Swan Lake

by Lisbeth Zwerger (Illustrator), Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Swan Lake is perhaps the best-loved ballet of all time. Hans Christian Andersen Medal-winner Lisbeth Zwerger brings her singular vision to a glorious picture-book adaptation of the haunting story of an enchanted swan princess. She has based her version on Tchaikovsky's original 1877 ballet, which had a happy ending, unlike the later, better-known, 1893 version. Her illustrations, luminous, lyrical, filled with grace and beauty, evoke the brilliance of the ballet and the universal appeal of this beloved fairy tale.

Genres: Picture Books, Music, Classics, Fairy Tales, Childrens, Fantasy, Art

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1985

About the author

Lisbeth Zwerger is an Austrian illustrator of children's books. For her "lasting contribution to children's literature" she received the international Hans Christian Andersen Medal in 1990.

Born in Vienna in 1954, she studied at the local Applied Arts Academy from 1971 to 1974. Since the publication of her first illustrated book in 1977, she has worked as a freelance picture book illustrator specializing in fairy tales.

Reviews

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok so the cover of this book is what drew me in to wanting to read it. I'll admit I've never seen Swan Lake and only know the barest of details about it. So I kind of went into this book not knowing...well anything really other than it was a much beloved ballet.

A prince celebrating his birthday is told by his mother that he must get married. That night he and his friends hunt some swans that fly over head. The prince meets the most beautiful woman he has ever seen and learns that she is one of the swans who has been transformed by an evil sorcerer and only love can break the spell.

So at first I kind of didn't like the story. But I can't blame Lisbeth Zwerger for that as it is based on the ballet. I did some research after reading this and it is accurate to the play. So she can't be blamed for the parts that I didn't care for. The prince is only just turning 18 but his mother is upset that he isn't married yet. I guess back in 1877 if you were royalty and not married yet you were an old man. 

The best part about this book is the illustrations. My goodness!! They were AMAZING! As in I want to own this book (borrowed from library) just so I can keep looking at these pictures. They are so gorgeous and it is hard for me to pick my favorite. I love where the girls are transforming back into swans and I loved when the pages turn black for the fake Swan Queen. 

I love that the author found a way to include several of the different endings as the original play was worked and reworked several times and had has had multiple endings. She chose to go with the original happy ending and that works great especially considering this is a book for children. 

I am going to try and find other books by Lisbeth Zwerger because I cannot stress just how much I enjoyed her artwork. If you can find a copy of this please have a look because it is worth it just based on the illustrations alone.

5 out of 5 stars!

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story is what it is - most famous ballets & operas just don't work for me, at least as picture-books, so if you love the story, you'll be fine with this version. But I don't care for the art at all, my own opinion, and the font of the text is unnecessarily difficult to read. If you're interested, by all means judge for yourself, but I neither cared much for it nor can recommend it. However, I do appreciate that Zwerger found that Tchaikovsky intended the happy ending and so worked it in.

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice, but not exceptional. The text font is pretty, but hard to read. It's nice to see some Swan Lake musical snippets included as art, but there is no discussion of them or their significance to the particular pages on which they appear.

[marisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

swan lake but palatable for kids! honestly i bought this for the illustrations and loved them <3 also i love an optimistic ending

[a ☕︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

hauntingly beautiful art by zwerger, as always. who else would make one of the heroine’s arms a mournful swan’s beak? also loved the choice to include lines of music from tchaikovsky’s 1876 ballet on each page, with intertwined illustrations of placid blue lakes, statues of weeping animals, and swans with ribbons. this rendition is true to the original tale, including the ending. a lovely and purifying interlude between all the darker books i’ve been trudging through.

[Amy Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a classic Russian folk tale which I think would be great to use with upper ks2 as it has such beautiful imagery and an amazing, emotional storyline. Reading this could lead to some amazing descriptive writing and art projects. It is also unique in telling the story through dance instead of words. This could then link to a dance lesson where children can experiment in showing events and emotions through dance.

[Betsy Cypress · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this to three of my children (ages 14, 9, and 7). We thoroughly enjoyed the story! We are preparing to see Swan Lake at a Ballet soon and I wanted us to start learning about the story. This was a great first introduction, even for my teenager and I.

[Alina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to live in the worlds of Zwerger's illustrations. Her watercolors seem so simple; they have mute, few colors, involve spaces with much emptiness and few forms, and when there are forms, these have bare contours. And yet they are so impactful: each landscape or scene hits you with a very strong mood, most often the beautiful or ethereal sort of melancholy, like good, haunting music. And I am just enchanted by her depiction of the human form: it is highly characterized, and yet somehow in precisely ways that feel hyper-realistic and expressive. It's difficult to explain the geometry that she achieves in the proportions between limbs and body, the exact angles on the body, and the shape and pure, humble features of faces. She does it all in such a way as to achieve this realism with total distortion regarding the actual forms of bodies.

Also the story was nicely told. There seemed to be an ambiguity between how utterly ridiculous "love at first sight" is, and also how this can have a genuine power and goodness if it leads to action, devotion, and self-sacrifice -- and how sometimes it seems like the two go hand in hand. Would highly recommend this picture book, to children and adults alike.

[Felicia Caro · Rating 5 out of 5]

This lesser known fairy-tale, "Swan Lake", written as a ballet by Pyotr I. Tchaikovsky in 1877, is rendered beautifully here in a children's picture book. The story is told at just the right length, describing a happy prince's chance encounter with a flock of swans who transform into princesses at night. One, only one, strikes his eye and he falls in love. However, the owl sorcerer who placed the maidens under this spell sees this and ruins their happily ever after... almost. With Lisbeth Zwerger's magical pastel palette and skilled used of chiaroscuro, readers with romantic hearts will be entranced by "Swan Lake". The illustrations are sparse and elegant, just enough to lay the scene for this already enchanting story. Every reader, adult or child, will be more than ready to view the ballet.

[Amara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, that was a different take on Swan Lake, but I guess more palatable for children all around. The text font was horrid to read, but I enjoy Zwerger's illustrations, if not her retellings.

[João Teixeira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Na minha opinião, a história é interessante, mas as ilustrações não tanto... E que pena, pois esta parece ser uma ilustradora bastante conhecida!

[Ammie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't love how self centered the prince was at the beginning. There is no resolution to it or consequences.

[Anastasia Tuckness · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in prep for our upcoming trip to the ballet. Quite delightful.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Swan Lake by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Lisbeth Zwerger – This picture book follows the ballet’s story with beautiful illustrations that manage to be both dark and delicate! Happy Reading!

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Illustrations beautiful

[Catie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like that the author gave this one a happy ending.

[Fée Brandt · Rating 3 out of 5]

story is very classic and old fashion. Illustration is just… fascinating… man my fav illustrator

[Gail Barge]

I have never read a book version of Swam Lake before. I have seen recordings of the ballet before, but never read the actual story. This would be a good book to show students when studying ballet, or arts performances. Maybe even before a field trip to the ballet! It also includes music notes and bars on every page, which is an interesting piece to add to every page (something I would call writers craft). Another thing I would point out to my students is the page where the black swam enters and the page is black rather then white. This is an interesting way to create the book to add emotion to this specific scene.

[Summertime Readaholic · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have never seen this Ballet and wanted to introduce my child to the story before venturing down that path. This version shares the original happy ending that was written, rather than the tragic ending that became popular as a result of a reimagining that debuted 16 years later, 1 day after Tchaikovsky died.

I liked this one.

[Chelsea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not the biggest fan of the illustaror's style but it's really unique. I liked the music notes on the top corner of the page. I also thought that the black page where the black swan was introduced was a really nice touch!

[heidi. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated.

[Maitha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have this book in Arabic ISBN 9789953763538 translated by Kalima

[Miri Gifford · Rating 4 out of 5]

The font is kind of hard to read, but I just loved picking up all these books based on beautiful ballets today.

[Andrea Labonte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book

[Ketti · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a fan of Lisbeth Zwerger, you'll love this book.

[Alien Bookreader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good illustrations. I read it for German practice. Ending is a bit too optimistic.

[Shahd Rdawi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it with watching some of the ballet music on Youtube

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the art in this children's book.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like that the author used the original ending that Tchaikovsky intended.

[Emily Lockridge]

This book is based on the famous ballet by Tchaikovsky. It is a fairy tale that has many different themes weaved in throughout the story including love, sorcery, and people becoming animals. The characters in this story are very one dimensional. The prince personifies greed and shallowness. It is a good example of traditional literature in that it teaches a moral lesson. I also really like the artwork in the book. I think this book would be great to use in the classroom for a cross content lesson with music and the arts. Another classroom activity for students would be a creative writing activity. I would have students maybe write a sequel, an alternate ending, or another fairy tale altogether. You could also extend the students' creativity skills and have them illustrate the story themselves.