Hansel and Gretel

Just in case you didn't know it, this is one of the Brothers Grimm stories in which mom and dad are not good guys. [To me the mother is portrayed as being scarier than the witch.] In mom's case, faced with starvation, it is she who suggests leaving the children in the woods. In dad's case, he doesn't have the backbone to stand up to her, and thus he falls to villainy as well. James Marshall stays with the original aspects of the story although he gives it his own twist with his highly distinctive art style. On the positive side, the story highlights the children's creativeness in solving their problems. It ends with them coming home to the loving arms of their father. Their so-called mother has died while they were being held captive by the witch. Four Stars. [B-] Marshall's usual clever artwork. Good Read-aloud. This book has more text than most of Marshall's efforts. There is a little name calling in places, and I agree with the other reviewer that this book isn't humorous.

I love this book....great illustrations...perfect for catching the imagination of my speech delayed 4 year old...but I agree with the first reviewer who said that the words are a bit scary...a la fratured fairy tales..so no problem, I changed the words as I read the story...because I don't want to explain why the woodcutter's wife actually was bad and wanted to leave the kids in the woods..but here is the funny part, my son figured out the whole story anywau and he loves it. We have re-enacted it out several times in floortime play...it is a great story for learning about feelings and emotions during pretend play.