This easy-to-read kids’ book is suitable for beginning readers and to read aloud to younger audiences.

It re-tells three folktales from different cultures all featuring children outwitting an evil character who wants to eat them. The three re-tellings are framed by a story of three modern-day American kids from three different ethnic backgrounds telling each other these tales. The American kids point out the origins and similarities of the tales to the reader. The framing device is more than a bit forced. It feels very didactic.

The folktales are illustrated by black-and-white drawings in typical kids- book style—no frills. The lack of color, unfortunately extents to the proses. Stories that have thrilled, delighted, and enchanted for centuries are here rendered in colorless, dry, minimalist text. The telling details that make the traditional stories scary and memorable (the cottage made of sweet gingerbread irresistible to the hungry siblings and the blind witch tricked into believing Hansel is too thin to cook by being offered a gnawed bone to feel, for example) are entirely lacking. Stripped to their barest bones, the action in these stories seems just rather random and inexplicable. OK, maybe the crocodile in the African tale was a bit interesting but, on the whole, the book is dull as dishwater.

Reading this book, I can just picture the lesson plan it is intended to fulfill. I suggest that anyone wishing to teach that lesson simply turn to any of the abundant primary sources for the kind of lively, memorable language and imagery that has kept kids coming back to these tales time out-of-mind. ( )

It's Not about the Crumbs! explores parallel tales across countries in an easy to read book for kids. I was really impressed with the three versions of Hansel and Gretel that were presented. The reader is allowed to explore the story from a mixture of European sources, from an African version and then from a Japanese version. As an older reader, and one who loves reading the same tale from different perspectives, I had a great time reading all three and seeing where they had similarities!

As to reading level, although the book claims that it is "easy-to-read" and for younger readers, I'm not entirely sure what level this would be for. I can say that my first grade class would definitely have trouble with some of the words in this book. Although the tales are definitely written in kid-friendly language, there are also some concepts that they might not grasp or feel uncomfortable with.

I think this is definitely a great asset to parents who have reluctant readers! I would suggest that parents read it first though to see if it matches their child's reading level, and also to see if they are comfortable with the story matter. After all, we all know fairy tales can be a little dark at times. Overall I'd give this book a solid four on the recommendation scale! ( )

“It’s Not About The Crumbs” was an interesting look at a series of books currently being written for beginning readers that deal with the concept of Parallel Myths. While I applaud the focus on this interesting occurrence in folk literature, I was not impressed on whole with this book. It was written in such a way that I found the sentence structure to be awkward at times. I also felt it was almost too dumbed down for children. I thought the stories chosen were suitable examples of parallel myth, though I did feel that the stories were very dark for such a low reading level. It seemed you would either want to make the reading level more difficult or the stories a bit milder. Overall I applaud the effort and I think this series would have great potential for teaching children stories that might be outside of their standard fairy tales. ( )

This is a great little chapterbook perfect for reluctant readers. Within a framing story, it tells and retells the Hansel and Gretel story from 3 different cultures. A reluctant reader will appreciate the balance of repetition and extension. This is highly supportive of comprehension through compare and contrast. I am thinking of getting some of the other books in this series.

As a 2nd-5th grade teacher, I thought the cover of this book would attract students. I think it's great that someone is writing about the old classic stories and even putting a multi-cultural spin on it by including versions of Hansel and Gretel from other countries. It seemed like the 3 kids the appear on the cover aren't developed enough throughout the book and the "popcorn story" isn't quite developed enough either. The story could have had a better ending but the actual bulk of the story is great! I teach struggling and ELL 3rd graders and I would most likely need to assist them about 30% of the time for this book. ( )