Melanie

by Carol Carrick, Alisher Dianov (Illustrator)

Melanie, the blind shepherdess, is worried when her grandfather goes in search of a healer for her and fails to return. She follows him into the Dark Forest and rescues him from an evil troll who has cast a spell over Grandfather and countless other innocent victims. "A fine addition to fairytale collections." -- Booklist

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published December 31, 1996

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

A blind young shepherd girl lives alone with her grandfather in this original fairy-tale from author Carol Carrick and illustrator Alisher Dianov. When Melanie's grandfather learns of a healer that might be able to cure her blindness, he sets out to find him, only to fall victim to the evil troll guarding the bridge leading to the next city. Melanie, waiting for his return in vain, eventually sets out in pursuit, traveling through the Dark Forest and confronting the troll in order to free her beloved grandfather...

I was intrigued by the premise of Melanie, which I happened upon while seeking out more of author Carol Carrick's work, after enjoying her Old Mother Witch . I liked the idea of a blind fairy-tale heroine, and was curious to see what Carrick would do with it. All in all, I found the story fairly engaging, but nowhere near as engrossing or emotionally involving as some of the author's other stories. The constituent story elements all felt like they could have been taken from various folk traditions, but somehow the story as a whole didn't quite hang together. The illustrations from Dianov, whose work I have encountered before, in Aaron Shepard's The Enchanted Storks: A Tale of Bagdad , were a mixed bag for me. I liked the decorative borders used throughout, but I found that I preferred the simpler scenes featuring one or two characters, to the more complex ones in the town and marketplace, which felt too crowded and overwhelming.

All in all, this was an enjoyable, but far from outstanding example of an original fairy-tale. What really stood out to me was the heroine's blindness, although I'm not sure the story was entirely believable, given that blindness. Mileage varies, of course, so I'd still recommend this one to fairy-tale fans, and to anyone seeking fantastical stories featuring blind and/or disabled characters.

[Mir · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overwhelmingly busy and cluttered illustrations dominate this odd little tale of a blind girl who saves her grandfather from a goblin.

Remember how in art class, or art history if you took that, the teacher explained how artists use line, color, and geometry to focus the viewer's eye on the most important bit of the image? Alisher Dianov seems to have skipped class that day. Some of the smaller illustrations that frame text are pleasing, but the full-page images are so convoluted and hectic that I didn't enjoy looking at them. And the story itself seemed a little weak. Melanie is a blind shepherdess (how does she find the sheep when they get lost?) who lives with her grandfather. In the evening she spins long into the night while gramps sleeps. Her grandfather worries about what will happen to her when he dies, although as far as the reader sees Melanie does all the work, anyway. Melanie asks him to bring her some of the magic water that will cure her sight. When he doesn't come back after a few weeks she goes in search of him. After improbably making her way through a forest to this unfamiliar location and also foraging for food by scent she comes to the shore where an ugly goblin transforms all who approach into seagulls. There is a strange, anticlimactic encounter, in which Melanie is apparently not afraid because she is blind and can't see how ugly the goblin is. They both fall in the water and he drowns, which releases all the gulls. Melanie and her grandfather return home.

Since Carrick doesn't give an attribution I assume she made up this story. It doesn't really ring true as a fairy tale, in any case. Bland little Melanie isn't a very interesting character and the plot conflict seems rather contrived. Isn't some sort of change generally a hallmark of fairy tales? In the end Melanie's blindness is not cured and the question of what will happen to her when the old man dies has not been altered. The goblin is dead, yes, but it seems as if the people could have just left him alone in the first place. The whole episode is unnecessary... just like this book.

[verdantmaze · Rating 5 out of 5]

This children’s book is gorgeous. Each page is beautifully illustrated and the vocabulary is age appropriate. There is no condescension to the reader and even some literary devices like foreshadowing that a clever little reader could use to deduce events that might occur on the next page. It is a simple story, not overly complex, but interesting enough to hold a child’s attention. I really enjoyed it, especially the sensory descriptions Melanie experiences. The fairytale aspect, the story’s moral, the plot not taking the expected turns, all add to what is engaging about this children’s book.

[Danni Green · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was not a good book. The protagonist is a blind child who saves the day by being unable to see a villain whose "attack method" is that he is so ugly people die if they look at him. The villain is punished by having his eyes plucked out. The illustrations are chaotic and require a great deal of visual acuity to interpret. It's honestly hard to conceive of a book doing a worse job of handling visual impairment.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps I’m a bit biased, but I thought it was a lovely story with beautiful illustrations.

[Msjennifers Corner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read for children with high attention spans for read aloud or with good reading skills for lone readers. Can be a little scary depending on the tolerance of your child. Mentions death and drowning.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young girl's grandfather leaves to try to find a cure for her blindness, but doesn't return. She has to go and try to rescue him from whatever ill fate has befallen him.

Fairy tale type of story. Not based on one though, as far as I could tell.

Okay illustrations.