Hansel and Gretel

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful!
Review: As a 5 and 6 year old, I recall reading this stark version of the fairy-tale. The illustrations here are simply beautiful! I remember talking to my mom about the issues in this tale -- famine and starvation, abandonment, cannibalism, supporting, being supported by your sibling, and returning/reunited to your family after being through everything.
My mom helped me understand the mom's behaviour in this story, and I hope I can do that for my son some day. Like all fairy tales, this simply looks at some of the worst that could happen, and lets you see a way out. I read it without these gorgeous illustrations too. You can't disney all of life, though I admit, I'm a sentimental soft-hearted person who cries when the cats get rained on when I'm watching the Aristocats :-) Enjoy, and think too ...

Rating:
Summary: a differing opinion ...
Review: As other reviewer here have noted, this story is not the 'watered down' modern version of the tale. I would not recommend the book for especially senstive kids. As it is my daughter (4 y.o.) asks each time we read the book, "why would H&G's mama and papa leave them in the woods alone and try to get rid of them?" "why would the witch keep Hansel in a cage / want to eat Hansel?" "why does Gretel push the witch into the oven and burn her?" etc. If your son / daughter is prone to nightmares, the wonderful illustrations really 'bring to life' the tale, so this book - between the story and the pictures - might just be too haunting for many kids. It dosen't bother my daughter, but then again, it is also not picked for bedtime reading very often, either. It really IS a gorgeous book, though.

Rating:
Summary: Tasha's Review of Hansel and Gretel
Review: Hansel and Gretel is a book about a family of a wife and a husband who have two children. The father is a woodcutter and at the moment they are very poor. The stepmother convinces the father that they should go out into the woods and leave their children there. She says that that is the only way they will survive. Hansel heard their parents talking about this one night and he told Gretel. The next day, their parents told them that they were going into the forest to chop wood. Hansel took a handful of pebbles and dropped them a little bit at a time on their way. This was so they could find their way back home. The idea worked. The stepmother and father decided to try again though. This time, Hansel dropped bread crumbs, but they fell asleep and when they awoke, the bread crumbs were gone. They started walking, at last they found a house that was made of candy. Little did they know, a witch lived inside. The witch tried cooking Hansel, but Gretel managed to shove the witch into the oven. Hansel and Gretel found lots of pearls and diamonds in boxes in the witches house. They shoved them into their pockets and left. They finally found their way home and when they got there, they found out that the stepmother had died. The children and their father lived happily ever after though, and they had plenty to eat!
I think that it was a very good children's book. the detail was understandable for children. There were pictures on every page, so that also helps the children to be able to understand the story better. I liked how creative the author was. I liked how the story ended happily, but there was one thing I did not like about the book. I did not like that the stepmother was so mean to the children. I think that will make children think that adults (especially stepmothers) are always mean. I am glad though that the stepmother was the one who died at the end, and not the father.

By, Tasha (...)

Rating:
Summary: Tasha's Review of Hansel and Gretel
Review: Hansel and Gretel is a book about a family of a wife and a husband who have two children. The father is a woodcutter and at the moment they are very poor. The stepmother convinces the father that they should go out into the woods and leave their children there. She says that that is the only way they will survive. Hansel heard their parents talking about this one night and he told Gretel. The next day, their parents told them that they were going into the forest to chop wood. Hansel took a handful of pebbles and dropped them a little bit at a time on their way. This was so they could find their way back home. The idea worked. The stepmother and father decided to try again though. This time, Hansel dropped bread crumbs, but they fell asleep and when they awoke, the bread crumbs were gone. They started walking, at last they found a house that was made of candy. Little did they know, a witch lived inside. The witch tried cooking Hansel, but Gretel managed to shove the witch into the oven. Hansel and Gretel found lots of pearls and diamonds in boxes in the witches house. They shoved them into their pockets and left. They finally found their way home and when they got there, they found out that the stepmother had died. The children and their father lived happily ever after though, and they had plenty to eat!
I think that it was a very good children's book. the detail was understandable for children. There were pictures on every page, so that also helps the children to be able to understand the story better. I liked how creative the author was. I liked how the story ended happily, but there was one thing I did not like about the book. I did not like that the stepmother was so mean to the children. I think that will make children think that adults (especially stepmothers) are always mean. I am glad though that the stepmother was the one who died at the end, and not the father.

By, Tasha (...)

Rating:
Summary: A classic
Review: Hansel and Gretel is a classic story about a family that lives in the woods. The father is a woodcutter and the family is very poor. The mother convinces the father that they should go out into the woods and leave their children there. She says that it is the only way they will survive. Hansel heard his parents talking about this one night and he told Gretel. The next day, their parents told them that they were going into the forest to chop wood. Hansel took a handful of pebbles and dropped them a little bit at a time on their way. This was so they could find their way back home. The idea worked. The mother and father decided to try again. This time Hansel dropped breadcrumbs, but the birds of the forest ate the breadcrumbs and the children were lost. They started walking and came upon a house made of candy. Little did they know, a witch lived inside. The witch tried cooking Hansel, but Gretel managed to shove the witch into the oven. Hansel and Gretel found lots of pearls and diamonds in boxes in the witches house. They shoved them into their pockets and left. They finally found their way home and when they got there, they found out that the mother had died.
This book has always been one of my favorites. When you add Zelinsky illustration's it is a literary success. Rika Lesser did an incredible job of retelling this classic. The umbrella theme of children's literature of, "if you put your mind to it you can accomplish anything" is hidden in the fairy tale book.

Rating:
Summary: A classic
Review: Hansel and Gretel is a classic story about a family that lives in the woods. The father is a woodcutter and the family is very poor. The mother convinces the father that they should go out into the woods and leave their children there. She says that it is the only way they will survive. Hansel heard his parents talking about this one night and he told Gretel. The next day, their parents told them that they were going into the forest to chop wood. Hansel took a handful of pebbles and dropped them a little bit at a time on their way. This was so they could find their way back home. The idea worked. The mother and father decided to try again. This time Hansel dropped breadcrumbs, but the birds of the forest ate the breadcrumbs and the children were lost. They started walking and came upon a house made of candy. Little did they know, a witch lived inside. The witch tried cooking Hansel, but Gretel managed to shove the witch into the oven. Hansel and Gretel found lots of pearls and diamonds in boxes in the witches house. They shoved them into their pockets and left. They finally found their way home and when they got there, they found out that the mother had died.
This book has always been one of my favorites. When you add Zelinsky illustration's it is a literary success. Rika Lesser did an incredible job of retelling this classic. The umbrella theme of children's literature of, "if you put your mind to it you can accomplish anything" is hidden in the fairy tale book.

Rating:
Summary: Moral values
Review: Hansel and Gretel is my fav fairy tales. Almost all stories of Grimm have moral values and this one is no exception. Fairy tales were told as form of entertainment too. They show the kids the right way to behave. However, If pondered over, Hansel and Gretel is one fairy tale with Biblical resemblance. The kids view their parents house as a place of security.The two children are wandering through the woods and are hungry, tired and alone. This closely resembles the passage where Jesus wandered through the desert for forty days. He too was tired and hungry and completely alone. During this time, Satan tried to tempt Jesus with food. Satan told Him that if He were the Son of God, then He should turn a stone into bread for food (Luke 4:3). Jesus did not get tempted but here in the story, the children saw the gingerbread house and ate parts of it until they were full. The children continued to eat pieces of it even after they were full, which is gluttony. And Gluttony is one topic in Bible is seen as one of the seven deadly sins, if I am not mistaken. Than the final part, Gretel traps the witch inside her own oven, right before she was getting ready to cook Hansel. The witch is burnt up. This resembles the story of Satan. At the end of Satan's reign over earth, the Christians will be saved from the fire and Satan will be thrown into the fiery pit of Hell, where he will be tortured forever. In end, there is rejoicing; very similiar when the satan (witch) dies,the children reap the rewards and rejoice to 'live happily ever after' Moreover, the tale show abandonment, hunger, fear,friendly sibling example, family unity - issues that startles kids minds to pause and think. It makes the kids dive into imagination and with the very good illustrations and very well re-told classic, this book is a wonderful Pick for all Children - Best of the Best Fairy tale to read and instil moral values in kids.

Rating:
Summary: True to the faerie tale genre
Review: When you think of kids stories, fairy tales, even fable what comes to mind? Cinderella, snow white, Hensle and Grettle maybe. Although these stories all have happy endings on a mutual basis. We try to tell our children that killing is wrong, but in the 3 above listed storis for "kids" atleast 1 person dies in each. The child like factor is in this book, a house made of candy and all that, but so is the violence that we try so hard to not teach. Although this book is entertaining, and fun to read so I give it a rate of 3 stars, i hope this review is found helpful as well as informal. thank you.