The Blue Bird for Children

Maurice Maeterlinck (1862 - 1949) and Georgette Leblanc (1869 - 1941)
Translated by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos (1865 - 1921)

One of the strongest pieces of imaginative writing for children that the past decade has produced and one of the most delicate and beautiful of all times, is "The Blue Bird," by Maurice Maeterlinck, written as a play, and very successfully produced on the stage.

Georgette Leblanc (Madame Maurice Maeterlinck), has rendered this play in story form for children, under the title "The Children's Blue Bird," and in this form it has now been carefully edited and arranged for schools.

On the night of Christmas a boy and a girl, Tyltil and Mytil, are visited by Fairy Berilyuna. Fairy's granddaughter is sick and can only be saved by the Blue Bird. Thanks to the Fairy's magic gift children have the opportunity to see the soul of things. Inanimate objects Clocks, Fire, Water, Bread, Sugar, Milk transformed into beings with their own character. Together, they set off on a dangerous journey for the fabulous Blue Bird. (F.O. Perkins, A.T. de Mattos, ShiNeko, Wikipedia)

Genre(s): Children's Fiction

Language: English

Section Chapter Reader Time
Play 00 Introduction Carina Pereira
00:06:43
Play 01 Chapter I - The Woodcutter's Cottage Jenny Wallace
00:34:17
Play 02 Chapter II - At the Faity's Ian King
00:21:00
Play 03 Chapter III - The Land of Memory Ian King
00:18:17
Play 04 Chapter IV - The Palace of Night Ian King
00:27:19
Play 05 Chapter V - The Kingdom of the Future Ian King
00:29:58
Play 06 Chapter VI - In the Temple of Light GillChang
00:06:25
Play 07 Chapter VII - The Graveyard Kristina
00:11:27
Play 08 Chapter VIII - The Forest MaryAnn
00:27:21
Play 09 Chapter IX - The Leave-Taking Eric Metzler
00:12:47
Play 10 Chapter X - The Awakening Carina Pereira
00:18:16