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Title details for Black Beauty by Anna Sewell - Available

Black Beauty

by Anna Sewell
Scott McKowen
ebook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
The illustrations for this series were created by Scott McKowen, who, with his wife Christina Poddubiuk, operates Punch & Judy Inc., a company specializing in design and illustration for theater and performing arts. Their projects often involve research into the visual aspects of historical settings and characters. Christina is a theater set and costume designer and contributed advice on the period clothing for the illustrations.
Scott created these drawings in scratchboard ­ an engraving medium which evokes the look of popular art from the period of these stories. Scratchboard is an illustration board with a specifically prepared surface of hard white chalk. A thin layer of black ink is rolled over the surface, and lines are drawn by hand with a sharp knife by scraping through the ink layer to expose the white surface underneath. The finished drawings are then scanned and the color is added digitally.
Every child loves a story about a horse, and Black Beauty remains one of the finest, most touching ever written. Set in Victorian London, the novel follows the shifting fortunes of a horse as he moves from owner to owner. Narrated by the noble Black Beauty himself, the tale offers an animal’s perspective of the world, and highlights the thoughtless, even cruel treatment animals endured during that period.

  • Creators

  • Series

    Sterling Unabridged Classics

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    May 3, 2011

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781402792670

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781402792670
      • File size: 1265 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Levels

    • ATOS Level: 7.7
    • Lexile® Measure: 1020
    • Interest Level: 4-8(MG)
    • Text Difficulty: 6-8

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      May 2, 2005
      This graphic novel adapts the classic children's story of a horse whose gentle nature triumphs over abuse and misfortune. Anna Sewell's original remains beloved to preteen girls in particular, not just for the adventures Black Beauty goes through, but also for Sewell's lyrical descriptions of a past era. Husband-and-wife team Brigman and Richardson do a wonderful job illustrating that period, with b&w drawings that pop off the page and give readers an excellent sense of place as well as time. Unfortunately hamstrung by having to shorten a story that spans many years, they have had to cut all of Sewell's descriptions and most of her transitions, leaving short, choppy chapters that represent information rather than tell a story. Sewell originally wrote the story to expose mistreatment of animals in her society, and the cuts leave the adaptation sounding a bit preachy and repetitive. The spirit of the author's brave horse still comes through, as Black Beauty describes his different masters and the other horses he meets in his life. This should be a hit with horse lovers still too young for the original.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      October 10, 2016
      In a brisk adaptation of Anna Sewell’s 1877 animal story, Black Beauty recounts his early life on a farm and the accident that leads him to become a work horse in London, where he is abused by his masters. Brown illustrates in a rich, pastoral style, capturing pivotal events that include a frightening barn fire and Black Beauty’s collapse on cobblestone streets. Though Brown’s adaptation moves quickly through the horse’s many travails, her injuries and mistreatments still strike their intended emotional chords, making her eventual reunion with the kindly groom Joe Green in the bucolic final pages feel very well-deserved. Ages 4–9.

    • The Horn Book

      January 1, 2005
      The classic horse story is presented in an unabridged format. Each chapter begins with a small scratchboard drawing; unfortunately, the same handful of illustrations is recycled throughout, giving the volume a generic presentation. The book, which includes a ribbon bookmark, ends with a list of open-ended questions ("Would it have been as powerful a story if it was told from the human point of view?").

      (Copyright 2005 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • ATOS Level:7.7
  • Lexile® Measure:1020
  • Interest Level:4-8(MG)
  • Text Difficulty:6-8

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