The Bearskinner: A Tale of the Brothers Grimm

I am a third grade teacher and always read aloud to my students after recess as a way to relax after a rough morning. I usually read non-fiction, fables, myths, and a mix of other literature types. My students were hooked on this book from page one! The wording is fancier for some of my students, so I explained some words as we went along, but they were deep into the meaning and the characters. We take part in the AR reading program, so they took a test on it after I read it, and all my students passed with at least a B!! The pictures were amazing, rich, and detailed. The word choice was spectacular, and the theme was pivotal to our chilren, even if not based on religion. It teaches, self-control, willpower, responsibility, and love. What teacher or parent doesn't want to read to their kids about that? This is a read about a soldier who encounters a deal with the devil and learns what is truly important over a long period of pain.

The Bearskinner is not allowed to pray for himself! Pretty tricky. But he asks OTHERS to pray for him. Pretty tricky. It's a dark story, but good triumphs over evil. I liked it.

This is a lovely and thought provoking book for children. Both my 7 and 12 year old loved it. My 7 year old sees it as her favorite book. It is dark, but in this age of plastic, it gives a moving story with beautiful graphics and a message of perseverance that is not as "candy coated" as children's books often are. This is a classic to be read many times.

A wonderfull tale that kept the attention of my very active, unlikely to sit still four year old grand nephew

For the reviewer that reviews for pleasure, every book that sits on your lap has to prove itself to some extent. Even the world's shortest picture book is an exercise in retaining both a child's and an adult's interest. Let us pinpoint, then, the precise moment when I found myself interested in "The Bearskinner". The author's name certainly didn't hurt. Those of you familiar with the myriad works of Laura Amy Schlitz will understand my instantaneous interest. The illustrations by a Mr. Max Grafe were also a lure (being that they were done in mixed media on paper). Yet if I were to select one tiny element to impress friends and colleagues with at cocktail parties, maybe I'd mention only this. On the publication page it says in the tiniest of lettering, "This book was typeset in Golden Cockerell Roman". Very cool. A book is more than the sum of its fonts, and a fairy tale more than the point of its origin. Fortunately, Laura Amy Schlitz has taken what could arguably be called the grittiest and grimiest of Brothers Grimm tales and, with the help of Mr. Grafe, constructed a story that offers hope, heart, and justice to a modern audience with a classic feel. The devil comes to a poor soldier with an offer he can't refuse. If the man wears the skin of a bear for seven years without washing, bathing, or praying to God, then he will be rich beyond his wildest dreams. Better still, during that time he will have all the money he desires. The man accepts the deal, but soon finds it hard to handle. His body disgusts him and society abhors him (though not, of course, his money). Yet when the man starts giving his money away to the poor, he finds that their prayers carry him through the worst of his trials. One day he helps a gambler and the man promises the solider one of his three daughters. The middle daughter looks deep into his eyes and promises to marry him whenever he returns. Three years later his time is up and he triumphantly puts the devil in his place, cleans up, and returns to the gambler's home. There, the daughter waits for him, he reveals himself to her, and they live happily ever after (except perhaps for the devil, but that's only to be expected). You tell someone that you're going to read a kid a Brothers Grimm tale and, if they are unfamiliar with some of the Brothers' nastier conjurings, that person might think it natural that the book be kid-friendly and interesting. Ladies and gentlemen, I am telling you here and now that this is most certainly not the case. Interesting Brothers Grimm stories are most certainly NOT the rule. Adapting one into a readable text takes time and effort and an ear for a cutting turn of phrase. Ms. Schlitz, to the infinite relief of any reader, shows her prestigious skill in such matters by not merely rendering "The Bearskinner" into something palatable for the youth of America, but also something worth reading again and again. Check out this opening: "They say that when a man gives up