The Telephone, adapted by William Jay Smith, illustrated by Blair Lent.

The narrator of this madcap children's poem, originally published in Russian as Телефон, relates how a series of animals called him on the telephone, each requesting something amusingly outlandish. Kept hopping by the constant calls, he is close to collapsing when a true emergency comes through: the hippopotamus needs rescuing from the swamp...

The third English translation/adaptation of this nonsense poem that I have read, following upon those done by Jamey Gambrell and Marguerita Rudolph, this version by William Jay Smith is the weakest, textually speaking. The rhyming and line structure feel rather awkward at times, creating a reading experience that was somehow disjointed. It was interesting, once again, to see the variation of animals chosen for some of the verses - here we have sick flamingos, rather than herons or storks; or chimpanzees, rather than monkeys or baboons - but that wasn't enough to make this a more enjoyable read. That said, I found the artwork here, done by Blair Lent in an appealing folk style, quite charming. His animal characters were expressive and amusing, his colors - lots of subtle oranges and greens - deep but also muted. I liked that Lent wasn't afraid of the white space on his page. Although I do prefer the other versions of The Telephone that I have read, this is one I would still recommend to those seeking amusing nonsense stories for young children, if they cannot obtain the other versions mentioned above. ( )

The Telephone, adapted by Marguerita Rudolph, illustrated by Susan Perl.

The narrator of this delightfully idiosyncratic Russian poem for children relates the many odd calls he gets from various animals, each seeking something more outlandish than the last. Whether it be the "Elephone" seeking five tons of chocolates for his baby sister, the crocodile looking for a tasty snack of galoshes, or the heron who ate too many frogs, each caller needs help. The poem closes as the narrator attempts to pull a ten-ton hippo out of the mud...

Originally published in Russian in 1926, as Телефон, this classic nonsense poem from Kornei Chukovsky has been translated into English as least six times. Published in a variety of edition from 1939 through 1984, first by the Moscow-based Foreign Language Publishing House, and then by Malysh Publishers (also in Moscow), the Dorian Rottenberg translation has been paired with the artwork of V. Konashevich and Valentin Karpovich. In 1982, Malysh Publishers released a different translation, done by Peter Tempest, and paired with the artwork of V. Andriyevich. There is also a 1940s translation done by Padraic Breslin for Mezdunaradnaya kniga, artist unknown. In the west, in 1996, Jamey Gambrell presented an adapted picture-book version, with the artwork of Vladimir Radunsky. In 1977, William Jay Smith, who had also adapted Swedish picture-book great Elsa Beskow (see: The Children of the Forest), presented his own version, together with the illustrations of Blair Lent. Then there is this edition, translated and adapted by Marguerita Rudolph, with the artwork of Susan Perl. Released in 1971, it marks (according to the dust-jacket blurb) the first authorized translation of Telephone to be published in the United States.

As someone with an interest in translated children's literature, someone who enjoys comparing different picture-book presentations of the same tale, I had no sooner finished the aforementioned Gambrell/Radunsky title, than I was tracking down this older version. It was fascinating to compare and contrast the approaches taken by the two adapters. Unlike Gambrell, Rudolph presents a bilingual text in her book, with transliterated Russian on the left-hand page of each two-page spread, and the English on the right. The transliteration was done by Liuba Solov. At first I wondered at the choice to use transliteration, rather than the original cyrillic text, as this seemingly benefits neither those who can read Russian nor those who can't. Then I realized that the intention was not simply to provide the English readers with the original text, but rather, with the original sound and structure of the poem. Given that poetry is particularly reliant on cadence, I decided that this was actually a useful format to use, whether or not the reader could decode the meaning of the Russian words. It reminded me of a poetry reading I attended back in high school, in which the poets Andrei Voznesensky and Alan Ginsburg recited. Voznesensky read his poems in Russian, and Ginsburg the English translations, and while I understood not a word of the original, it was still fascinating to listen to.

Leaving aside the question of dual text, the language here was fun and inventive, the story silly and entertaining. There were a number of points where Gambrell and Rudolph chose different animals - baboons vs. monkeys, herons vs. storks, etc. - and a few verses that Gambrell seems to have summarized in no more than a few words, but overall the two versions are quite similar. Although I did enjoy the Gambrell/Radunsky version, both textually and visually, I think I prefer the Rudolph/Perl just a bit, because it feels like a fuller, more faithful presentation. The style of the artwork is very different - Radunsky all bold colors and collage, Susan Perl all cute animals depicted in simple greenish-brown monotone - and each appealing in its own right. Still, although I did prefer this version, the difference is not so very great. Perhaps I will have to track down some other adaptations... ( )

Telephone, adapted by Jamey Gambrell, illustrated by Vladimir Radunsky.

A classic Russian children's poem, written in its original form by Kornei Chukovsky, is adapted and presented in English by Jamey Gambrell in this picture-book. The narrator relates all the crazy calls he gets from various animals, each of whom wants something unexpected. Whether it be baboons looking for spoons, or a kangaroo seeking Winnie-the-Pooh, the narrator finds that he is glued to his telephone...

Having now read a number of Chukovsky's poems for children - Wash 'Em Clean, Doctor Concocter, Cock-the-Roach - I was curious to pick up Telephone. It's pretty clear from the presentation - Jamey Gambrell gets top billing on this edition - that this is as much an adaptation, as it is a translation. Whatever the case might be - and I would certainly be interested to read other versions of this poem in English - I found this one quite entertaining. The silly nonsense poem here reads well and is quite entertaining, while the accompanying artwork from Russian-born illustrator Vladimir Radunsky, done in vividly-colored and boldly-patterned collage, is eye-catching, and accentuates the madcap humor of the tale. Recommended to anyone looking for nonsense rhymes for children, or interested in Russian children's literature. ( )

Summary:
"Telephone" is a book about a man who is constantly being called and asked for favors and services. The phone seems to never stop ringing. As the book goes on, so do the phone calls and we get to hear from animals like elephants and hippos. Some animals ask for food or for gloves, but one animal needs much more from the man on the telephone.

Review:
Great book for early developing readers. The illustrations are large and colorful and can easily grab and keep the attention of young readers. "Telephone" reinforces learning and practicing with rhyming words. The repetition of the phrase "jing-a-ling" can help young readers to relate letters to their sounds. ( )