Hansel and Gretel - Paul O. Zelinsky, Rika Lesser, Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm
There are really a lot of great kids books out there these days and apparently no reason to revisit these old morbid tales, but for some reason it's very important for me to pass these classics on to Izzy.

But there is still something so magical about these stories. I think children can handle a little more than we give them credit for. But do beware - Hansel and Gretel (particularly this version) is not for the faint of heart. We're talking about abandonment, starvation, and canibalism! Be prepared for lots of questions. But I think good books stimulate conversation - that's why we read to our kids in the first place!

And the most important thing to take from this story is how the children deal with adversity. They don't passively accept their fate. Instead they are very clever and repeatedly find ways to save themselves. Sure, children in the real world who had to deal with all that Hansel and Gretel experience would need some serious therapy, but that wasn't an option back in Grimm days...You were just lucky to be alive so you just lived 'happily ever after'. There is some simplicity in this that appeals to me. Maybe this is another lesson that we could all take from this story in a world where we all sit around and feel sorry for ourselves and our messed up childhoods. My guess is that most of us have never been left to starve by our mothers or almost eaten by a witch ;-)

This is illustrated by the same artist that illustrated my favorite version of Rapunzel (another rather morbid tale). The illustrations are gloomy, but also very vivid and fit perfectly with the story. This is one to own!