- Library Binding: 32 pages
- Publisher: HarperCollins Canada / Other (Oct 22 1998)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0062050672
- ISBN-13: 978-0062050670
- Product Dimensions: 28.2 x 22 x 1.2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 499 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#1,224,898 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #93 in Books > Children's Books > Literature > Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths > European
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
In this abbreviated version of the Grimms' "The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs," a crown-shaped birthmark heralds a boy's bright future. Based on this omen, a fortuneteller predicts that Marco will marry a princess, and this comes to pass in short order: "So the two were married, with plenty of joy and noise, and that should have been the end of it. But it wasn't." The youth still must placate his evil father-in-law, the king, who demands three golden hairs from the head of the Devil. Marco ventures forth to Hell, where he meets the Devil's impish grandmother, who agrees to yank the three hairs. ("Ouch!" is the Devil's exclamation as she does the deed.) Thus, he keeps the princess, and then exacts revenge on the king. Babbitt (Bub) rewrites the classic story in a casual voice infused with wry wit, paring it down to its essentials (e.g., leaving out the magical golden apples and wine-flowing fountain), while Marcellino (The Story of Little Babaji) paints the characters in picturesque Renaissance-era garb. He constructs scenes of architectural grandeur: readers become spectators at the wedding, looking up at the starry ceiling, and stand alongside the newly married prince at the steps of Hell, which appears as a desolate castle with firelit bricks and oversize wooden furniture. The Devil himself is a slim, none-too-threatening figure in a red unitard decorated with ruffles at the wrist. The inventive layout, based on a rectangular grid, features creatively cropped and overlapping color images and blocky text. Although things come together a bit too easily in this Grimm tale, readers will likely lap up Babbitt's intelligent retelling, mixed with a dash of sly humor and dressed in Marcellino's signature finery. All ages.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 4-In this snappy retelling of a Grimm tale, a baby born to a poor family is foreordained to marry a princess. The king tosses the infant into the river to prevent the eventuality of having a "nobody" for a son-in-law. However, the child survives to marry the king's daughter as predicted. Hoping to rid himself of the lad, the monarch commands him to deliver three golden hairs from the Devil's head or lose his wife. With the aid of the Devil's grandmother, the boy succeeds in his task, becomes rich, keeps his beloved, and gets rid of his troublesome father-in-law. In the original story, the boy encounters a fountain that has run dry, a tree that does not bear fruit, and a ferryman who cannot stop taking passengers across the river. With the pulling of each hair, the Devil provides the answer to each of the three puzzles. While the three questions and the three hairs lend a folkloric symmetry to the tale, their loss is more than compensated for in this telling. Babbitt's language is perfect: neither too archaic nor too modern. Throughout the story, words and pictures work together to underscore the humor in the tale that is absent in older versions. With comic perspectives and sly expressions, Marcellino introduces a farcical cast-from the king to the Devil's grandmother. Even if libraries love the more traditional text, they will want to make room for this deft offering.
Kate McClelland, Perrot Memorial Library, Greenwich, CT
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Kate McClelland, Perrot Memorial Library, Greenwich, CT
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
There was a baby boy born once with a birthmark shaped like a crown. Read the first page
Front Cover | Excerpt | Back Cover
There was a baby boy born once with a birthmark shaped like a crown. Read the first page
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Concordance
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fun,
By
This review is from: Ouch!: A Tale from Grimm (Library Binding)
This is a cute retelling of one of Grimm's tales. It is about a boy born with a birth mark that foretells he will be a king.The current king tries to get rid of him three times. The final is the quest to get three of the devil's golden hairs. He is helped by the ferryman, and the devil's own Grandmother, who not only protects him, but gets him the hairs and a treasure chest. He then tricks the King into getting trapped as the ferryman. All the others live happily every after. A fantastic novelette. (First written as Journal Reading Notes in 1999.)
5.0 out of 5 stars
OUCH!! - an incredibly fun and beautiful book!,
By Lisa (Nokomis, FL) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Ouch! (Hardcover)
I picked this book up for my weekly volunteer read-to to a second grade class. The children loved it! They thought the story very unique ...the idea of the trip to the devil's house and his grandma was just silly and a hoot. The hero is confident and surprisingly smart. The pictures are wonderful. And of course, good triumphs over the wicked king in the end. The next week, when I returned, I had 2 students ask me for the name of the story as they'd tried to relate the story to their parents. I think it'd be a great and very interesting gift.
5.0 out of 5 stars
magnificently devilish book!,
By amanda (Salt Lake City, Ut) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Ouch! (Hardcover)
I just happened to pick up this book at my local library, and my was it refreshing! This book was smartly done. IT is humorous, witty, and keeps you reading until the very end. Yes it is a children's book, but I sure enjoyed it and so did my kids. Natalie Babbitt certainly gives children alot of credit where many children's authors don't. Read this book!
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