Award-winning author Neil Gaiman has, in more than four dozen books, delighted fans with tales ranging from Coraline to American Gods. He says of Hansel and Gretel, available for the first time in an affordable paperback edition: “I’m as proud of this retelling as I have been of anything I have ever written.” | |
Neil Gaiman first encountered Hansel and Gretel, the Grimm Brothers’ tale about two children abandoned by their parents in the forest and their encounter with a flesh-eating witch, when he was about five years old. It has haunted him since. | |
As Gaiman recounts in a new author’s note, the story took on new meaning after his 2014 visit to Jordan to meet with Syrian refugees. The people in the camps told him of hunger, of drinking swamp water, of eating cats and dogs, and of eating leaves and grass. The devastations of war, in particular the visceral hunger which accompanies it, were on his mind when he undertook to update the classic tale for today’s reader. | |
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In collaboration with Italian artist Lorenzo Mattotti, whose haunting black-and-white ink images inspired the text, this retelling displays Gaiman’s signature wit and penetrating insight.
At a time when children face numerous stark realities—whether it be gun violence or climate change or war—often with more clarity and courage than the adults around them, this update remains true to the original version: ignorance is not protection.
As Gaiman put it: “I think it is really important to show dark things to kids—and in the showing, to also show that dark things can be beaten, that you have power. Tell them you can fight back. Tell them you can win. Because you can, but you have to know that."
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A TOON GRAPHIC
INTEREST LEVEL: Age 6+
READING LEVEL: Grade 3+
LEXILE READING LEVEL: 1030L
AUTHORS: Neil Gaiman & Lorenzo Mattotti
LANGUAGE: English
PAGES: 52
DIMENSIONS: 7.75" x 10"
RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2023
PB ISBN: 978-1-66266-504-2 | |
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"And for me, the thing that is so big and so important about the darkness is it’s like an inoculation. You know you are giving somebody darkness in a form that is not overwhelming—it’s understandable. They can envelop it, they can take it into themselves, they can cope with it. And, it’s okay. It’s safe to tell you that story, as long as you tell them that you can be smart and you can be brave and you can be tricky and you can be plucky and you can keep going." –Neil Gaiman, about Hansel & Gretel | |
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Be brave, be bold, and keep your wits about you–Gaiman and Mattotti are welcoming you into the woods. | |
This all happened a long time ago, in your grandmother's time, or in her grandfather's. A long time ago. Back then, we all lived on the edge of the great forest. | |
 Photo by Kimberly Butler. | NEIL GAIMAN is the bestselling author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio, theatre and films for children and adults alike. His work has received many international awards, including the Newbery and Carnegie Medals, as well as Hugos, two Nebulas, a World Fantasy Award, four Bram Stoker Awards, six Locus Awards, and countless other honors. He is a pillar of modern fantasy, with multiple television and film adaptations of his work, including Good Omens, American Gods, Coraline and Sandman. Neil Gaiman has said that the story of Hansel and Gretel has haunted him since he was five years old! | |
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LORENZO MATTOTTI is an Italian comics and graphic artist living in Paris. A frequent contributor of covers for The New Yorker, he's recognized as one of the most outstanding international exponents of comics art. Mattotti won an Eisner Award for his graphic novel Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. He collaborated with Lou Reed in re-imaging Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven. | |
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For more information on ordering Hansel and Gretel for your library, store or classroom, check it out on Edelweiss! | |
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