THE MCELDERRY BOOK OF GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, US

An appealing collection of 10 fairy tales, including some of the most familiar, such as “Sleeping Beauty,” “Hansel and Gretel,” and “Snow White.” A few selections are less well known, such as “Little Mouse and Lazy Cat” and “The Swans and the Brave Princess.” Pirotta writes like a storyteller, with great imagery and description, and the lively stories read aloud beautifully. They are not as severe as those by the Grimms, which makes them suitable for a younger audience. In “Snow White,” for example, in the original version, the evil queen is forced to put on red-hot iron shoes at Snow White’s wedding and dances to her death; here, her heart breaks into a thousand fragments as the mirror breaks. Pirotta also adds evocative descriptions, as in “Hansel and Gretel”: “the forest echoed with the sound of hooting owls and howling wolves,” which adds to the overall sense of fear. Clark’s dark, twisty branches in the forest enhance the mood of this story. The large typeface, generous use of white space, and overall design make this book one children can read themselves, and the artist’s expressive illustrations contribute to the appeal.

Robin L. Gibson, Granville Parent Cooperative Preschool, OH