This book is a favourite of June 2011 Guest Editor Michael Morpurgo:
"This was the first story, I think, that ever made me cry. What was
strange was that I wanted to read it over and over again. It still has
the power to make me cry."
Sally Grindley, December 2010 Guest Editor also chose The Happy Prince:
"This is one of those tales that haunts you long after it has ended.
It’s beautifully narrated, timeless and ‘placeless’ and full of hidden
messages. The Prince is a golden statue with precious stones for eyes.
When Swallow perches on him on her way to Egypt, he asks her to
distribute his eyes and gold to all the poor people he sees below him.
Swallow takes pity on him when he has lost finery and decides to stay
with him over the winter… The tale is haunting me again now, many years
after I first read it."
These special fairy tales, which Oscar Wilde made up for his own sons, include 'The Happy Prince', who was not as happy as he seemed; 'The Selfish Giant', who learned to love little children; 'The Star Child', who suffered bitter trials when he rejected his parents. . . . Often whimsical and sometimes sad, they all shine with poetry and magic.
A gifted poet, playwright and wit, Oscar Wilde was a phenomenon in 19th century England. He was illustrious for preaching the importance of style in life and art, and of attacking Victorian narrow mindedness.
Wilde is immortalised through his works, and the stories he wrote for children such as "The Happy Prince" and "The Selfish Giant" are still vibrant in the imagination of the public.
