Picture book 9

Title: Hansel and Gretel

Author: Rika Lesser
Illustrator: Paul O. Zelinsky
Genre: Picture book, modern fantasy, folktale
Sub Genre: Family, Following your heart
Theme: Family, love, persistence, choices, instinct
Primary and secondary characters: Hansel, Gretel, their mom and dad, and the old lady in the candy house

Awards, date of publication: 1984 Caldecott Honor book

Publishing company: Dodd, Mead and Company

Summary and how it can be used in the classroom: This is the story of two young children who are betrayed by their parents. The family is short on food so the mom wants to abandon the children in the woods. One day she does this, and the children end up wandering to an old hag’s house who wants to eat them. The children have to fight for their lives. They end up pushing the old hang into a fire and getting away with all of her food and jewels. They wind up finding their way back home only to find out their mother had died. It was a relief to hear this. The two children and their father lived happily ever after. This book can be used in the classroom to show how people can work together to solve problems. It can also show that everyone has family issues, its how you deal with them that matter.