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THE HARE & THE HEDGEHOG

Name: THE HARE & THE HEDGEHOG
Author: The Brothers Grimm
ISBN: 978-988-8240-40-1

by The Brothers Grimm ; illustrated by Jonas Lauströer ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2015

It may be macabre, but it’s closer in spirit to the original than most newly refashioned folk tales.

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In a little-known variant on “The Tortoise and the Hare,” the latter loses more than a race.

In country scenes that, thanks to swirling brushwork, have a windy look, Lauströer places animal figures that are drawn with feral naturalism but dressed either in 19th-century Sunday clothes or in relatively modern-looking athletic garb. (The quills of the hedgehog and his wife poke viciously through both, adding a touch of deadpan humor.) The text is closely based on the German original, with just minor wording changes and multiple morals from which the sexist language and class consciousness have been removed. Following a snide remark about his crooked back legs from a “snooty” hare, the portly hedgehog proposes a race with a gold coin and “a bottle of mead” (cognac, in the picture) as the prize. To ensure his win, he secretly stations his equally rotund wife at the course’s opposite end to say “I am here already!” The astounded hare, who can’t tell one hedgehog from another, demands one rematch after another until, on the 74th, he drops dead from exhaustion. Hedgehog and his clan dance around the bloody corpse, then adjourn for a bit of bibulous partying. Just for fun, the artist adds an elegant little tin of poop pastilles (“Koprophagie”) to the title page.

It may be macabre, but it’s closer in spirit to the original than most newly refashioned folk tales. (Picture book/folk tale. 7-9)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2015

ISBN: 978-988-8240-40-1

Page Count: 48

Publisher: minedition

Review Posted Online: Sept. 20, 2015

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
IN FAIRYLAND
by The Brothers Grimm ; illustrated by Hans Fischer ; translated by David Henry Wilson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE FROG PRINCE
by The Brothers Grimm ; illustrated by Sybille Schenker

- BOOK REVIEW
FAIRY TALES FROM THE BROTHERS GRIMM
by The Brothers Grimm & Erik Forrest Jackson illustrated by Owen Richardson

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THE SPIRIT OF THE SEA

by Rebecca Hainnu ; illustrated by Hwei Lim ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2015

A fresh, if not quite as seamless, alternative to Robert D. and Daniel San Souci’s Song of Sedna (1981).

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A popular Inuit cautionary legend, featuring a haughty young woman and a gruesome climactic twist.

Arnaq will accept no suitor, until a shaman sea bird disguised as a handsome young man sweeps her away with glittering promises to a wretched, reeking tent on a distant shore. When her father arrives to rescue her, the shaman raises such a storm that her terrified dad casts her overboard—and cuts off her fingers to keep her from holding on to the boat. Those fingers are transformed into whales and seals, and she, into a testy spirit named Nuliajuq, who calls up storms on all who “disrespect the land or the sea.” This and other modern-sounding lines (“Eventually Arnaq succumbed to complete depression”) give the otherwise formal narrative a playfully anachronistic air that may or may not be intentional. Lim illustrates the tale in a realistic rather than stylized way, using flowing lines and brush strokes to depict natural settings, faces, Arnaq’s lustrous locks (and, though seen only from a distance, fingerless hands), and a range of accurately detailed arctic and sea animals. In an afterword, the author explains that the sea spirit goes by several regional names; a pronunciation guide to Inuktitut words in this version is also included.

A fresh, if not quite as seamless, alternative to Robert D. and Daniel San Souci’s Song of Sedna (1981). (Picture book/folk tale. 7-9)

Pub Date: March 1, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-927095-75-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Inhabit Media

Review Posted Online: Jan. 9, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2015

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
A WALK ON THE SHORELINE
by Rebecca Hainnu ; illustrated by Qin Leng

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THE MIDDLE SHEEP

From the Ernie & Maud series , Vol. 2

by Frances Watts & illustrated by Judy Watson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2010

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Oh, the curse of being the only child—not adorable like the baby and not smart like the older sibling! Invisible, that’s how Marvelous Maud, sheep sidekick to only-child, newly selected superhero Extraordinary Ernie, feels. Maud decides to adopt a sidekick of her own. Turns out being a sidekick is no job for a middle kitten, bunny, tortoise, horse, goldfish, duckling or mouse, so Maud decides to hold a contest. Along the way, she enjoys hearing the travails of all the middle critters, but she does not notice when Ernie feels left out of the discussion. When the Baxter Branch of the Superheroes Society meets, Ernie’s ennui becomes obvious. Valiant Vera (the bravest and fastest superhero) throws down the gauntlet and bans the argumentative aces until they can work together. Decorated with frequent humorous black-and-white illustrations of winsome animals and adults in leotards, this offering is just right for readers ready for the challenge of a chapter book. Sibling conflict, animals and superheroes are all high on the interest level of young readers, making this a series to watch. (Fiction. 7-9)