The famous German story of The Sorcerer's Apprentice, immortalized by Goethe in his 1797 poem, Der Zauberlehrling, is here retold in picture-book form by American author and artist Mary Jane Begin. In her telling, a young girl becomes the apprentice to a great and good sorcerer, but is discouraged by all of the manual labor she must perform, and impatient to learn actual magic. When the sorcerer leaves for town one day, and the girl finds her chores too much to endure, she uses a spell to enchant the household broom, commanding it to fetch water for her. But she soon discovers that, while she may be able to use magic, she is not yet able to control it...

Published in 2005, Begin's The Sorcerer's Apprentice is the third picture-book retelling of this tale that I have read, following upon the ones done by Dutch author/artist Gerda Muller, and American author/illustrator team Nancy Willard and Leo and Diane Dillon. Although I don't think it was quite as impressive as those other two tellings, I still found it engaging, enjoying (as always) the story of a student who loses control of his or her magic, with disastrous results (beloved picture-book, Strega Nona, is another exampled of this entertaining tale type). The artwork here, done in acrylics on pastel paper, utilizes a beautiful color palette, and features lovely decorative borders, although the faces seemed somehow stiff and overly emotional at the same time. Despite that quibble, this is one I recommend to young folk and fairy-tale fans, especially if, like me, they enjoy looking at different tellings of the same tale. If they can only track down one version however, I'd recommend getting either the Muller or Willard/Dillons version instead. ( )

A very long time ago there was a sorcerer who speak to clouds, ask the trees to dance and charm the wildest of animals. He could keep evil spirits away and heal the sick. He was a good sorcerer. When a young girl and her mother traveled a very long distance to seek out his help, the sorcerer entertained them with food and music.
The sorcerer asked the young girl how he could help her. The young girl asked the sorcerer if she could learn magic. And since the sorcerer needed an apprentice he was happy to oblige and put her to work immediately. She was given chores such as washing the dishes and sweeping the floor.

It wasn't long before the young girl grew tired and wanted to know when she would learn magic. The sorcerer just told her in good time. When he left to run an errand the young girl tried some magic of her own. When she commands a broom to bring in water from the well and fill the cauldron, the magic gets a little out of control. The entire cottage begins to fill with water. Will the young girl be able to stop the crazy magic? Will the sorcerer evict her because she didn't listen? You'll have to read this wonderful tale to find out.

This beautifully written story is a well known classic. The extravagant old world illustrations will have young readers and parents picking up this tale to read over and over again. ( )