Hansel and Gretel/Hansel y Gretel: A Bilingual Book (Bilingual Fairy Tales) [Hardcover]

Elisabet Abeya (Adapter), Elisabet McClellen (Author), Cristina Losantos (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 21, 2005 | Grade Level: P and up | Series: Bilingual Fairy Tales

Retold in both Spanish and English, the universally loved story Hansel and Gretel will delight early readers and older learners alike. The striking illustrations give a new look to this classic tale and the bilingual text makes it perfect for both home and classroom libraries.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-3–Two more welcome additions to the series. Hansel and Gretel tells the familiar story of two children who are abandoned by their heartless stepmother and gutless father, taken in by a child-eating witch, and ultimately escape to return home to a happy reunion with their widowed father. Losantos's ink-and-watercolor cartoons in muted colors present a Hansel and Gretel who are charmingly scruffy, a befuddled father who is almost sympathetic, and a tough-looking witch. The Musicians of Bremen concerns four elderly animals who manage to make a home for themselves with the help of their none-too-melodious voices and some superstitious robbers. Montserrat's earth-toned acrylics have an almost linocut look and make excellent and arresting use of form and volume. Though a bit abbreviated, the prose in each story follows classic translations of the Grimms' tales, maintaining cadence and humor. Both titles read aloud beautifully in both the stylish English renditions and in the European Spanish, which may sound a bit exotic to readers or listeners of Latin American extraction. Both books are beautifully laid out and a pleasure to view and share.
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From Booklist

K-Gr. 3. Hansel and Gretel go into the woods once more in this bilingual retelling, originally published in Catalan, which is part of an ongoing series. The illustrations--softly colored and outlined in heavy, black ink--bring distance to the familiar story of parental abandonment and a child-eating witch. Interestingly, Hansel and Gretel are not depicted as cute, tempting morsels; rather, they resemble adults (remember Olive Oyl in Popeye?). What's more, the story and pictures concentrate less on the sticky, sweet outside of the house (the Spanish reads casa de pan or "house of bread") than on the details inside, such as a paella seething with slithery seasonings. An amusingly wicked approach to a well-known tale. Julie Kline
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books; Bilingual edition (July 21, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811847934
• ISBN-13: 978-0811847933
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,150,086 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great, March 6, 2008

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G. almonte (NJ) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hansel and Gretel/Hansel y Gretel: A Bilingual Book (Bilingual Fairy Tales) (Paperback)

I love these series of books because I was born here in the US and my children also so they do not speak Spanish. They love when I read the story to them in English and then translate it into Spanish. The translation is simple and not complex.