The Malachite Palace
The Malachite Palace
by
This
original
fairy tale celebrates the importance of freedom and the need to take
responsibility for one’s own freedom. Although the queen, the governess,
and the lady-in-waiting all believe that the young princess is too delicate and
refined to play with the neighborhood children, the princess herself decides
otherwise…
Author’s
Note : The word
“malachite” fascinated me since childhood. In the beautiful poem “A
Margarita” the great Nicaraguan poet Rubén Darío describes a king who had
“un palacio de diamantes, un kiosco de malaquita y un rebaño de elefantes”
[a palace made of diamonds, a malaquite kiosk and an elephant herd]. The whole
world he painted delighted me, but it was the “malachite kiosk” that
intrigued me. Not knowing what malachite was, the sound of the word was in
itself fascinating.
Reviews : Publishers
Weekly : Gore's (The Pomegranate Seeds) acrylic and ink illustrations, spun like
gossamer and lit with an inner radiance, lend their magic to a tale about a
lonely princess. Confined to the castle and forbidden to play with the children
outside the gates (whom the queen, the governess and the lady-in-waiting deem
common), the princess is delighted when a little yellow bird flies in through
the window, filling the palace with "a light and joyful music." After it is
captured and placed in a cage, however, the little bird ceases to sing. Only
when she sets it free, turning its cage into a bird feeder so that it and its
friends may come and go at will, does it sing joyfully again. Seeing the bird's
happiness inspires the princess to seek her own, and she ventures for the first
time beyond the palace gates to play with the other children. Ada (Mediopollito)
puts a bit of a fresh spin on the tired metaphor of the bird in the gilded cage
by having the girl take responsibility for her own freedom. But it is Gore's
airy, diaphanous illustrations that lift the tale above the sum of its parts.
Studies in the refinements of light and texture, they appear overlaid with a
delicate, filmy gauze, and their weightless elegance imbues the translucent
green walls of the malachite palace and the sun-dappled interiors with a
mysterious, ethereal beauty. Ages 4-8.
School Library Journal : PreSchool-Grade 3AA lovely picture book in the grand
tradition of European fairy tales. Locked away in her malachite castle, a lonely
little princess yearns for the one thing she does not haveAa friend. Then one
day, a tiny yellow bird with a beautiful song visits the palace, and the
princess's lady-in-waiting and governess lock it in a silver cage. Trapped, the
bird stops singing, until the princess removes the cage door. The bird flies
away singing a joyful song and soon returns, accompanied by many friends, to the
open cage the child has filled with food and placed on the balcony. Following
the bird's example, the princess ventures outside the palace doors, where she
joins the children laughing and playing. Although the story is not highly
original, youngsters will enjoy its gently familiarity. The artwork, lovingly
crafted by a leading Russian children's book illustrator, is striking. Softly
muted acrylic and ink drawings depict a dreamlike land while expressing the
princess's isolation. A predictable, yet comforting, read.ADenise E. Agosto,
formerly at Midland County Public Library, TX.
From Booklist : Ages 4-8. An original fairy tale/fable, translated from Spanish,
tells a touching story of a privileged child in a gilded cage, who sets herself
free. The princess lives in splendor in the malachite palace, but she is shut in
there. She hears the laughter of children playing in the fields outside the
gates, but she is forbidden to join the "common, ignorant" crowd. Gore's
full-page, acrylic-and-ink pictures, in rich, shimmering shades of green and
red, show the angelic child nearly overwhelmed by her flamboyant care-givers:
the arrogant queen, the repressive governess, the protective lady-in-waiting.
Then a singing bird flies into the child's room; the ladies lock him into a
silver cage, and he stops singing--until the princess opens the cage and lets
him fly away. She transforms the empty cage into an open archway, and finally
she opens the ornate palace gates for herself and runs outside to play with the
children. The theatrical illustrations provide a lavish setting for the sturdy
child's struggle to leave home. Hazel Rochman.
From Kirkus Reviews : From Ada (The Lizard and the Sun, 1997, etc.), an original
fairy tale that is predictable, elevated to beauty by Gore's paintings. A
princessa childis isolated in a palace, away from the ``rude,'' ``ignorant,''
and ``common'' children who play outside her gates. One day an exquisite yellow
bird visits her, singing a joyful tune; the princess cages it and its joy fades.
She frees the bird, and eventually frees herself, joining the children outside.
The message is heavy-handed, the telling is without style, the setting is
nondescript. The illustrations, however, are ephemeral: The princess and her
surroundings are depicted in Gore's paintings as if they are seen through gauze.
The angles of the characters' faces, the sharp definition of the cage, the
detailed scrollwork of the windows and gates are all in perfect contrast to the
hazy existence of a friendless princessan isolation based on prejudice and
hearsay, and one to be willingly shattered. (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright
©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP.
This is a wonderful picture book, both the writing and the illustrations. It's about the cruelty and foolishness of snobbery. A very sweet little princess is kept inside the palace gates because the queen, the governess and the lady-in-waiting think she is too good to be mixing in with the riff-raff rabble kids outside the gates. She's not happy. One day the queen and her cronies trap a bird that has flown in to the palace but it isn't happy and starts to deteriorate, so the little princess helps it escape. In the process the princess makes a very important change in the way she is treated. The illustrations of this little princess are just perfect and they capture her emotions in such detail. The illustrations glow with a soft light and the deep green walls of the malachite palace add magic to the pictures and also a sort of innocence. This is a book that shows the strength that a child can have when they decide to live up to their true nature and think for themselves. It should help kids see that they can come up with ideas on their own for doing the right thing and that sometimes grown-ups can make mistakes. I love this book. (Terrie Reese, Little Chute, WI, US, Amazon Top 500 Reviewer).
"The Malachite Palace" is a beautiful book about friendship and respect. The little princess is not allowed to play with the common children outside because they are "rude" and "ignorant", according to her lady-in-waiting, governess, and the queen. One day she finds a little yellow bird, and decides to keep it for a friend. But being in the cage makes the little bird weak and sad, and the princess must find a way to set the bird free, and in doing so, show the women that watch over her that she cannot grow or be happy unless she is allowed to have friends. The illustrations in this book are exquisite, almost ethereal. It is a treasure for any children's library, and sure to be a favorite. (N. Bernadsky, Conway, AR, US, Amazon).
“A caged bird will not sing, and a child locked away in a protective castle will not flourish. Ada’s fairytale speaks to the heart and soul of childhood, to the power of truth and freedom. Set off by Gore’s magnificent paintings, this is a near-perfect melding of classic story and artwork.” (Family Life, June/July, 1998)
“A
lovely picture book in the grand tradition of European fairy tales. Locked away
in her malachite castle, a lovely little princess yearns for the one thing she
does not have –a friend. Then one day, a tiny yellow bird with a beautiful
song visits the palace, and the princess’s lady-in-waiting and governess lock
it in a silver cage. Trapped, the bird stops singing, until the princess removes
the cage door. The bird flies away singing a joyful song and soon returns,
accompanied by many friends, to the open cage the child has filled with food and
placed in the balcony. Following the bird’s example, the princess
ventures outside the palace doors, where she joins the children laughing and
playing. […] The artwork, lovingly crafted by a leading Russian
children’s book illustrator, is striking. Softly muted acrylic and ink
drawings depict a dreamlike land while expressing the princess’s isolation. A
predictable, yet comforting, read.” (Denise
E. Agosto, formerly at Midland County Public Library, TX. School
Library Journal, May, 1998)
“[…]
This is a fairy tale with a strong young girl who need no magic to make her world better.” (Natalie Soto.On the Shelf – Rocky Mountain
News. August, 1998)
Illustrated
by Leonid Gore.
English
translation Rosalma Zubizarreta
Published by Atheneum.
Available in English and Spanish at :
