Hansel and Gretel

I had a set of these Lisbeth Zwerger books when I was a kid, and remember being both delighted and frightened by the exquisite illustrations. Of course, I was a small child who didn't think to remember the illustrator, so it took me a long time and lots of googling to track them down again, and have managed to re-acquire all the ones I had and a few others over the last few years.

Hansel and Gretel is certainly one of my favorite fairy tales, thanks in large part to the influence this book had on my imagination as a kid. The text and translation is amusing and quirky, but the real star here is Lisbeth Zwerger's soft, expressive, and at times quite creepy artwork.

I remember having nightmares about Zwerger's witch of the candy cottage. I show more doubt I'll have nightmares now, but even as an adult there's something unsettling about her glowing red eyes, broad and bony face, and amorphous body. The pluckiness of the children in this tale always appealed to me, and this remains true here.

My favorite thing about Zwerger's style is the way she paints clothes and faces, and especially in this one I loved Gretel's clothes - the patterns on her scarf and skirt, and the movement of the skirt – I can almost feel the fabric and hear the swish and flutter of them.

The only thing that really jumped out at me as an adult that never occurred to me as child was some – in my opinion – rather swift and undeserved forgiveness at the end, which only added to the amusement and quirkiness for me, and made for a genuinely sweet illustration.

I can't pretend that this is a terribly objective review, but I truly believe this to be real treasure of children's literature and illustration. It's worth it alone just to look at the pictures. I think that the way it captivated my wee sprouting imagination as a child is part of the magic, rather than something to disregarded with adult retrospection.

If you ever find this, or any of the Zwerger's other books, when poking around a charity shop or 2nd hand bookstore, do yourself a favor and snap it up; I'd be shocked if you regret it. show less

Luisa's version relegates the father and the witch to superstructure in favour of an extended meditation on the brother-sister bond. Hänsel's manic insanity plays off of Gretel's fluttery heart and cold nervous hands; again and again you tell yourself you won't get taken in by Hänsel's cheeky self-reliance, that programmatic pluck that so easily becomes Todestrieb; again and again, you tell yourself you'll make it out of this one to listen to Gretel-two-score-years-hence chainsmoking and telling Hänsel's grandkids about her nerve damage. But against your better judgment, you'd follow Hänsel into any witch's hut in any forest in the land, because he never stopped being your hero--as long as Gretel was there like a complaining left show more leg to complete you. It's an ouroboros. Sibling love, unity, and respect! (You know, the ill-considered acronym SLUR.) show less

(Included in the Blue Fairy Book)

This is a classic that has been retold into various forms, I am certain that most English-speaking people have come across this story in a movie, or graphic novel, or TV show or the like - I have come across all of these. The story can be pretty messed up, with the parents leaving the kids in the forest to die because they're so damn poor.

However, I can't help but feel that the witch was a dumbass. She welcomes the kids into her home one night, but then the next morning starts abusing them, locking Hansel up so she can fatten him up while putting Gretel to doing chores around the house. Personally, if I was looking to fatten up kids to eat, I'd just put both kids to doing chores but treat them decently show more and feed them well, so that I would have TWO plump kids to eat, and get household help out of it.

Just to be clear, I have no intention of eating anyone. But looking at the actions of a lot of these villains, some of them act in such a clownishly evil way, ensuring their downfall.

Which is what happens here, as Gretel tricks the witch into getting close enough to the oven so she can shove the old bitch in there. Mind you, this is AFTER said old bitch locks up Hansel, and brags to Gretel how she will eat Hansel, and this treatment goes on for about a month before the witch decides to finally cook Hansel, all this time she has bullied and abused Gretel. Pride really does go before a fall. show less

This is the classic Grimm’s tale of Hansel and Gretel who are led into the forest to die by their father and his wife because they are a poor family and running out of food. They find their way back the first time but get lost the second time and end up finding a gingerbread house made out of candy in the woods owned by an old witch that wants to fatten them up and eat them.

This story surprised me a bit because the gruesomeness of the tale was something I didn’t really take note of as a child, but is quite horrible compared to stories made for young children today. The illustrations in this book are also extremely well done and not only support the story but add to it for both creating the fearful and dark mood and provide many show more interesting fantastic asides. One of the more notable asides are the pieces of bread strategically placed in most of the outdoor forest scenes to look like trees, which is an interesting contrast to the fact that this story is about a family torn apart by hunger . Also, some of the earlier pictures are highly surreal and symbolic such as the miniature wolves surrounding the miniature children on the fathers lap as the wife explains her ideas to abandon them and the changing foliage that appears to be growing out of the father’s hat. The story by itself is quite good, but when you add the vision of this illustrator you get something that is truly art. show less

This is a story about a brother and sister named Hansel and Gretel. Their father's wife is a selfish woman that has her husband take the children deep into the forest. The father abandons the children there. Hansel and Gretel stumble upon a wicked witches home while trying to find their way back to theirs father's house. In the end the children find their father's house with his wife dead and a very sorry father.
This story brings mixed emotions to me. I hated the use of children being nothing more than extra mouths to feed. I like that even though Hansel and Gretel are young, that they are self-sufficient.
This would be a good time to use a maze. I would use this book to show that because something taste good does not always mean it is show more good for you. I would try to incorporate my teaching health through this book. show less

I must say, I don't remember Hansel and Gretel being this dark. This is a story about a family who couldn't afford to feed themselves and the children, so the stepmother decides they should lead them into the woods to die. How horrifying! In the end the children return home and finds the stepmother is dead and is reunited with their father. I would probably read this book around Halloween time, since it's a little spooky.

Characters: Hansel and Gretel, Father, stepmother, and the witch

Setting: It takes place in the woods and cabin.

Theme: Do all you can to survive.

Genre: Folktale

Summary: This book tells the classic story of Hansel and Gretel and their adventures. The siblings live with their father and stepmother. Going through starvation, the stepmother suggested that the father leave the children in the woods to feed themselves. As the children are left in the woods, they leave a trail of rocks so that they know how to get back home. This is done multiple times. On the last situation where they leave breadcrumbs to find their way home, the crumbs are eaten by the birds. This is where they see a house made of gingerbread and go inside to eat. The witch show more in there feeds them until they are plump so that she could eat them. The sister out smarts the witch and was able to get the witch to fall into the crock pot. Soon enough, they find themselves some gold in the house and look for a way home. When they find their house, they find that the stepmother had died with their father waiting for them. With the money they found, they lived happily ever after.

Audience: Children who learn about how to think creatively.

Curriculum ties: Ties to early development, learning about different creativity, and folklore

Personal response: As a kid, I always liked listening to folktales. I like how the tales are so mysterious and sends me through a fantasy world. This book made me reimagine those stories that I used to hear at school. This book does things a little bit differently… The art is an old style oil painting of some soft and adds a bit of creepiness to it. I think if I was a child and had to read this book, I would be quite frightened. But the images did remind me of how the story was and really connected to the story telling. The story followed the original story and does a great job at it with the pictures. I miss folk tales. show less