A mood of charm and loveliness envelops the fairy worlds of The Happy Prince,The Nightingale and The Rose,The Selfish Giant and The Devoted Friend. Moving and funny at once, Oscar Wilde's witty touch pervades these tales, written for his children and first published in 1888. Indifference, selfishness, vanity and arrogance are met here by friendship, generosity, devotion and self-sacrifice. Even when it may appear excessive or undeserved, the gift asserts itself as the apt response to each cry for help; self-sacrifice becomes an act of beauty, redeeming an otherwise tainted world. The volume, accompanied by Mp3 files, offers notes and activities aimed at supporting understanding. Reading breaks offer exercises to fix content, vocabulary and structures, and to exercise the four language skills, offering ideas for comparison with the language of images.
