Hansel and Gretel

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Description

A bulbous nose, an overstuffed shocking-red dress, green toenails, garish makeup ... has there ever been a more magnificently horrendous witch than this one in James Marshall's deliciously dark re-telling of Hansel and Gretel A poor woodcutter lives with his wife and two children, Hansel and Gretel. Weak-willed and easily manipulated, the wood cutter gives in to his overbearing, badgering wife who insists he abandons his children to the wilderness of the forest because, well, they eat too much food! There, as they try and find their way home, Hansel and Gretel come across a beautiful sugar-spun, candy cottage and, as the fairytale goes, a horrendous, red-eyed witch who loves to dine on nice, fat children! With great glee, she locks up Hansel (who looks decidely unamused about the whole affair) and has Gretel work as her slave. Luckily, this witch gets her comeuppance - with some quick thinking and a huge, big kick in the bum, she's straight in the fire! And how do Hansel and Gretel get home to their father Why, a kindly duck ferries them across the lake. Classic, irreverant, fizzy fun from a picture book genius.

Reviews

"Marshall works his magic on a popular tale, retelling without reshaping it and infusing both text and pictures with ingenuous simplicity lit by flashes of roguish humor." (Kirkus Reviews)"

Author Bio

James Marshall is one of the most prolific and successful author/illustrators of children's books. With more than seventy-five books to his credit, including the popular George and Martha series and the misadventures of the Stupid Family, Marshall has earned the admiration and love of countless readers. Maurice Sendak said of Marshall: "His work is undated, fresh and fragrant as a new spring garden." James Marshall died in October 1992. He divided his time between an apartment in New York and his home in Connecticut.