Hansel and Gretel

I had a set of these Lisbeth Zwerger books when I was a kid, and remember being both delighted and frightened by the exquisite illustrations. Of course, I was a small child who didn't think to remember the illustrator, so it took me a long time and lots of googling to track them down again, and have managed to re-acquire all the ones I had and a few others over the last few years.

Hansel and Gretel is certainly one of my favorite fairy tales, thanks in large part to the influence this book had on my imagination as a kid. The text and translation is amusing and quirky, but the real star here is Lisbeth Zwerger's soft, expressive, and at times quite creepy artwork.

I remember having nightmares about Zwerger's witch of the candy cottage. I doubt I'll have nightmares now, but even as an adult there's something unsettling about her glowing red eyes, broad and bony face, and amorphous body. The pluckiness of the children in this tale always appealed to me, and this remains true here.

My favorite thing about Zwerger's style is the way she paints clothes and faces, and especially in this one I loved Gretel's clothes - the patterns on her scarf and skirt, and the movement of the skirt – I can almost feel the fabric and hear the swish and flutter of them.

The only thing that really jumped out at me as an adult that never occurred to me as child was some – in my opinion – rather swift and undeserved forgiveness at the end, which only added to the amusement and quirkiness for me, and made for a genuinely sweet illustration.

I can't pretend that this is a terribly objective review, but I truly believe this to be real treasure of children's literature and illustration. It's worth it alone just to look at the pictures. I think that the way it captivated my wee sprouting imagination as a child is part of the magic, rather than something to disregarded with adult retrospection.

If you ever find this, or any of the Zwerger's other books, when poking around a charity shop or 2nd hand bookstore, do yourself a favor and snap it up; I'd be shocked if you regret it.