7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #807:
Featuring Holly Berry and Gerda Muller
August 14th, 2022 by jules
(Click spread to enlarge)
“Storytelling is as old as humankind. Before people could write or read, they entertained each other, taught lessons, shared information, and expressed universal truths by telling stories.” This is the introduction to Holly Berry’s picture book Told and Retold: Around the World with Aesop’s Fables (Philomel, August 2022). And it applies to the other book I’m featuring today, Gerda Muller’s The Musicians of Bremen: A Grimm’s Fairy Tale (Floris), originally released in France nearly a decade ago but coming to shelves next month in a (second) U.S. edition.
Let’s take a look at these two new picture books, celebrating traditional tales. …
First up is Muller’s The Musicians of Bremen. As noted, Muller — who in the past 50 years has published more than 120 children’s books — originally published this in French in 2014. It was released in English in 2015, and this year we see a second edition. This is the satisfying classic Grimm Brothers’ tale of four misfit, outcast, and discarded animals — a donkey, a dog, a cat, and a rooster — who set out to the town of Bremen. (Despite the story’s title, they never quite make it there.) When they come upon a cabin, filled with robbers feasting on a delicious meal, the animals outwit the thieves and eat “until they could eat no more.” When one of the robbers return, he’s attacked in the darkness (the dog bites, the cat scratches, the donkey kicks, and the rooster cries out) and reports to his comrades: “Inside the cabin, there was a man by the door who stabbed me with a knife, and a terrible witch who scratched me with her pointed nails! Then a giant struck me with his club, and up in the roof someone cried, ‘Catch-the-robber-doo!’ So I got out as fast as I could.”
Muller’s meticulous linework and detailed, panoramic vistas are exquisite. She conveys shifting sunlight and shadows especially well here, and the earth-toned palette is warm and pure. She eschews anthropomorphizing the animals (with regard to their appearance, that is, because these are, of course, talking animals) and captures their movements particularly well. There are many spreads below so that you can see for yourself. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself lingering too long over each spread, admiring Muller’s draftmanship. (I mean, just look at that opening spread below!)
Holly Berry takes Aesop around the world in Told and Retold. The titular character of Aesop’s “The Heron” is placed in Eastern North America; “The Lion and the Mouse” is set in East Africa; “The Tortoise and the Hare” in Southwest North America; “The Wolf and the Crane” in North Asia; and so on. Berry tells the tales in direct, plainspoken language, often using the truly inviting question-and-answer format and an effective use of exclamation points: “Was Fox upset he never got to eat the grapes? No, he wasn’t!” She renders these illustrations via hand-carved linoleum block prints with vivid jewel tones. Intermittently throughout the book, we see the animal protagonists marching together and are treated in the end to a spread depicting them all marching toward Aesop himself, sitting with a sroll under a tree. These are images brimming with energy and life. See for yourself below.
his master would want to get a new donkey.”
(Click spread to enlarge)
The rooster said yes, and they set off together.”
(Click spread to enlarge)
(Click spread to enlarge)
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He turned to the youngest. ‘Go and see what’s in there,’ he ordered.”
(Two images above: Click either spread to see spread in its entirety)
(Click spread to enlarge)
(Click spread to enlarge and read story in its entirety)
(Click spread to enlarge and read story in its entirety)
(Click spread to enlarge and read story in its entirety)
THE MUSICIANS OF BREMEN: A GRIMM’S FAIRY TALE. First published in French as Les quatre musiciens de Brême by l’école des loisirs, Paris in 2014. Published in English by Floris Books, Edinburgh in 2015. Second edition 2022. French edition © 2014 l’école des loisirs. English edition © 2015, 2022 Floris Books. Illustrations reproduced by permission of Floris Books.
TOLD AND RETOLD: AROUND THE WORLD WITH AEOOP’S FABLES. Copyright © 2022 by Holly Berry. Illustrations reproduced by permission of the publisher, Philomel Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House, New York.
Note for any new readers: 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks is a weekly meeting ground for taking some time to reflect on Seven(ish) Exceptionally Fabulous, Beautiful, Interesting, Hilarious, or Otherwise Positive Noteworthy Things from the past week, whether book-related or not, that happened to you. New kickers are always welcome.
1) An exceedingly subtle and tantalizing — but very much there — breeze of autumn in the air.
2) The Tiny Desk Concert with Andrew Bird and Iron & Wine.
3) Phoebe Wahl’s illustrated NYT op-ed from this past week.
4) Nadja and Laszlo’s wedding tunes in last week’s episode of What We Do in the Shadows.
5) Amanda Svensson’s A System So Magnificent It Is Blinding.
6) Hearing all about my daughter’s high school Film in Literature class.
7) Last, but far from least, the passage of a climate bill.
What are YOUR kicks this week?
As a child, I adored traditional and fairy tales. As a librarian, I created a play featuring some of Aesop’s fables. I love these books.
by Jone August 14th, 2022 at 11:55 amJules, please send some of the breeze of autumn to the west. And here’s to the climate bill.
My kicks,
1. Book club meets tonight and we’re talking and deciding books.
2. Am reading The Firekeeper’s Daughter.
3. Going into the Columbia Gorge to watch the super moon rise on Thursday.
4. Painting and stenciling a books case for the writing/art room.
5. Time on the deck.
6. Making plans.
7. Writing.
Have a good week.
Love these illustrations and these stories. Aesop’s Fables is an old favorite, and have always loved The Musician’s of Bremen.
Jules – I love the wackadoodle chaos of Nadja and Lazslo so much. There’s a fun tik-tok and Insta thing going around with dog’s doing cute things while Lazslo is saying in voiceover: “he’s my best friend, he’s my pal, he’s my home boy, my rotten soldier, he’s my sweet cheese, my good time boy.” and it is the best. That Film in Literature hs class sounds awesome! And yay for the Climate Bill!
My kicks this week:
1) Made a filing deadline for briefs on a case.
2) House and dog sat for a sweet pup for a couple of days. The pup was good company for my work reading and researching, and the house was charming with an awesome backyard oasis.
3) Learning that there was an event called the Great Daylight Fireball of 1972 and seeing some photos and info from NASA about it. My inner nerd was delighted.
4) Perfect summer weather.
5) Working on some changes to my garden landscaping.
6) The new A League of Their Own series. I thought it was just going to be a copy of the movie, but it goes deeper into the real history of the women and the league.
7) Maybelle Blair – at 95 she is still going strong and is such an advocate for women’s sports. https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2022-08-09/maybelle-blair-a-league-of-her-own-amazon-prime-series
7.5) The excitement of trying new things.
Have a great week Imps!
by Rachel August 14th, 2022 at 11:56 amJust missed you in cyber space Jone – yay for watching the super moon from the Gorge! Sounds like it was a full week. Have a fun book club meeting!
by Rachel August 14th, 2022 at 11:58 amHi Imps! Hello Holly and Gerda and all of the animals!
Jules: Ooh, I want to know what’s on her syllabus!
Jone: Have fun picking books and working on the bookcase. Say hello to the moon for me!
Yay Rachel!
My kicks from the past week:
by Little Willow August 14th, 2022 at 1:54 pm1) Visit
2) Decent rather than disappointing
3) Catchy tunes
4) Completing errands
5) Good
6) Electric fans
7) Timing
Jone, have fun at your book club. May you all pick great books. Happy writing!
Rachel, I might have to join Tik Tok just for that. Love that second kick! I’ll have to look up the Great Daylight Fireweall event. (That was my birth year.) I’m looking forward to starting A League of Their Own. (What a great cast.) Glad to hear you like it.
Little Willow, not sure about the syllabus quite yet, but I’ve seen the list of movies they’ll be watching, which looks great to me. …. I like that second kick. High five for looking on the bright side.
Have a good week, you all!
by jules August 14th, 2022 at 4:03 pm