Once upon a time there was a poor woodcutter who lived near a great forest with his wife and his two children. The little boy was called Hansel, and the little girl’s name was Gretel.
So begins this classic Grimm tale of two innocent children, abandoned in the forest by their cruel mother, who happen upon the enchanting gingerbread house of a wicked witch. Hansel’s cunning and little Gretel’s courage foil the witch’s evil plan to fatten them up and eat them, and in the best fairy tale tradition, they and their loving father live happily ever after.
Dorothee Duntze’s elegant, stylized illustrations provide an intriguing new interpretation of this childhood favorite, a satisfying story of evil punished and goodness rewarded.
Author Biography: Dorothee Duntze was born in Reims, France. She studied art at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Reims and the Ecole des Arts Decoratifs in Strasbourg. Among the other books she has illustrated for North-South are The Twelve Days of Christmas, The Emperor’s New Clothes, The Princess and the Pea, and The Twelve Dancing Princesses.