Cookie House, Softcover, Beginning to Read

I used to read many books to my young friend Annie, and this retelling of the story of Hansel and Gretel was one of my favourites. The illustrations were so vivid and haunting, I wanted to cut them out and frame them. It felt like there was a much larger world in this book, and through the illustrations and the simple but oddly compelling narration you see just a little of it. One picture especially has always remained in my mind-- the boy and girl running hand in hand down wide steps, out of enormous pillars from some forgotten temple or palace in the middle of the wood. There is such a sense of wonder, age, forgotten grandeur added to the natural beauty surrounding the children. It's a short book, and as I say, it's simply told-- but perfectly told. The minimal dialogue adds a sort of Oriental simplicity which sets off the lavish pictures. Sometimes I like to imagine that I am walking through the dark flower-filled woods, riding on the back of the wonderful sea dragon, running up the white steps, pacing the halls of the old masters of the wood and hearing the echoes, watching the moss grow on the stone.