Little brother and little sister

by Barbara Cooney

A brother and sister run away from their cruel and wicked stepmother to a forest, but cannot escape her powers.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fairy Tales

48 pages, Unbound

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Barbara Cooney was an American writer and illustrator of 110 children's books, published over sixty years. She received two Caldecott Medals for her work on Chanticleer and the Fox and Ox-Cart Man, and a National Book Award for Miss Rumphius. Her books have been translated into 10 languages.

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Best for completists of Cooney's work or those readers who haven't encountered this tale before. The way the king just fell in love with the maiden because she was lucky enough to be beautiful continues to bother me.

[A B · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautifully illustrated version of a lesser-known but no less excellent Grimm brothers' fairy tale. The pictures are simple, colorful watercolors that remind me of Bavarian fabric print and the little stenciled decorations on antique children's furniture.

As many fairy tales do, it starts with two sweet children, an evil stepmother, and a dark forest. Little Brother is turned into a fawn, and Little Sister cares for him as they survive in the forest. Years later, a handsome king goes out for a hunt and sees a stunning stag. I'll give you the standard three clues for how it ends: "happily", "ever", and "after".

I was surprised to learn that this fairy tale is criminally overlooked and hence usually edited because the queen breastfeeds her child. So parents are cool with murder, kidnapping, child abuse, and cruelty, but breastfeeding is too much?

Instead, I always saw it as a tale about love. A young woman's love for her child and brother is so strong that even in death she finds a way to care for them them, and a man's love for his wife is strong enough to conquer death. Isn't that what fairy tales are all about?

A lovely book for the young and the young at heart.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ages: 5 - 9

Cleanliness: has a witch. Mentions beer. A woman puts a baby to her breast to feed (said not shown). "Dear God" is exclaimed.

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[Zyelah Jenkins]

its a nice book

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a retelling of a classic Grimm tale, this does include some dark elements (an abusive stepmother who turns out to be a witch and a murderous plot, for example), but Cooney does an excellent job of keeping things age appropriate while sticking to the story. We attempted this book earlier, recently, but the triplets were not interested. Once we got past the first couple of pages on our second try, they were hooked. There was a happy-ever-after ending.