Elizabeth's review

The Bearskinner: A Tale of the Brothers Grimm
by Laura Amy Schlitz

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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/607932.The_Bearskinner_A_Tale_of_the_Brothers_Grimm?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="The Bearskinner: A Tale of the Brothers Grimm" border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Mv3oTjL8L._SL160_.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/607932.The_Bearskinner_A_Tale_of_the_Brothers_Grimm?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">The Bearskinner: A Tale of the Brothers Grimm</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/116504.Laura_Amy_Schlitz">Laura Amy Schlitz</a> 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8502846?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
 rating: 5 of 5 stars The devil comes to a poor soldier with an offer he can't refuse. If the man wears the skin of a bear for seven years without washing, bathing, or praying to God, then he will be rich beyond his wildest dreams. Better still, during that time he will have all the money he desires. The man accepts the deal, but soon finds it hard to handle. His body disgusts him and society abhors him (though not, of course, his money). Yet when the man starts giving his money away to the poor, he finds that their prayers carry him through the worst of his trials. One day he helps a gambler and the man promises the solider one of his three daughters. The middle daughter looks deep into his eyes and promises to marry him whenever he returns. Three years later his time is up and he triumphantly puts the devil in his place, cleans up, and returns to the gambler's home. There, the daughter waits for him, he reveals himself to her, and they live happily ever after (except perhaps for the devil, but that's only to be expected). Interesting Brothers Grimm stories are most certainly NOT the rule. Adapting one into a readable text takes time and effort and an ear for a cutting turn of phrase. Ms. Schlitz, to the infinite relief of any reader, shows her prestigious skill in such matters by not merely rendering "The Bearskinner" into something palatable for the youth of America, but also something worth reading again and again. Check out this opening: "They say that when a man gives up hope, the devil walks at his side. So begins this story. A soldier marched through a dark wood, and he did not march alone." What is it about this tale that sucks us in so completely? On the bookflap, illustrator Max Grafe describes being drawn to this story due to the tale's visceral qualities. "The grit, the grime, and the quintessential antagonist, the devil . . . combine for an exciting yet challenging story to bring to life on the printed page." I think he's right about that part of the book. The idea of a guy not bathing or doing any kind of bodily maintenance for years and years at a time is an instant lure. Schlitz plays this up too with sentences like, "Lice gnawed at his flesh, and he raked himself until he was covered with scabs," or, "his bearskin crawled with maggots, and he reeked." That's the more obvious hook to this book. Schlitz explains too, though, that there is much more to be taken away from "The Bearskinner" than just the disgusting qualities. "I went in search of a story that would tell students that no matter how bad things get, you hold on." And that, of course, is the key to the tale. On an initial reading a person might wonder why the devil stipulates that the Bearskinner is never to pray to God during his 7 year trials, as it seems a little random as a request. Yet thinking about it, prayer gives people hope. The Bearskinner finds a way around this requirement by asking the poor to pray in his stead, and it is that fact that saves him in the end. Ms. Schlitz not only recognizes the intriguing premise, but the true heart behind the story. She then plies both with magnificent wordplay. The first few sentences caught my eye and the image of the soldier and the middle daughter looking at one another for the first time sealed the deal. I don't know how well fairy tales sell on the open market. I don't know how many library systems appreciate them fully, or how many families know how important they are to a child's development and growth, both emotionally and socially. What I do know is that "The Bearskinner" as written by Laura Amy Schlitz and as illustrated by Max Grafe is a piece of fine art. A book that deserves love, attention, and more. Worth seeking out, to say the least. 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/221050?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Elizabeth's review
rating:

status: Read in October, 2007

The devil comes to a poor soldier with an offer he can't refuse. If the man wears the skin of a bear for seven years without washing, bathing, or praying to God, then he will be rich beyond his wildest dreams. Better still, during that time he will have all the money he desires. The man accepts the deal, but soon finds it hard to handle. His body disgusts him and society abhors him (though not, of course, his money). Yet when the man starts giving his money away to the poor, he finds that their prayers carry him through the worst of his trials. One day he helps a gambler and the man promises the solider one of his three daughters. The middle daughter looks deep into his eyes and promises to marry him whenever he returns. Three years later his time is up and he triumphantly puts the devil in his place, cleans up, and returns to the gambler's home. There, the daughter waits for him, he reveals himself to her, and they live happily ever after (except perhaps for the devil, but that's only...more The devil comes to a poor soldier with an offer he can't refuse. If the man wears the skin of a bear for seven years without washing, bathing, or praying to God, then he will be rich beyond his wildest dreams. Better still, during that time he will have all the money he desires. The man accepts the deal, but soon finds it hard to handle. His body disgusts him and society abhors him (though not, of course, his money). Yet when the man starts giving his money away to the poor, he finds that their prayers carry him through the worst of his trials. One day he helps a gambler and the man promises the solider one of his three daughters. The middle daughter looks deep into his eyes and promises to marry him whenever he returns. Three years later his time is up and he triumphantly puts the devil in his place, cleans up, and returns to the gambler's home. There, the daughter waits for him, he reveals himself to her, and they live happily ever after (except perhaps for the devil, but that's only to be expected).

Interesting Brothers Grimm stories are most certainly NOT the rule. Adapting one into a readable text takes time and effort and an ear for a cutting turn of phrase. Ms. Schlitz, to the infinite relief of any reader, shows her prestigious skill in such matters by not merely rendering "The Bearskinner" into something palatable for the youth of America, but also something worth reading again and again. Check out this opening: "They say that when a man gives up hope, the devil walks at his side. So begins this story. A soldier marched through a dark wood, and he did not march alone."

What is it about this tale that sucks us in so completely? On the bookflap, illustrator Max Grafe describes being drawn to this story due to the tale's visceral qualities. "The grit, the grime, and the quintessential antagonist, the devil . . . combine for an exciting yet challenging story to bring to life on the printed page." I think he's right about that part of the book. The idea of a guy not bathing or doing any kind of bodily maintenance for years and years at a time is an instant lure. Schlitz plays this up too with sentences like, "Lice gnawed at his flesh, and he raked himself until he was covered with scabs," or, "his bearskin crawled with maggots, and he reeked." That's the more obvious hook to this book. Schlitz explains too, though, that there is much more to be taken away from "The Bearskinner" than just the disgusting qualities. "I went in search of a story that would tell students that no matter how bad things get, you hold on." And that, of course, is the key to the tale. On an initial reading a person might wonder why the devil stipulates that the Bearskinner is never to pray to God during his 7 year trials, as it seems a little random as a request. Yet thinking about it, prayer gives people hope. The Bearskinner finds a way around this requirement by asking the poor to pray in his stead, and it is that fact that saves him in the end. Ms. Schlitz not only recognizes the intriguing premise, but the true heart behind the story. She then plies both with magnificent wordplay.

The first few sentences caught my eye and the image of the soldier and the middle daughter looking at one another for the first time sealed the deal. I don't know how well fairy tales sell on the open market. I don't know how many library systems appreciate them fully, or how many families know how important they are to a child's development and growth, both emotionally and socially. What I do know is that "The Bearskinner" as written by Laura Amy Schlitz and as illustrated by Max Grafe is a piece of fine art. A book that deserves love, attention, and more. Worth seeking out, to say the least. ...less

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message 1: by Farida

11/01/2007 08:03AM

Thanks for this review, Betsy. In a literary sea teaming with retellings of fairy-tales (most of them okay, some of them dreadful, and a few of them stellar), The Bearskinner sounds like something I'd actively search out to read.

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message 2: by Elizabeth

11/01/2007 09:24AM

Well, I'll have a more lengthy review on my blog tomorrow pinpointing exactly just how amazing this book is. Schlitz is my hero. I want her to get global recognition pronto.

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message 3: by fairrosa

11/24/2007 07:16AM

Hey, you have a copy of the 1978 Bearskinner in your library (I checked LEO) -- did you get a chance to compare the two texts? I probably will drop by this week and take a look at the other version. I just wonder where Schlitz got her "original" to work from -- the German text? someone else's translation in a collection? the 1978 edition? She did not include any source notes in this volume.... which took me by surprise a bit since she is a librarian and a storyteller and I thought that these days a source note is a MUST when retelling a fairy or folk tale.

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message 4: by Elizabeth

11/24/2007 02:38PM

Someone recently checked out that version. I can only assume they got it confused with the Schlitz since the 1978 is (not to put too fine a point on it) uuuuuuuugly. Seriously. There was a desperate need for a new one, I can see. Dunno where she got her source from. She does excellent research (as her two non-fictiony type books will attest) so I'm going to assume that it got lost in the shuffle. I'll find out, though . . . .

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