Count Silvernose

Kimmel, Eric A.  Count Silvernose.  Illus.  Omar Rayyan.  New York: Holiday House, 1996.  

Count Silvernose is based on an Italian folktale, which involves three sisters and a sly hobgoblin, posing as a rich count.  The two beautiful sisters are led astray by Count Silvernose; however, the third, homely but astute, sister saves her siblings from an eternal, fiery pit.   The tale concludes with the three sisters reunited and Count Silvernose left to a fate he had reserved for others. 

Kimmel begins his story classically with “Once upon a time;” yet, instead of romanticizing beautiful but helpless women, his tale critiques the “empty-headed” beauties and praises the “cleverness” of the sister “as ugly as a barn door.”  This teaches that true heroines are those with sagacity, and anyone, regardless of beauty, can be a hero if they are perceptive and thoughtful.  This tale also warns readers about avoiding temptation and encourages a prudent skepticism.  The two beautiful sisters are easily beguiled by the count’s promises and appearance, regardless of having just met him.  Children should learn to be cautious and become acquainted with someone before judging them.  Despite these more modern feminist ideologies, Kimmel still incorporates the traditional motif of the supernatural with goblins and imps representing the danger and deceit in the world.  The magical elements make the story more whimsical and endearing.  Furthermore, the formatting of Kimmel’s text, especially on the pages in which the two beautiful sisters ride off with the count, is enchanting.  The tapering off of the language mirrors the sisters and count “[riding] out of sight,” emphasizing the forethought and purposeful nature of Kimmel’s adaptation.    

The illustrations by Omar Rayyan evoke the Italian Renaissance perfectly.  The pages imitate yellowed and worn journal pages, and the sketched figures and landscapes, some delicately painted, mimic Leonardo da Vinci’s drawings.   Likewise, the first image of the three sisters is formatted in the traditional, Renaissance pyramid layout, with the middle sister’s head forming the apex.  The traditional appearance of the art does not come without humor.  On the first page, the obviously unattractive sister, appears to have a lazy eye, is postured like a man, and appears to be grimacing.  Furthermore, at one point, the mother parodies Edvard Munch’s The Scream but with bulging eyeballs.  Lastly, one of the most bewitching paintings is that of Assunta battling the imps and goblins.  Rayyan captures the fairy-tale element of these creatures, which ties in seamlessly with the traditional Italian folktale aspect of the book.  

Reviews:

E.S.W. "Count Silvernose." Horn Book Magazine 72.4 (1996): 471. Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text. Web. 13 Feb. 2013.
"Occasionally threatening to burst out of control, Rayyan's dramatic illustrations are generally well suited to the robust tale."

Starred book review in Booklist. 

Scanlon, Donna L. "Book Review: Preschool & Primary Grades." School Library Journal 42.3 (1996): 189. Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text. Web. 13 Feb. 2013.
"The illustrations and narrative balance one another beautifully." 

Connections:

Students may read other Italian folktales or other versions of Count Silvernose and compare and contrast the textual and artistic elements.  

Students could also compare and contrast other countries' folktales with this one.  ​