Customer Reviews

Hansel and Gretel (Picture Puffins)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was reluctant to pick up this copy of Hansel and Gretel because of the illustrations. I thought they were too comic, really. Hansel and Gretel is supposed to be a dark, scary story with mean mommies, starvation, and cannibalism! I was sure that the cartoony illustrations portrayed a light and funny version. And while some people prefer light and funny versions, I'm not one of those people.

Well, I was wrong! This version hews very closely to the one I learned as a young kid reading a tattered fairy tale collection. The mother is wicked, the father is weak-willed, the witch eats children (nobody turns into cookies, thank you very much). The author even remembered the detail about Hansel originally leaving out pebbles, and about a bird bringing them across the lake to home!

This was a very pleasant surprise for me, let me tell you.

The illustrations still aren't my thing, but this book has a well-deserved place on my bookshelf.

A word of warning: Obviously, this story can be scary for some children. While many children LIKE scary stories with their chills and thrills, just as many don't. I assume you know your own kid best, so please just use your judgment about this book, and if in doubt, read it before you buy it :)

Hansel and Gretel *is* a scary story, but James Marshall ("Miss Nelson is Missing!") illustrates it marvellously. At first I thought the illustrations were going to be too clownish and cartoony, but there is a lot going on in every illustration. The forest is dark, the candy house is irresistable, and the witch is not nearly as scary as the mother. (!)

Kids are resilient and good at solving problems in their own ways. That goes for Gretel -- this book shows her trusting her instincts. And for Hansel -- he figures out how to track his way back through the woods. Of course, you can't always plan for those unintended consequences.

Very well done fairy tale. Much longer than our other James Marshall fairy tales. We like it very well.

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.

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.

Although the illustrations are easy for children to understand and relate to, the story is just not the greatest material for a supposedly humerous childrens' book. My daughter had a nightmare after I read her this book!

Our daughter who is six received this for Christmas, and we're so happy for her. We have been checking out all of James Marshall's stories out of the library for months now, and are pleased to now own this one. We love the personality and attitude he adds to the usual fairy tales.

The charming language and expressive pictures make this a funny and entertaining book for all generations!

This book is useless for kids. I remember reading a version of the story as a kid. It was fantastic. This version is scary and badly written. The quality of the drawing were horrible. Overall i hate this version of the book. Its thrown into a corner.