Hansel and Gretel: a beautiful illustrated version of the classic fairytale

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Gaiman did a splendid job when he retold Sleeping Beauty ( The Sleeper and the Spindle) so I was excited at the idea of another classic being twisted by his mind. This story has been ‘retold’ by Jane Ray. What does this mean? Can you find other stories that have been retold? I didn't love this book but I also didn't hate it, it was very average! I would recommend to lovers of Gaimen but would suggest borrowing from a library or seeing it in person first as I felt the price tag was rather high for what it is! Enjoy the traditional fairy tale 'Hansel and Gretel' in PowerPoint format, alongside directed active listening questions aimed at lower Key Stage 2 children. Questions focus on retrieval, inference and prediction skills, as well as discussing vocabulary choices and figurative language. Maybe I wouldn't be so disappointed if I hadn't read The Sleeper and the Spindle a few weeks ago, that was everything a retelling should be. It brought something new to a already well known story while still being beautifully told and illustrated. Maybe it's unfair to compare the two but as someone who grew up on Grimm's fairy tales, I expected more than the same story with slightly different words, especially considering who wrote them this time.

Hansel and Gretel by Neil Gaiman Review of the Day: Hansel and Gretel by Neil Gaiman

Armistice Day: A Collection of Remembrance - Spark Interest and Educate Children about Historical Moments Best-selling author Neil Gaiman and fine artist Lorenzo Mattotti join forces to create Hansel & Gretel, a stunning book that’s at once as familiar as a dream and as evocative as a nightmare. Mattotti’s sweeping ink illustrations capture the terror and longing found in the classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale. Gaiman crafts an original text filled with his signature wit and pathos that is sure to become a favorite of readers everywhere, young and old. The Brothers Grimm wrote the original fairy tale. Can you find out what other stories they wrote? If you could interview them today, what questions would you like to ask them? Carry out role-play activities linked to the story, e.g. hot seating / interviewing characters from the story. How are they feeling at particular points, or ‘Conscience Corridor’ activities – should Hansel and Gretel go into the gingerbread house? Look at the different shapes in the illustrations. How many squares / rectangles / circles (etc) can you find?In the beginning there was a woodcarver and his pretty wife and their two children. Times were good and once in a while the family, though never rich, would get a bite of meat. Then the wars came and the famine. Food became so scarce that the wife persuaded her husband to abandon their children in the woods. The first time he tried to do so he failed. The second time he succeeded. And when Hansel and Gretel, the children in question, spotted that gingerbread cottage with its barley sugar windows and hard candy decorations the rest, as they say, was history. Master storyteller Gaiman plumbs the dark depths of Hansel and Gretel… Italian illustrator Mattotti contributes elegant b&w ink spreads that alternate with spreads of text. His artistry flows from the movement of his brush and the play of light and shadow.”— Publishers Weekly , starred review Complement it with Gaiman on why scary stories appeal to us, Tolkien on the psychology of fairy tales, and the best illustrations of the Brothers Grimm tales. For more of Mattotti’s enchanting art, see his visual interpretation of Edgar Allan Poe.

Hansel and Gretel by Neil Gaiman | Goodreads Hansel and Gretel by Neil Gaiman | Goodreads

Use the speech within the text to create a play script. Could you perform this with some friends or use puppets? And not a particularly interesting or unique one. There wasn't some special twist or character development. It's literally just Hansel and Gretel. The kids get "lost" in the woods, stumble upon a witch, nearly get eaten and manage to get their revenge. I think I was just expecting more from the retelling - obviously the main plot line of the story was going to be similar but I just didn't get the feeling I get when reading Gaiman's other novels. I think I would gave enjoyed it more if the story had just been darker or had something else to give it that extra spark - I did enjoy it but it wasn't amazing. I've always wondered why most fairytales are so dark in nature, but after viewing an interview with Neil Gaiman about Hansel and Gretel, I have a new perspective:And for me, the thing that is so big and so important about the darkness is [that] it’s like in an inoculation… You are giving somebody darkness in a form that is not overwhelming — it’s understandable, they can envelop it, they can take it into themselves, they can cope with it. I love Gaiman’s and Mattotti’s Hansel & Gretel. The writing is rich. (“They went so deep into the old forest that the sunlight was stained green by the leaves.”) And the art is striking. I have never seen a more chill-inducing rendition of the witch’s gingerbread cottage. I swear it looks like there’s a skull atop it.”— Julie Danielson, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast