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<\/p>\nIt’s time for a quick Art Appreciation Moment:<\/p>\n
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I’ve already mentioned several times here at 7-Imp how much I love Cynthia Rylant’s new adaptation of Hansel and Gretel<\/em><\/strong><\/a> (Hyperion, September ’08), illustrated by Jen Corace<\/strong><\/a> (including here<\/strong><\/a>, when Jen stopped by one Sunday in July). Any book that opens thusly settles in and takes a cozy spot in the fairy-tale portion of my heart: <\/p>\n It has been said that guardian spirits watch over and protect small children, and that may be so. But there are also stories of children who find the courage to protect themselves. <\/p>\n Such is the story of Hansel and Gretel.<\/em><\/p>\n Or, as the publisher puts it in their product description, “…the witch, whose delicious house lured Hansel and his sister, Gretel, had forgotten two things about lost children: they can be very clever and very brave<\/em>.” {Geeky emphasis is all mine.}<\/p>\n Recently, I was discussing how great this new adaptation is with a friend who had purchased a copy for his daughter, and I was all inspired again to see if Jen could share even more art from it. Lucky for me, she said yes. Here are a small handful of illustrations from the book:<\/p>\n And the one she shared with us last July:<\/p>\n And I simply had<\/em> to share some of Jen’s work in the book. I love Jen’s style. There is sometimes a darkness and always a bit of mystery to her work, making her a good fit for the darker elements of the tale. Yet, there simultaneously exists a gentleness and an innocence in her work, making her an even better<\/em> fit for this tale of the brave children who outwit the monster. <\/p>\n Many thanks to Jen for stopping by and sharing. There’s more of her work here from our July post<\/strong><\/a>, here<\/strong><\/a> at her web site, and here<\/strong><\/a> at her blog. I also think I talked her into an interview. Score. <\/p>\n Thus ends our Art Appreciation Moment. <\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/blaine.org\/jules\/hgtree.jpg\")
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Rylant makes the story her own. So much so, in fact, that — as the Booklist<\/em> review points out — no credit to the Grimm brothers or to any other traditional source is given, though the review adds that the writing is “clean and well-cadenced.” <\/p>\n