - Rocket's Firebird Rescue” (a movie made for preschoolers), and we were both ecstatic to learn that the hero in the traditional version is Prince Ivan because Ivan is my son’s middle name :). I am very excited to start reading other variants and versions of this magical tale!

[Eva-Marie Nevarez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is usually the exact type of Yolen book I'd hate. And the exact type that Julia would have no interest in. I don't know if it's our love of the word 'firebird' (a game we play) or because it's just done better than her others but we both liked this one a lot.
Julia and I both always love Yolen's How Do Dinosaurs books and we usually love her others of that type, the short rhymes, cute illustrations, etc. Usually the Russian folktales don't do much for me when they come from Yolen.
This, however, was different, and I enjoyed that fact. I had begun to think I'd never like any of Yolen's books that are different from what I'm used to liking by her.
The Firebird is a clever story and I really liked the "second set" of illustrations running along the bottom of the pages. Vladimir Vagin's illustrations are definitely special. Not in an all-encompassing sense but take the demons and Kostchei for example, they're scary as hell and at the same time okay for a child to see and hear about right before bedtime. The firebird couldn't have been pictured better I don't think - it's simply beautiful.

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This illustrated version of the Russian folktale combines scenes from the story with scenes from the Balanchine ballet. The comparison between the two is interesting. The classic components kids will like: evil wizard, magic, battles, and ahappy ending. I learned from the author's note that Jane Yolen once studied ballet at Balanchine's School!

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-respected author Jane Yolen opens up the world of Russian folktale, ballet, culture, and music by retelling this story of the "Firebird". Her author's note contains her own memory of watching the ballet as a girl as well as numerous Russian sources for her own work, giving her credibility in the presentation of this culture.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated re-telling of the firebird story from Russia.

The top 2/3 of the page is an illustration of the story and the bottom 1/3 is a corresponding illustration from the ballet.

I love the detail in the illustrations -- you can see all the embroidered parts on the various Russian outfits. This is very colorful and lush.

[Taralee Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

(picture book) I have a deep love for Russian fairy tales and this book was the first one I ever read in English. It was beautifully written and illustrated. I LOVED the fact that it combined the illustrations of the story with illustrations of it being performed in ballet.

[Dianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely retelling of the Firebird ballet. I loved that the story pictures are at the top of each page, and the orchestra/ballet pictures are at the bottom.

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Someone needs to show the illustrator how the trombone is held.

[Miri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story from Russia about the firebird and a prince who rescues nine maidens from an evil creature who turns people into stone.

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Russian folktale that the author did a fantastic job converting into an approachable children's book. Illustrations were pretty unusual too and made the book stand out.

[RJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a story to read to younger children.
The story is a classic tale of good vs evil.