The Brothers Grimm Hansel and Gretel

The Brothers Grimm Hansel and Gretel

Translation from the German by: Elizabeth D. Crawford

Illustrated by: Lisbeth Zwerger

Major Awards: Bologna International Children's Book Fair Honor (1980), International Biennial of Illustration Bratislava Honor Diploma (1979)

Grade Level: 1-4

Summary: During a famine, Hansel and Gretel's evil stepmother persuades their father to leave them in the woods so that the whole family will not die (only the children). After overhearing their argument, Hansel sneaks outside in the middle of the night and fills his pocket with white pebbles. As they head to the woods the next morning, he leaves a path so that he and Gretel can find their way back. After being abandoned, the siblings make their way back to their home, where their father rejoices. However, soon another famine strikes. Again, the stepmother wants to abandon the children in the forest, but locks the door so Hansel cannot get the pebbles. This time, Hansel tears up his piece of bread and leaves crumbs along the way. Once they are left, the siblings attempt to return, but to their horror discover that birds have eaten their path back home! Searching and starving for days trying to escape, they come to a house made of bread, cake, and sugar. While helping themselves, a witch comes outside the house and is kind to the children in order to gain their trust. Soon, the children learned the witch's true intentions-- to eat them! The witch locked Hansel in a cage and each day looked at his finger to see if he was fat enough for her liking, but Hansel outsmarted her by sticking out the bone of the food he had eaten. The witch was soon fed up that he had not gotten fat enough, and decided to eat him anyway. She forced Gretel to prepare the water pot to boil him in. In the meantime, the witch wanted Gretel to crawl into the oven to "see if it's hot enough." However, Gretel refused and so the witch did it herself. Gretel acted cleverly and quickly and pushed the witch in, slamming the door behind her. She rescued Hansel and together they made it back home. The stepmother had died during the famine and at last they were reunited with their father.

Evaluation: I would not want to use this version in my classroom. It is very dark and blunt, and I do not think it is appropriate for young children at all. The illustrations are also very eerie. I would, however, use a variant. I think it is important for children to be familiar with classic stories.

This book can be read by first through fourth graders, but like I mentioned above, I don't believe that it is a good match developmentally and emotionally. The themes are very mature, although it is still on their "reading level."

I think a story like this would be perfect for teaching sequence of events. You could read it to the class and then make some sort of chart or foldable that is numbered in which students write sentences (whether they are from stems or not) about what happens that also includes a picture. This could be turned into a whole unit by using many classic stories, such as Little Red Riding Hood or The Three Little Pigs.