This version of Swan Lake is a classic fairy tale. There are many transformations. The most obvious is of course the transformation of Princess Odette into a beautiful swan, the transformation of the swan maidens into beautiful women and the transformation of the evil sorcerer into an owl. In this version of Swan Lake we can also see a transformation of the living human into the spirit. Princess Odette and Prince Siegfried drown in the lake and then rise up in apothesis. Another element that makes this a fairy tale is the use of enchanted forces. The sorcerers spell is the enchanted force, a force that can only be overcome by love. Good is rewared and bad is punished. Siegfried kills the sorcerer when he finds out he has tricked him to prevent the spell from being broken. Siegfried's undying love for Odette breaks the sorcerers spell. The 'happily ever after ' ending is the most obvious fairy tale element. The story begins 'Long, long ago...' and ends with Princess Odette and Prince Siegried rising up 'toward a world of radiant light where they would be together forever'.

This version of Swan Lake also contains many postmodern elements in its illustrations. The illustrations disrupt or expectations. For example, when the sorcerer is killed he does not appear to have a human form. The illustrations are surreal, using washed out water colours for a dreamlike effect. The ballroom scene looks like it is a dream as musical notes are scattered over the pages and girls appear to be flying around the page. This book blurs the boundaries. There is an otherworldy element to this version of Swan Lake. There are 'stick figure' people dancing and playing music around many of the pages. These do not appear to be of the real world.

This version of Swan Lake is quite unusual. The dreamlike element of this version may be an aspect that appeals to younger readers. They can find things in the illustrations of this story that are not in the text.