Another Lisbeth Zwerger book for our little library, nestled alongside Hansel and Gretel. This is one of the best-loved ballet of all time and Hans Christian Anderson medal winner Zwerger does a superb picture book adaptation. The haunting story or an enchanted swan princess is brought to life through her gentle water colour illustrations which are reminiscent of English illustrators of the 19th century. Her version is based on Tchaikovsky's original 1877 ballet and has a happy ending rather than the tragic one of the 1893 production. The young prince is out hunting one day and he nearly injures a swan with one of his arrows. This swan turns out to be an extremely beautiful princess under the spell of an evil sorcerer and the young prince is desperate to win her hand in marriage.
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