The spookiest of seasons has arrived, and with it the first children’s title from High King of Horror writing, Stephen King. In Hansel and Gretel (Hachette, 6+, £20), King has written a new version of the grim Grimm fairytale, to complement designs that the late great American illustrator, Maurice Sendak, created for Engelbert Humperdinck’s operatic version of the story.
It is hard to know which is creepier, Sendak’s chilling crayon picture of a sack of crying children or King’s succinct image of “a witch on a broomstick, flying through the clouds with a bag behind her filled with screaming kids”. There is, as per convention, a hard-won happy ending, where Hansel and his sister are rewarded for their courage by reunion with their father, but if your young reader li
Continue Reading on The Irish Times
This preview shows approximately 15% of the article. Read the full story on the publisher's website to support quality journalism.