Prince Ivan and the Firebird: A Russian Folk Tale

Latest in a crop of retellings of this classic Russian folktale, Lodge's variation is based on a mid-19th-century version. Here, the famous quest revolves around the feckless Prince Ivan, youngest son of minor royalty, who tracks the thieving Firebird with the help of a friendly shape-shifting wolf. Ivan bounces from one scrape to another in his journeys to the City of Wood, the City of Stone and the City of Silken Tents, but in the end he captures the feathered fugitive and wins the lovely Princess Sonia to boot. The text is amiable if not outstanding, enlivened by Lodge's exuberant folk art-inspired illustrations. An abundance of onion-domed architecture and Cossack-inspired garb imparts a distinctively ethnic flavor, while blank backgrounds--sometimes black, more frequently white--suggest a welcome airiness. Readers might enjoy comparing this with Selena Hastings's equally niftily illustrated version (Children's Forecasts, Mar. 8). Ages 8-12. (Aug.)