A Tale Dark & Grimm

This was a book I had planned to read aloud to the kids but when my eldest was starved for reading material, I threw this one his way. He read it in about 3 sittings – faster than I did anyway. He was delighted by it and recounted many of the fun parts to his younger sister. Any fan of fairy tales will be happy with this one. It manages to combine some of the best of the Grimm tales into one story featuring Hansel and Gretel. The author uses a lot of clever narration, jumping in here and there to address the reader directly, stuff like “Make sure any little kids around aren't listening to this next part.” After devouring the first half of the book, my son couldn't wait to tell me that Hansel & Gretel “had their heads cut off!” And my daughter added, “But they put them back on again!” And the author slips in some genuine bits from the source material to educate you a little about the fairy tales. It's told in a breezy, no-nonsense manner that makes for a fast, fun read.