Dear Mili (1988)

Maybe I just haven't read any of the original Grimms' fairytales in a long time, but I found the Christian themes to be pretty prevalent in this story. I would have expected that the old man who took care of the little girl when she went into the woods to escape the war to be a kindly hermit or magician rather than a Christian saint. Obviously Germany at the time of the story's collection was a Christian nation (Protestant rather than Catholic, but still Christian), so possibly the story is of newer origins than some of the other tales or made up by the Grimms themselves. Considering that the format of the story (of someone leaving the city for the wilderness and time passing faster than normal) is a variation of Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving and that the Grimms may have had access to the story, I would not be surprised if they had taken the story and inserted a younger protagonist to better suit the young girl whom Wilhelm was writing to.

This is the original published English language version of the story (presumably with little done to rewrite it from the original German), and the publishers did a good job of choosing Maurice Sendak as their seminal illustrator. He was one of the most popular and well-regarded illustrators by the late 1980s, and his interest in fantasy stories is well suited to the subject matter. He takes a classical approach to the illustrations, rather than the more unique styles that characterize books like Where the Wild Things Are and In the Night Kitchen, which I am less fond of, but which still works for the story. The story itself is quite light compared to many of the Grimms' tales - only the distant war potentially darkens the narrative and the young girl is never in any real danger with her guardian angel protecting her - so Sendak's pale palette keeps the forest setting from getting too dark. ( )

Fine condition

Fine condition

Fine condition

398.2