Rapunzel

My 7 year old daughter checked this book out at the library and fell in love with it. I surprised her with it and she's read it at least a dozen times since. This is one she wants to keep for when she has girls. (she's already decided she's Nott having boys) LOL.

This is a retelling of one of the most famous of the stories by the Brothers Grimm. The story is retold and illustrated by Alix Berenzy. As much as I hate to admit it, Berenzy has probably out-done the famous brothers with their own story. Of all the versions of this particular work I have seen over the years, this is beyond a doubt the best. The art work is absolutely stunning and almost flawless. This is truly a beautiful edition, almost a piece of art within itself. The illustrations fit the story perfectly. The story sticks to the original pretty well, although there are some variations. This variation has not, as so many modern versions of the Brothers Grimm tales have been, "cleaned up" to make it politically correct. There is still some pretty grim stuff here, reality so to speak and the rewording and mild twisting of the story has not been hurt one bit. The purest need not worry too much in this area. On the other hand, the story is still one that the parent might want to read with the child first, particularly if the child is a younger reader, as there are aspects of the story that probably need some explanation. Some of the more graphic details of the story have been "smoothed over" just a bit, but really, not all that much. All in all, I recommend this version/edition quite highly. If you like the stories of the Brothers Grimm, then I am quite certain you will enjoy this one.