Anthea Bell (1936–2018)

Summary: This story is very similar to our Americanized version of Cinderella, but this one is a Russian folktale. It's about a young girl named Vasilisa who's mother died and gave her a magical doll to watch over her. When Vasilisa's father remarries an evil woman, she also inherits two evil step sisters. They make Vasilisa go into the forest to retrieve something from the scary witch, Baba Yaga, who is known for eating anyone she pleases. Thankfully, Vasilisa's doll succeeds in keeping her safe and once she passes all of Baba Yaga's tests, she is set free and has a happy ending.

Critique of Genre: Folktale because there's the all evil characters (step mother and sisters) and the pure/good character (Vasilisa), who gets her happy ending or "reward" at the end by finding true love and being free of her stepmother and step siblings.

Age: Intermediate (Might be too scary for younger kids)

Media: Ultra HD print… (altro)

This story of Jack and the Beanstalk is retelling of the classic fairytale. Jack must sell his cow because his mother has no more money and the cow doesn't produce any milk. When he goes to sell the cow, he gets tricked into trading the cow for five magic beans. Jack's mom is furious with him and she throws the beans outside. However, the beans are magical and a giant beanstalk grows outside the house. Jack climbs the beanstalk and meets an ogre's wife who warns him of the dangerous ogre. Jack ignores her warning and instead tricks the couple and takes the gold coins for his mother. Jack does this a few times and each time he doesn't get caught. The last time he goes up the beanstalk, the ogre catches Jack as he is taking the harp and chases after him. Jack, with the help of his mother, chops the beanstalk with an axe and he and his mother live a very rich and happy life. The author uses rhyming, puns, imagery, and exaggeration to tell the story. The theme of the story is how one can outsmart another. In the beginning, the man outsmarts Jack when he trades the cow for the beans. Then Jack outsmarts the ogre and gets his golden coins, hen, and harp. Another theme is good vs evil. Jack would be considered the good character while the ogre is considered bad since he likes to kill and eat little boys. The story shows how good always wins in the end.… (altro)

When a king gives one of his ministers an impossible task to complete, the minister's clever daughter helps him to find a solution, winning the admiration, and eventually the love, of their ruler. Although she promises, when she and the king marry, that she will not interfere with her husband's legal decisions, the wise young queen finds herself doing just that, after a young boy is unjustly deprived of his calf. Having angered her husband, the queen is condemned to exile, although she does convince her angry spouse to allow her to take the thing "she loves most" with her...

Simply told by prolific translator Anthea Bell, and beautifully illustrated by Chihiro Iwasaki - one of Japan's most beloved picture-book artists - The Wise Queen is an entertaining tale in which wisdom triumphs over resentment and small-minded jealousy. I enjoyed it immensely, although I was irritated at its description as a "European" tale. Having ranted about those books in which "folktales" are described as "Indian" or "Native American," with no further information given - as if the diverse folk traditions of an entire continent could somehow be collapsed into one undifferentiated whole - I find myself as unsympathetic to the same carelessness (somewhat less common, I think) in the retelling of European folklore. There is a brief note at the front, mentioning that this version was collected by Moses Gaster. Should I therefore assume that it is either Jewish or Romanian? If so, why not just say so, and mention that there are many other European variants?

Four stars for the tale itself, and for the lovely watercolor artwork. The odd (non)classification issue might have merited a deduction of one star, but I decided to be generous, since some information as to source was provided.… (altro)

This is a story about a minister's daughter that is very smart and good at solving brain teasers. She is married to the king and agrees to not meddle in his affairs. But one day she does, in trying to help a boy get his calf back. When the king finds out he tells her she has to leave his palace. The woman makes two requests, including a feast and the ability to take one thing out of the castle that she loved the most. She actually ended up taking the king himself. When the king realized how much she loved him along with how smart she was, in her ability to trick even him, he let her come back to the palace. The king let her help him in all his future affairs anf they lived happily ever after. I enjoyed this story and I think kids will too.… (altro)