Caldecott Honor winner Rachel Isadora gives readers a stunning new interpretation of this classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale, setting the infamous witch's cottage deep in a lush African forest. Hansel and Gretel's plight feels all the more threatening as they're plunged into the thick, dark jungle of Isadora's rich collages. As in The Princess and the Pea (2007) and numerous other retellings, Isadora sets a traditional European fairy tale in an African setting. This time, Isadora chooses one of the scariest stories ever told about small kids who must fight evil, powerful adults. Spare prose combines with lush, bright cut-paper collage illustrations that show Hansel and Gretel abandoned in the dense forest, lured and locked up, and then finally triumphant after they trick the witch and push her into the burning oven. The immensely detailed double-page spreads are dense with jungle animals and plants, but the real terror is inside the witch’s house, filled with dark silhouettes. Drawing on beautiful, geometric African patterns common to traditional Kente cloth, Isadora balances her compositions with soothing white space. Kids will be held by this strong retelling of the familiar story about a brave boy and girl who overcome a looming threat and find their way home. Preschool-Grade 2. --Hazel Rochman [Isadora pieces] colorfully patterned and hand-painted papers together to create bold, busy eye-catching scenes with a strong ethnic feel...[a] highly artistic...presentation. -- School Library Journal Rachel Isadora began dancing at the age of eight. She trained at George Balanchine's School of American Ballet and has danced professionally. Rachel lives in New York City with her family. Rachel Isadora has illustrated many books set in the world of dance and theater, including Opening Night , My Ballet Class , Swan Lake , The Little Match Girl , and Ben's Trumpet , which received the Caldecott Honor Award and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Award. copyright © 2000 by Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers. All rights reserved. Rachel Isadora began dancing at the age of eight. She trained at George Balanchine's School of American Ballet and has danced professionally. Rachel lives in New York City with her family. Rachel Isadora has illustrated many books set in the world of dance and theater, including Opening Night , My Ballet Class , Swan Lake , The Little Match Girl , and Ben's Trumpet , which received the Caldecott Honor Award and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Award. copyright © 2000 by Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers. All rights reserved.