A review by turrean
Brave Red, Smart Frog: A New Book of Old Tales by Emily Jenkins
3.0
Jenkins (author of the splendid Toys Go Out stories) retells seven traditional tales. In an author’s note at the finish, she explains that she wished to tell the tales faithfully, but also to answer questions about why a stepmother might reject her stepchildren, or an elegant princess come to love a slimy frog.
They are indeed faithful retellings, with plenty of amusing dialog (especially the noodleheads in the two comic tales.) The linking of the tales was clever; the frozen forest and the neighboring sunny forest are home to woodcutters and evil stepmothers aplenty. And the artwork by Eason is gorgeous — I remember the cover he did for The Wolves of Willloughby Chase!
Jenkins does not always answer her questions more clearly than many other retellings. For example, in some of the other versions of the story, authors simply state that Hansel and Gretel’s stepmother died in the children’s absence. Jenkins asks why stepmother should have died. When the witch has died, Hansel comments that he’s sure Stepmother is dead, too: “...Old Mother and Stepmother, too,“ said Hansel. “I am mostly certain.“ And he’s right. Were the Stepmother and Old Mother the same person? If so, why would the stepmother consent to starve with her new husband and children when she could make an edible house with her powers? Or was she herself eaten by those hungry creatures on the way home? If Jenkins means me to infer more, it’s too subtle for me.
The Frog Prince was easily my favorite of the tales. The arguments between the bored princess and the clever frog are funny, and the ending is lovely. I was delighted to read that the now-wedded couple occasionally quarreled to keep the dullness at bay.
They are indeed faithful retellings, with plenty of amusing dialog (especially the noodleheads in the two comic tales.) The linking of the tales was clever; the frozen forest and the neighboring sunny forest are home to woodcutters and evil stepmothers aplenty. And the artwork by Eason is gorgeous — I remember the cover he did for The Wolves of Willloughby Chase!
Jenkins does not always answer her questions more clearly than many other retellings. For example, in some of the other versions of the story, authors simply state that Hansel and Gretel’s stepmother died in the children’s absence. Jenkins asks why stepmother should have died. When the witch has died, Hansel comments that he’s sure Stepmother is dead, too: “...Old Mother and Stepmother, too,“ said Hansel. “I am mostly certain.“ And he’s right. Were the Stepmother and Old Mother the same person? If so, why would the stepmother consent to starve with her new husband and children when she could make an edible house with her powers? Or was she herself eaten by those hungry creatures on the way home? If Jenkins means me to infer more, it’s too subtle for me.
The Frog Prince was easily my favorite of the tales. The arguments between the bored princess and the clever frog are funny, and the ending is lovely. I was delighted to read that the now-wedded couple occasionally quarreled to keep the dullness at bay.