It is quite coincidental when two publishers release the same picture-book version of a classic in the same year. But it happens. A number of years ago "The Velveteen Rabbit" was reissued by three publishers simultaneously (at least within the same year) and occasionally identical titles do appear in catalogs of different publishing houses. Since it takes years to develop the artwork and synchronize the printing of a picture book, it must be called coincidence when it happens.
A joyous coincidence this season is the publishing of two versions of "Swan Lake," picture-book adaptations of the famous Tchaikovsky ballet. Each is a unique retelling with perfectly coordinated paintings. Since they are so individually superb, this is not a comparison of the two, only a review of their happy existence.SWAN LAKE Retold by Margot Fonteyn. Illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman. Gulliver Books-Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 32 pages $14.95
Two artists in their own fields have collaborated on this elegant rendition of the magical ballet. Prima Ballerina Margot Fonteyn has retold the story as a fairy tale, where the eternal conflicts of good and evil reign. Her interpretation of how she danced the part ". . . many hundreds of times" is brought out in the text: "One should be aware not only of the duality of the Odette-Odile roles, or good and evil, but also the duality within each role. Both are enigmatic characters; neither is what she seems. Odette is bird as well as woman. Odile is reality as well as illusion . . ."
Her choice of words as she describes the birdlike woman and the mysterious woman in a black gown in the torchlit hall suggests her intention of making the women different, their counterparts to be "played" in different ways.
The magnificent drawings by Hyman have not only captured these different expressions but expanded them with sideline cameo shots and detailed portraits. Her 12 full-page paintings range from ominous shadows in the forest to the highly lit grand hall at the royal ball. Again, as in her former award-winning works of "Little Red Riding Hood" and the Caldecott winner "Saint George and the Dragon," she has researched costumes, scenery and artifacts of the time to establish this as a classic and authentic tale of mystery, intrigue and beauty.
Storyteller's Notes on the Ballet at the end of the story add much to the interest and give insight to Dame Fonteyn who is considered by many as the most beloved ballerina of our time.
SWAN LAKE Retold by Mark Helprin. Illustrations by Chris Van Allsburg. 112 pages, $19.95.
This is the first time two-time Caldecott winner Chris Van Allsburg has illustrated another writer's work. He says that the story so impressed him and the descriptions were so vivid that he feared the illustrations " . . . might diminish the visual experience which happens in the reader's mind's eye."
But Helprin was pleased. The emotional impact is admittedly there for both author and illustrator as well as for the reader.
The story is imagined through the life of a little girl who lives on a mountaintop with a grandfatherly character. The old storyteller (whose characterization is reminiscent of "Heidi"), is filled with humor, pathos, romance and tragedy. Not only does this move away from the original storyline of the princess swan and a fatherless prince at a lakeside meeting, but the heroic lovers plunge to their death to protect their infant daughter.
Because the setting shifts from storyteller to the story scene by the lake, the book gives the polarity of magic combined with the power of color, line and texture. The envisioned swans are much simpler, less dominating than the transmittal of values from the "real" world.
Both versions of "Swan Lake" are magnificent. Both can be valued and read with the dance, costumes, lighting and music in the background of our minds. And both will be treasured because of the combination of so many art mediums put together.