The White Deer

I first read this book when I was in eighth grade. I wanted to get a copy for my wife to read and was fortunate to find this one on Amazon. She loved it. Classic Thurber. Just plain hilarious.

My dad read me this book when I was a kid, and my grandson likes it now. A fun take on an old fairy tale, written and illustrated by James Thurber.

A family favorite fairy tale. Lots of word play.

Beautifully-written, clever and magical. It's among Thurber's best work.

An excellent story for all ages. How nice it is to maintain innocence,Thurber combines wit and humor to this beautiful little book.

A little fantasy story by Thurber, not silly enough to be really funny, yet definitely not a serious story, either. If it had been written within this decade, it might have had that incredibly useless label post-modern thrown on it, as Thurber was one of those writers who delighted in wordplay that acknowledges the presence of the reader. A king and his three sons--two hearty hunters like their father and the youngest a musician and poet--corner a white deer who changes into a beautiful princess. The princess cannot remember her name or family, so she sets the three sons on quests. The question in the castle is whether the princess has been enchanted to forget her name, or is she a deer that has been enchanted to resemble a princess. Everything becomes clear in the end, like all good fairy tales, and Thurber gets to have a lot of fun getting there. Hopefully, you will too. I found this to be a little too similar to the humor of Juster's The Phantom Tollbooth for me to enjoy it wholeheartedly.

"Here is James Thurber's new world: a Thurber world of kings and princes and enchanted deer, of Thurber wizards and dwarfs, of perilous labors, of dark enchantment, of rhymed riddles, of false love and true. His story is a fairy tale for grown-ups: copiously annotated with Thurber drawings. A story sweet, funny, wise, and absurd: full of a wonderful magic which only the young in heart will understand. In addition to the Thurber illustrations there are four pages and wrapper in full color by Don Freeman."

It's obvious Thurber lavished a lot of attention on this fantasy about a mythical king with a mythical name and a myth-like story. The craftsmanship in the writing is unusually good, poetry and all. It's ultimately the content that is the major problem -- a long story with lots of parallel events, the way a real Brothers Grimm story might proceed. Doesn't seem to have much of an ending. The character of the king is striking, if you want your king to look like Brian Blessed in the first Black Adder on TV. Nice touch giving the king his editor's expression at the New Yorker: "Done AND done." But I have to admit, I was glad when it was.

A delightful, highly readable fairytale for older children and adults alike. It's a satire, but a warm-hearted and affirmative one. Researchers will have so much to talk about in it, but I want to emphasize how goofy and rewarding it can be for a general audience. I'd love to see it adapted as a play!

Lost my copy, and very happy to find it still available. It's beautiful and funny, perfect family reading-aloud material since there are things for every age group; quite small children will enjoy the slapstick and as they grow older will appreciate the poetry, the irony and the underlying sadness.

The most wonderful book

This is a fantastic book, well above my expectations. I would recomend this book to anyone that loves fairy tales with a twist of the love of english wit and humour. It is a bit strange, as all Thurber books are but you will be hooked. The Thirteen Clocks & The wonderfull 'O' read these! Thank you Amazon for finding this for me and your prompt delivery. You made my day! x

Not easy to get a copy of this, thank you 😁