Hansel and Gretel retold by Rika Lesser, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky

 Hansel and Gretel retold by Rika Lesser, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky

Summary: A poor woodcutter could barely feed his wife and two children, Hansel and Gretel. One night his wife convinced him to take Hansel and Gretel out into the woods and abandon them there. However, Hansel over heard their parents talking and went outside to gather some shiny pebbles. The next morning, as their parents lead them into the woods, Hansel would drop a pebble so that later on Gretel and him could follow the pebbles back home. They waited hours after their parents left them before returning home. When they got home, only their father was happy to see them. A few days later, their mother again convinced their father to take them deeper into the woods. Once again, Hansel overheard their plan and decided that this time he would leave a trail of bread that would lead them back home. Only this time when Hansel tried to look for the bread crumbs he had found that the birds had eaten them all up! Hansel did not give up, and instead took his sister's hand and walked through the woods. As they walked they came across a small house made of sweet treats! However, this sweet house was home to an old woman. This old woman invited the children into her home, only at night she took Hansel and put him in a stall. The told woman forced Gretel to feed Hansel, so that he could be fat enough for her to eat. Only, Hansel tricked the old woman into thinking that he was not getting any fatter as the days went by. Since the old woman thought Hansel was still skinny, she tried to trick Gretel into an oven, so that she could eat her instead. Luckily, Gretel knew what the old woman was trying to do and tricked her into getting into the oven instead. Once the old woman was trapped she began to burn in the oven and Hansel and Gretel escaped, taking some jewelry and other valuables from the old woman's house. Hansel and Gretel eventually found their home where their Father rejoiced and told the, the news that their mother had passed away. The woodcutter and his children, Hansel and Gretel, lived happily ever after.

Summary: Hansel and Gretel is a K-3 reading level, and is a classic story that all children are familiar with. However, I would be very cautious about which retelling I am putting in my classroom because they can be quite dark, such as this one, which uses words like "slaughter". Hansel and Gretel's story would be a good lesson, for younger students, about the dangers of talking to strangers.