I sure didn’t want the fury of Disney coming down on me because of copyright issues while writing “Bertie, the Bookworm and the Bully Boys“. So it led me to do some serious research on the origins of Bambi and make certain it was public domain. Now for you new writers, if you don’t understand what that is, write me a comment and I will share. Did you know that Bambi, a Life in the Woods is considered one of the first environmental, ecology-minded books ever written? Amazing, right?? Bambi, a Life in the Woods, originally published in Austria as Bambi. Written in 1923, an Austrian novel by Felix Salten. The novel traces the life of Bambi, a male roe deer, from his birth through childhood, the loss of his mother, the finding of a mate, the lessons he learns from his father and experience about the dangers posed by human hunters in the forest. An English translation by Whittaker Chambers was published in North America in 1928, and the novel has since been translated and published in over 20 languages around the world.
The novel was well received by critics and is considered a classic. It was adapted into a theatrical animated film, Bambi, by Walt Disney Studios in 1942, two Russian live-action adaptations in 1985 and 1986, and a stage production in 1998. Janet Schulman released a children’s picture book adaptation in 2000 that featured realistic oil-paintings and many of Salten’s original words. Still available on www.amazon.com.
Now a version of Bambi graces my newest children’s book,
“Bertie, the Bookworm and the Bully Boys“. Rather than take the obvious route of having Snow White, Cinderella, or Beauty appear I thought it would be so much more fun for my readers to meet some of the sub-characters like the wicked stepsister, one of the dwarves, Red Riding Hood, and the little piggies….and of course, Bambi.
