Status
Available
Collection
Publication
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) (1996), Edition: 1st, 32 pages
Description
Recounts how the legendary Swiss folk hero was forced to shoot an apple from his son's head by the tyrannical Austrian governor Gessler.
Local notes
School Library Journal, 02/29/1996
Gr 3-5-In 1307, Hermann Gessler, governor for King Albert of Hapsburg, proclaimed that the citizens of Altdorf must kneel before his hat in the town square. The frightened people obeyed for the most part, but a young pig seller and a boy and his sister forgot to kneel and were clapped in chains. Then William Tell and his son Jemmy refused to comply with the rule. Gessler was enraged but challenged Tell, a fine hunter, to shoot a single arrow through an apple placed on Jemmy's head. If Tell succeeded he would be set free, but if he failed he would be sent to prison. Tell first determined to shoot wide of the apple to save his son, but Jemmy convinced him to try the shot, and his aim was true. A week later his arrow found its mark once again, and the people were rid of a cruel tyrant. Fisher's richly textured paintings bring a distinctive sense of drama to this traditional tale. He uses light and varying perspectives to highlight the human dimensions of the story, while vivid colors underscore the emotional tensions and move the exciting plot to its swift denouement.-Barbara Kiefer, Teachers College, Columbia University, NY
Gr 3-5-In 1307, Hermann Gessler, governor for King Albert of Hapsburg, proclaimed that the citizens of Altdorf must kneel before his hat in the town square. The frightened people obeyed for the most part, but a young pig seller and a boy and his sister forgot to kneel and were clapped in chains. Then William Tell and his son Jemmy refused to comply with the rule. Gessler was enraged but challenged Tell, a fine hunter, to shoot a single arrow through an apple placed on Jemmy's head. If Tell succeeded he would be set free, but if he failed he would be sent to prison. Tell first determined to shoot wide of the apple to save his son, but Jemmy convinced him to try the shot, and his aim was true. A week later his arrow found its mark once again, and the people were rid of a cruel tyrant. Fisher's richly textured paintings bring a distinctive sense of drama to this traditional tale. He uses light and varying perspectives to highlight the human dimensions of the story, while vivid colors underscore the emotional tensions and move the exciting plot to its swift denouement.-Barbara Kiefer, Teachers College, Columbia University, NY