Hansel and Gretel

"This splendidly chilling variation of the Brothers Grimm story is built around costume and set designs that late Caldecott Medalist Sendak produced for a Humperdinck opera... While the narrative's characterizations and diction hew to tradition its horrors land with fresh force in an epic retelling that suits the illustrations' eerie magnificence." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Hansel and Gretel AGE 6, 4 stars From the editors: An inspired reboot from the brilliant pairing of horror master Stephen King and the late children's author-illustrator Maurice Sendak. The spooky art and text maintain the menacing atmosphere of the kids' perilous adventure.

Hansel and Gretel may be a European tale, but this is an unapologetically American retelling. The house is made of cookies and gumdrops, the wicked stepmother makes "a jelly roll-up for her husband and a thick meat sandwich for herself". Dressed like Huckleberry Finn, Hansel dreams of a witch flying "with a bag of stolen kiddos" on her magic broom. - The Times (London)

King makes good on his promise to "leave in all the good parts" while also teasing out other themes of hypocrisy and the lies people tell in the name of religion. "God will protect the little ones, I'm sure of it," the broom-maker's wicked wife says soothingly while squirrelling away joints of beef. "At the very worst, they will fill their bellies with manna from heaven." When "the kiddos" are reunited with their father, sunlight breaks unnaturally brightly across Sendak's orange sky. "And you know what comes next?" King says. "They lived happily ever after." Do you believe him? - The Times (London)