The Adventures of Tom Thumb

The Adventures of Tom Thumb

In this collaboration from the creators of Pegasus, Mayer’s animated retelling of Tom Thumb’s adventures and Craft’s affectionate portrayal of the cherubic yet impish hero make for an enjoyable, if disjointed, read. In the time of King Arthur, Merlin uses his magic to grant Tim and Kate a son no bigger than Tim’s thumb. In spite of the boy’s protection by his fairy godmother, Tom Thumb endures a number of mishaps because of his size (he is swallowed three times) but survives to vanquish the fierce giant Gembo from the land. For this King Arthur knights him: “Sir Tom Thumb evermore the smallest and the boldest of the crown’s protectors.” Craft’s renderings of architecture, dress and border art, inspired by 12th-century manuscripts and illustrations, capture both the grand and comic elements of the story. Scenes of a humiliated knight returning to the Round Table with the giant’s bites taken out of his sword and shield or of Tom escaping down Gembo’s mountainous shoulder will tickle the funny bones of many readers, while the diminutive fellow’s reunion with his parents ends the volume on a note of happy recognition. Mayer’s effort to form one coherent story out of a number of different episodes is not always smooth; still, this charming rendition does a nice job of introducing a classic character.

About the Author

Marianna Mayer – “I see folktales and myths as humankind’s first stories,” says Marianna Mayer. “They are a kind of collective dreaming, filled with timeless symbols and images we can all relate to, regardless of age or culture. And, much as an oyster must be disturbed by a grain of sand in order for the pearl to be created, I often choose to retell stories in which I find unresolved fragments that are somehow perplexing to me.”

Though widely known as a children’s book writer, Marianna Mayer’s early education focused on visual art. “It seems to me there was never a time when I didn’t want to be an artist, ” she says. “I liked to tell stories with pictures and compose music. My sister and I put on plays made up from my stories. And then I decided to start writing a book, at the age of nine.” She published her first book at the age of nineteen. After college, she studied painting at the Art Students League in New York City. Her experiences as an artist provided many images that she began to incorporate into writing. Gradually, she shifted to the written word as a medium of expression. She explains, “I began to feel more freedom when using words as my paints and plots as my canvases.