Ouch! [Library Binding]

Natalie Babbitt (Author), Marcellino (Author), Fred Marcellino (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up

This tale from Grimm -- far less familiar than many of the others -- has been given a brisk retelling by Natalie Babbitt and witty, spectacular, sumptuous pictures by Fred Marcellino. The story tells all about young Marco, who leads a charmed life if anyone ever did, starting off as nobody special and ending up king. Not that its an easy path, the most dangerous part being an errand that takes him down into Hell. But thanks to the Devil's grandmother, as good an old girl as grandmothers everywhere, it all comes right in the end.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this abbreviated version of the Grimms' "The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs," a crown-shaped birthmark heralds a boy's bright future. Based on this omen, a fortuneteller predicts that Marco will marry a princess, and this comes to pass in short order: "So the two were married, with plenty of joy and noise, and that should have been the end of it. But it wasn't." The youth still must placate his evil father-in-law, the king, who demands three golden hairs from the head of the Devil. Marco ventures forth to Hell, where he meets the Devil's impish grandmother, who agrees to yank the three hairs. ("Ouch!" is the Devil's exclamation as she does the deed.) Thus, he keeps the princess, and then exacts revenge on the king. Babbitt (Bub) rewrites the classic story in a casual voice infused with wry wit, paring it down to its essentials (e.g., leaving out the magical golden apples and wine-flowing fountain), while Marcellino (The Story of Little Babaji) paints the characters in picturesque Renaissance-era garb. He constructs scenes of architectural grandeur: readers become spectators at the wedding, looking up at the starry ceiling, and stand alongside the newly married prince at the steps of Hell, which appears as a desolate castle with firelit bricks and oversize wooden furniture. The Devil himself is a slim, none-too-threatening figure in a red unitard decorated with ruffles at the wrist. The inventive layout, based on a rectangular grid, features creatively cropped and overlapping color images and blocky text. Although things come together a bit too easily in this Grimm tale, readers will likely lap up Babbitt's intelligent retelling, mixed with a dash of sly humor and dressed in Marcellino's signature finery. All ages.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 4-In this snappy retelling of a Grimm tale, a baby born to a poor family is foreordained to marry a princess. The king tosses the infant into the river to prevent the eventuality of having a "nobody" for a son-in-law. However, the child survives to marry the king's daughter as predicted. Hoping to rid himself of the lad, the monarch commands him to deliver three golden hairs from the Devil's head or lose his wife. With the aid of the Devil's grandmother, the boy succeeds in his task, becomes rich, keeps his beloved, and gets rid of his troublesome father-in-law. In the original story, the boy encounters a fountain that has run dry, a tree that does not bear fruit, and a ferryman who cannot stop taking passengers across the river. With the pulling of each hair, the Devil provides the answer to each of the three puzzles. While the three questions and the three hairs lend a folkloric symmetry to the tale, their loss is more than compensated for in this telling. Babbitt's language is perfect: neither too archaic nor too modern. Throughout the story, words and pictures work together to underscore the humor in the tale that is absent in older versions. With comic perspectives and sly expressions, Marcellino introduces a farcical cast-from the king to the Devil's grandmother. Even if libraries love the more traditional text, they will want to make room for this deft offering.
Kate McClelland, Perrot Memorial Library, Greenwich, CT
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Library Binding: 32 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers (October 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062050672
• ISBN-13: 978-0062050670
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,875,840 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars OUCH!! - an incredibly fun and beautiful book!, December 2, 2000

By 

Lisa (Nokomis, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ouch! (Hardcover)

I picked this book up for my weekly volunteer read-to to a second grade class. The children loved it! They thought the story very unique ...the idea of the trip to the devil's house and his grandma was just silly and a hoot. The hero is confident and surprisingly smart. The pictures are wonderful. And of course, good triumphs over the wicked king in the end. The next week, when I returned, I had 2 students ask me for the name of the story as they'd tried to relate the story to their parents. I think it'd be a great and very interesting gift.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars magnificently devilish book!, October 25, 2000

By 

amanda (Salt Lake City, Ut) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ouch! (Hardcover)

I just happened to pick up this book at my local library, and my was it refreshing! This book was smartly done. IT is humorous, witty, and keeps you reading until the very end. Yes it is a children's book, but I sure enjoyed it and so did my kids. Natalie Babbitt certainly gives children alot of credit where many children's authors don't. Read this book!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun, December 4, 2008

By 

Steven R. McEvoy "MCWPP" (Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ouch! (Hardcover)

This is a cute retelling of one of Grimm's tales. It is about a boy born with a birth mark that foretells he will be a king.

The current king tries to get rid of him three times. The final is the quest to get three of the devil's golden hairs. He is helped by the ferryman, and the devil's own Grandmother, who not only protects him, but gets him the hairs and a treasure chest.

He then tricks the King into getting trapped as the ferryman. All the others live happily every after. A fantastic novelette.

(First written as Journal Reading Notes in 1999.)