Hansel and Gretel

by Brothers Grimm

Overview

Once upon a time there was a poor woodcutter who lived near a great forest with his wife and his two children. The little boy was called Hansel, and the little girl’s name was Gretel.

So begins this classic Grimm tale of two innocent children, abandoned in the forest by their cruel mother, who happen upon the enchanting gingerbread house of a wicked witch. Hansel’s cunning and little Gretel’s courage foil the witch’s evil plan to fatten them up and eat them, and in the best fairy tale tradition, they and their loving father live happily ever after.

Dorothee Duntze’s elegant, stylized illustrations provide an intriguing new interpretation of this childhood favorite, a satisfying story of evil punished and goodness rewarded.

Author Biography: Dorothee Duntze was born in Reims, France. She studied art at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Reims and the Ecole des Arts Decoratifs in Strasbourg. Among the other books she has illustrated for North-South are The Twelve Days of Christmas, The Emperor’s New Clothes, The Princess and the Pea, and The Twelve Dancing Princesses.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781727656480
Publisher:	CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date:	09/29/2018
Pages:	24
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.06(d)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

The Brothers Grimm researched and edited a vast collection of folk tales. The versions they published are timeless cautionary tales which contain much wisdom.

Hyeon-sook Jo studied Western Painting in college and has worked on many children's books. Here she uses mixed media to show personality and build tension.

Place of Birth:

Hanau, Germany

Place of Death:

Berlin, Germany

Editorial Reviews

Working from a faithful translation of the original text, Zwerger has created rosy-cheeked, appealing children who look as if they have just descended the Alps. The witch, by contrast, is a shapeless, fiery-eyed ghoul with real scare potential, but the illustrations never take advantage of that; the pictures show passive moments and have an ephemeral quality because there is almost no background for the figures on the page. For example, on one page of text, the stepmother kindles a fire and leaves Hansel and Gretel alone, the birds come and eat the trail of bread crumbs, the children walk for 24 hours without much food, sleep and walk again. Opposite is a picture of the siblings, looking melancholy but not appearing to be in dire straits. The design of the book falters: some of the artwork is horizontal and bleeds, other paintings are vertical, with wide gutters and margins; the text is set in light type without paragraph indentations and so readability suffers. Zwerger's artistic gifts are not wholly in evidenceeven simple details like Hansel's hair color, which varies, are overlooked. For once, her version of a popular story is extraneous, and Hansel and Gretel, so often done and redone, seem lost. Ages 6-up. (June)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

K-Gr 3-This version of the familiar tale of two clever children who overcome their fears and triumph over evil, while clear and readable, tends toward the lurid. For example, when Gretel pushes the witch into the oven, the text reads: "The old witch burned to death, screaming and howling miserably." Duntze's startlingly imaginative illustrations range from impressionistic to surreal, and vary in size and coloration to match the changing moods of the narrative. The cleverly wrought bread-strewn endpapers set the tone for this stylized picture book. While a few of the images are potentially frightening, most will agree that the illustrations are accomplished and very special, indeed.-Barbara Buckley, Rockville Centre Public Library, NY Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

“A classic Grimm Brothers tale gets an all-new look in this stunning retelling.” – 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing, New York Public Library

“Even the most jaded reader may find his scalp prickling with dread at the sight of Sybille Schenker's illustrations in "Hansel and Gretel" (Minedition, 52 pages, $29.99).…. Ms. Schenker uses inky silhouettes and paper-cut images on translucent paper to make this most familiar of Grimm tales feel alarmingly new.” – Wall Street Journal

From the Publisher