| Title | : | The Emperors New Clothes: An All-Star Retelling of the Classic Fairy Tale (with Audio CD) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0151004366 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780151004362 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 96 |
| Publication | : | First published October 22, 1998 |
Among the writers are Academy Award -winning and -nominated actors and actresses and other personalities from the worlds of entertainment and popular culture. Each celebrity contribution is illustrated with a stunning piece of art by illustrators who have created some of the most treasured classics of children's literature-Caldecott Medal and Honor winners, Kate Greenaway Award winners, Pulitzer Prize -winning cartoonist, New Yorker cover contributors, and many other internationally esteemed artists.
The contributors' talents are outshined only by their generosity: All of the royalties and contributors' fees from this book have been donated to Starbright, an innovative charitable foundation committed to improving the lives of seriously ill children. The result is a gift book like no other, a glorious celebration for the whole family.
The Emperors New Clothes: An All-Star Retelling of the Classic Fairy Tale (with Audio CD) Reviews
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This is by far one of my favorite stories of all time. So clever, funny, and original. As a kid I was also obsessed with the audiotape version. Especially the version done by Starbright read aloud by celebrities. It only enhanced the tale.
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Very humorous retelling of a classic tale.
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We all know the story of the Emperor who is tricked into parading naked through his town, but this unique book reframes the story by telling it from the perspective of all of the characters involved - from the wily tailors to the neglected spinning wheel. The organizers of the book pair up a celebrity narrator/writer and an artist to tell the story in seuqnce, one character and scene at a time and eventually building to the climax of the nude parade. Some of the characters are rather expected, but the most entertaining moments come from the unexpeted narrators who add quite a bit of frivolity and even more ridiculousness to an already absurd story. Even the emperor's undergarments get their moment to shine - who knew that the clothes to ocver the emperor's bottom would have such a personality? Or maybe we should have exected this, since like courtiers who think themselves famous by proximity the inanimate objects owned by the emperor must be equally ego-driven. Overall the book was a fun read, which was much bolstered by its unique narrative format - one which I wouldn't mind seeing reflected elsewhere!
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Updates on classics
If you can hear guest readers - I’d recommend this version - amazing -
would be great for a readers theater production.
text doesn't match the audio exactly, so that might throw some readers off. it illustrates how the written word doesn't always transfer to the spoken word naturally.
the voice actors are great, of course, but the novelty of the particular actors chosen for each character will likely be lost on most kids.
also, there are whole chunks of text on the audio but not in the book. the moth through line has transitions between characters on the audio that are not printed.
Robin Williams as a gassy jester is bound to cause laughter with grade school fart humor.
the joke of Calvin Klein as underwear is definitely a pun for parents.
it is longish - working best as an audio performance with supplementary book than as a book with extra audio.
the art is nice, if a little disjointed. each character has a new artist,so the moth is the only repeat style. cool on paper, but there are too many characterizations and the styles of many are similar enough that the gimmick of different styles doesn't really work for me. -
I read this book first, without the companion CD. This is an awesome rendition of the emperer's new clothes. Each page tells the story from a different characters point of view, so the voice delivering the story changes, and the nuances added are just wonderful. Each page is illustrated by a different famous illustrator - Maurice Sendak, Chris Van Allsburg, and Graeme Base to name a few.
Then, I listened to the CD. Once again each character is read by an all-star cast of voices;Harrison Ford, Robin Williams and John Lithgow are a just a few who narrate. I noticed the words of the book did not always match the narration. However the little changes really reflected the readers personality.
It was a treat as an adult to listen to this. The humor is delivered with some irony. For example the word "bare" is used in many different ways. Much will go over the heads of the very young, but this is ideal for an older group. This is a book/CD combo that should not be missed! -
The story of The Emperor's New Clothes is told from a giant cast of characters surrounding the Emperor. Each has a different, entertaining perspective on the events as they transpire.
Each character is illustrated by one of 23 of the most popular children's artists, making it widely diverse in appearance, yet enhancing the individuality of the characters.
And to add to the fun, the accompanying CD uses 23 celebrities to tell the story out loud. Everyone from Harrison Ford as the shady thief, to Madonna as the Empress, and Dan Akroyd as the Holy Man. A few other notables: Robin Williams, Jeff Goldblum, Jason Alexander, Liam Neeson, Angela Landsbury, and many more.
Actually ends up being pretty long, but the actors do a great job entertaining and it almost seems like you're getting a personal reading. -
A retelling of HCA's tale by a variety of celebrities and illustrators. The story is told in the first person and from the perspective of the people and even some objects that enter the tale. Liam Neeson is the Imperial Prime Minister, Nathan Lane is the Imperial Dresser, Dr. Ruth Westheimer is the Imperial Physician, Jeff Goldblum is the Imperial Wizard, Dan Aykroyd is the Holy Man, Robin Williams is the Court Jester, Calvin Klein is the Emperor's Underwear, Fran Drescher is the Heralding Horn, and there's more. A CD is included with the book with the story told by the actors. The artwork is delightful, the story hilarious!
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Fairy tale
Wonderful retelling, with each character a separate vignette, woven together to tell the whole story. Each vignette is written by a different person (celebrity) and each is illustrated by a different illustrator. Comes with a CD too which would probably be a great way to experience this version (although the CD is missing from the copy I read). Could be used as Reader's Theatre with each part told by a different student. Could be used as an example for a writing lesson in which each student writes a part of a narrative that is then all woven together into one story. -
Great book with an interesting twist since it was a fund-raiser. Has an edge - not really for elementary children.
Still looking for a good version for read-aloud for our elem. school. Any suggestions -
The family found this is an interesting read of the family classic narrated by many different actors and musicians on the CD of The Emperors New Clothes. Illustrations in this edition was very entertaining.
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This is a very clever telling of the Emperor's New Clothes, but my boys especially enjoyed listening to the actors on the disc. Our FAVORITE is Robin Williams as the Court Jester. Thank you, Robin, for your comic genius. We needed the laugh.
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read this review and others at
http://readingforsanity.blogspot.com/... -
No audio CD
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this is one of those things that I was totally obsessed with as a kid. I listened to the CD over and over again, and I really wish I could find it again now because I'd still love it.
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When I was a kid, this story was one of my favourites. I was intrigued to read it in English and as I went on, I revived my past. It was amazing.
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A retelling of "The Emperor's New Clothes" from many different perspectives.
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I had this as a cassette tape! Oh my god I've forgotten about it until now, but it was hilarious and absolutely wonderful. I need to re-listen to it soon
