Hansel and Gretel Standard Edition (A Toon Graphic)

by Neil Gaiman, Lorenzo Mattotti (Illustrator)

Overview

"If this isn't the definitive edition of Hansel and Gretel, it's absolutely necessary."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Best-selling author Neil Gaiman and fine artist Lorenzo Mattotti join forces to create Hansel & Gretel, a stunning book that's at once as familiar as a dream and as evocative as a nightmare. Mattotti's sweeping ink illustrations capture the terror and longing found in the classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale. Gaiman crafts an original text filled with his signature wit and pathos that is sure to become a favorite of readers everywhere, young and old.

Neil Gaiman is the best-selling author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio, theater, 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 writing. He has said that the story of Hansel and Gretel is what made him want to be a writer.

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781935179627
Publisher:	Astra Publishing House
Publication date:	10/28/2014
Series:	Toon
Pages:	56
Sales rank:	506,123
Product dimensions:	7.40(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	1030L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

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 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 writing. He has said that the story of Hansel and Gretel is what made him want to be a writer. 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.

Hometown:

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Date of Birth:

November 10, 1960

Place of Birth:

Portchester, England

Education:

Attended Ardingly College Junior School, 1970-74, and Whitgift School, 1974-77

Website:

http://www.neilgaiman.com

Editorial Reviews

Written with a devastating spareness by Neil Gaiman and fearsomely illustrated in shades of black by Lorenzo Mattotti, the newest version of Hansel and Gretel astonishes from start to finish. It doesn't hurt that the book itself is a gorgeous and carefully made object, with a black floral motif on its pages' decorated borders, along with red drop caps and tall, round gray page numbers…All the well-chosen detail provides an ideal backdrop for what Gaiman and Mattotti have done with the Grimm Brothers' familiar story…Their rendition brings a freshness and even a feeling of majesty to the little tale. Some great, roiling essence of the human condition—our fate of shuttling between the darkness and the light—seems to inhabit its pages.

The New York Times - Maria Russo

★ 08/25/2014
Master storyteller Gaiman (The Graveyard Book) plumbs the dark depths of Hansel and Gretel, imagining the pair’s mother scheming to abandon them (“Two dead are better than four dead,” she tells their father. “That is mathematics, and it is logic”) and reveling in the witch’s cruelty. “Today, when the oven is hot enough, we will roast your brother,” she announces to Gretel. “But do not be sad. I will give you his bones to chew, little one.” Italian illustrator Mattotti contributes elegant b&w ink spreads that alternate with spreads of text. His artistry flows from the movement of his brush and the play of light and shadow. The witch’s house, tiled with baroque decorations and topped with a graceful tower, is unexpectedly beautiful; light pours through the barley sugar windows. The absence of color is a foil for Gaiman’s panoply of words: “gloves and hats of travelers, and coins of cold and of silver, a string of pearls, chains of gold and chains of silver.” Gaiman makes the story’s horrors feel very real and very human, and Mattotti’s artwork is genuinely chilling. Ages 7–10. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Hansel and Gretel astonishes from start to finish…The book itself is a gorgeous and carefully made object…Their rendition brings a freshness and even a feeling of majesty to the little tale.
—New York Times

If this isn't the definitive edition of "Hansel and Gretel," it's absolutely necessary. ... The swirling lines look as though they might start moving if seen at just the right moment. The pictures have inspired Gaiman to write some of his most beautiful sentences... Grimm version is as frightening as a bedtime story gets, but this version will scare people in new ways, and some of those people may need to start drawing right away.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Master storyteller Gaiman plumbs the dark depths of Hansel and Gretel... Italian illustrator Mattotti contributes elegant b&w ink spreads that alternate with spreads of text. His artistry flows from the movement of his brush and the play of light and shadow. ... Gaiman makes the story’s horrors feel very real and very human, and Mattotti’s artwork is genuinely chilling.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Newbery Medal–winner Neil Gaiman retells Hansel and Gretel as a story of parents plotting a murder by neglect, with full-spread India ink compositions by Lorenzo Mattotti as dark and terrifying as his forest setting. ... Gaiman's text is a study in minimalism, yet he includes every salient detail... A perfectly frightful treat.
—Shelf Awareness (starred review)

On simple, well-designed pages of just text, Gaiman tells a fairly standard version of Hansel and Gretel. And while the story is unsettling enough on its own, it’s Mattotti’s full-bleed india ink illustrations that dial up the creep factor. ... Mattotti masterfully and subtly uses negative space so each image isn’t immediately noticeable, like the most menacing game of hide-and-seek, and the abrupt oscillation between the clean, white pages of words and the silent, chilling dusky pictures is striking. While this isn’t a graphic novel per se, Gaiman’s fans and lovers of visual storytelling will devour this eerie version of a classic.
—Booklist

There is no question that Gaiman is an incredibly gifted wordsmith, and his retelling hearkens back to the Grimms’s original narrative. The most inspirational part of this book is Mattotti’s artwork. Pitch-black India ink is used to great effect, creating dark and terrifying landscapes that threaten to envelop the tiny figures of the children. An extensive note on the history of the tale’s origins is included as back matter. Mattotti’s amazing work will inspire a new generation of readers, and this volume will give chills.
—School Library Journal

I love Gaiman’s and Mattotti’s Hansel & Gretel. The writing is rich. ("They went so deep into the old forest that the sunlight was stained green by the leaves.") And the art is striking. I have never seen a more chill-inducing rendition of the witch's gingerbread cottage. I swear it looks like there's a skull atop it.
—Julie Danielson, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Some books you’re excited about because you like the author and you know what to expect. Others are exciting because you like the author and you have no idea what to expect. That’s the case with this TOON Books version of Hansel & Gretel written by Neil Gaiman.
—Travis Jonker, 100 Scope Notes

[Gaiman and Mattotti] tell this Grimm's tale the way it should be told: fiercely and beautifully.
—Newsday

When it comes to new takes on fairy tales, the most spectacular by far is Neil Gaiman's brilliant new Hansel and Gretel.
—The Buffalo News

From the Publisher

★ 2014-07-16
If this isn't the definitive edition of "Hansel and Gretel," it's absolutely necessary. It would be easy for readers to believe that Mattotti drew these pictures while listening to a storyteller by firelight, as if he grabbed a piece of charcoal straight out of the ashes, because he needed to draw the characters right away. The truth may be even more amazing. The pictures were inspired by a Metropolitan Opera production of the Humperdinck favorite, and the thick patches of ink contain five different colors, though the effect is of enveloping blackness. The swirling lines look as though they might start moving if seen at just the right moment. The pictures have inspired Gaiman to write some of his most beautiful sentences, direct and horrifying: "If you do not eat," says the woodcutter's wife, "then you will not be able to swing an axe. And if you cannot cut down a tree, or haul the wood into the town, then we all starve and die." The wordless double-page spreads alternate with text-filled spreads, with lines set generously apart and framed by delicate flowers. A deluxe version, about half again as big, features a die-cut cover but is otherwise equally, spectacularly understated. The Grimm version is as frightening as a bedtime story gets, but this version will scare people in new ways, and some of those people may need to start drawing right away. (historical notes) (Picture book/fairy tale. 7-12)

Kirkus Reviews