Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

Hansel & Gretel
Hansel & Gretel
Hansel & Gretel
Audiobook30 minutes

Hansel & Gretel

Written by James Marshall

Narrated by Kathy Bates

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

About this audiobook

The classic story of a woodcutter's two lost children, who find a house in the forest made of sweets and candy that belongs to a hungry witch.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJan 1, 1990
ISBN9780545555142
Hansel & Gretel

More audiobooks from James Marshall

Related to Hansel & Gretel

Related audiobooks

Children's Fairy Tales & Folklore For You

View More

Reviews for Hansel & Gretel

Rating: 3.969512237804878 out of 5 stars
4/5

82 ratings18 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This story reads just as I remember it. The author, James Marshall, did not reinvent the tale of Hansel and Gretel but, placed a twist on it with his illustrations. Also, I liked the way he developed the characters of the witch and the woodcutter's wife. The parallel between the two characters was easy to make and follow along with for the reader, especially the way they both look physically and end up dying. This text would be great to add to a collection for a class library, or to provide for a child in general, because it is a classic morality tale, in which good verses evil and the good prevails.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Hansel and Gretel were abandoned in the woods. They found the strength and courage to survive. The came across a witch and ended up making it out alive, eventually making it back to their father. This is a great classic tale that James Marshall has made his own.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This classic fairy tale was one of my favorites as a child. This book by James Marshall has the same cartoonish/comic illustrations as his other books which kids love. The story of Hansel and Gretel is a traditional fairy tale loved for generations. I am happy to have this book as part of my personal library. I would recommend this book to all young children.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    This book is a simple story of a poor family who seems to think if the father and step mother should happen to loose her kids while wandering the forrest they might actually make their supply of food last longer. The children attempt to leave a trail of bread crumbs to find their way home but stumble upon the witch first. I found this book to be very disheartening that parents would actually sacrifice their children for their own desires.. It was very sad that they didn't have enough food. In this day and age we dont realize how common this is now a days. The stepmother was disgustingly evil! However, this book has a happily ever after ending.This could be used in the classroom on many levels. I could use this book to talk about family and everyones need as an individual. I could also use it to talk about the dangers of wandering off and of strangers. I could take the kids to playground and could give them all a piece of bread and have them make trails from one point to another
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Marshall, James. Hansel and Gretel. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 1990. In this classic version of the tale, the children gain an evil stepmother who wants to be rid of them. They outsmart her by using white pebbles to guide their way back home after she and the father leave the them in the woods. The illustrations are classic Marshall. They are colorful and full of expression. In the resolution of the story the children are reunited with their father (the stepmother has died). I think this is a good version to tell to young children. The text is more appropriate for a 2-3rd grade child. Age Group: 7-9 years.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is a humorous retelling of the traditional tale. This book has very colorful, whimsical illustrations.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This retelling of Hansel and Gretel offers language that is accessible to children without being simplistic. Marshall captures the important details of the original story, including the swan, which is sometimes left out. The cartoon-like illustrations engage children. The gingerbread house looks delicious and the witch looks hideous, though not scary. This book would be appropriate for ages 4 to 8.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I was reluctant to pick up this copy of Hansel and Gretel because of the illustrations. I thought they were too comic, really. Hansel and Gretel is supposed to be a dark, scary story with mean mommies, starvation, and cannibalism! I was sure that the cartoony illustrations portrayed a light and funny version. And while some people prefer light and funny versions, I'm not one of those people.Well, I was wrong! This version hews very closely to the one I learned as a young kid reading a tattered fairy tale collection. The mother is wicked, the father is weak-willed, the witch eats children (nobody turns into cookies, thank you very much). The author even remembered the detail about Hansel originally leaving out pebbles, and about a bird bringing them across the lake to home! This was a very pleasant surprise for me, let me tell you.The illustrations still aren't my thing, but this book has a well-deserved place on my bookshelf.A word of warning: Obviously, this story can be scary for some children. While many children LIKE scary stories with their chills and thrills, just as many don't. I assume you know your own kid best, so please just use your judgment about this book, and if in doubt, read it before you buy it :)
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    The classic Hansel and Gretel story. When a famine hits, their stepmother thinks the children eat too much food and talk their father into leading them into the woods and leaving them stranded. The first time the children leave a trail of pebbles to get back. The next time they leave a trail of breadcrumbs, however they were eaten by birds. They wander around in the woods and happen upon a house made of cookies, cake, and candy. Inside lives a witch that invited them in and feeds them. She ends up caging Hansel to fatten him up and eat him. In the end the children outwit the witch and push her into the oven. They find gold and jewels in her house and head for home. They find that their stepmother is gone and they live happily ever after with their father. I thought this book was a good version of the story. Almost exact to the original. I hadn't read it in a while and forgot what a dark tale it actually is. My kids loved it and focused on the candy house for the second half of the story. I would use this story to introduce or reinforce the concepts of plot and sequence. After reading the book I would have the children create a story map that told the main idea, setting, characters, and sequence of events. Then I would have them illustrate their favorite scene in the story.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I have mixed feelings about this book. The story is illustrated by the author. I like the illustrations, but I do wonder why all of the women in the story are drawn unbecomingly. I like most of the word choice used in the book except for when the mother calls Hansel names such as "Simpleton." Although, this was a way to stress her unkind nature. The big idea for this story addresses survival for the two children.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The main message in this story is about the survival of two clever children. It shows that evil does not win in the end. I liked this book a lot for it's illustrations. The illustrations are child like and are something that I could mimic. The illustrator does a good job of incorporating the text into the illustrations for some of the pages. For example, on one page it's entirely filled with illustration and the text is written over the black night sky in white ink. The author didn't separate the text there, but kept it as part of the whole picture. Following that, another reason I liked the illustrations was because the style was mixed up. The example above would be on one page but the next would be white and filled with just text. Another example was a page where the background was white and it was separated into three parts. It went text first, then there was a box underneath with a matching picture, and then more text underneath that. The page next to it had no text at all but just a full page illustration. I liked that there was a variety of technique used throughout.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This classic folktale is revamped with colorful illustrations and friendly language. It teaches children to stay with their family no matter what problems occur and that strangers are to be avoided. I enjoyed this book because it takes an old tales and make sit new again.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book was adorable! For starters, the way the story was told was amazing. One quote in particular that I liked was when the kids were captured by the witch and the author says "Hansel would stick out an old chicken bone. (Witches, as everyone knows, have beady red eyes and dreadfully bad eyesight.)" I thought this part in particular was just hilarious.The author provided relevant information for the story in a new and light-hearted way.Another reason why I enjoyed the book was the characters. The way Hansel and Gretel react to things is great, like how Gretel says how smart her brother is when they follow the pebbles home. I also thought that the way the mother reacts when they arrive home unexpectedly the first time was really funny.The main idea of this book is to not be greedy and that sharing is caring.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The first thing that I noticed about this book was that the illustrations were not traditional, which I liked. I also noticed that the way the characters were all drawn (short and chubby) wasn’t what I was expecting, as the Hansel and Gretel that I had remembered reading looked more life-like than cartoonish. In the story, I thought it was funny how the author added humor to the retelling like when the wife complains about the kids eating all the food. She says, “do you want your pretty little wife to waste away?” and then the illustrations shows the wife with her cheeks stuffed indicating that she is already overweight. I also liked how in the story “the snow-white bird led them to a clearing where there was a small house made of cookies and candy, spun sugar cake.” This was the light at the end of the tunnel for Hansel and Gretel, as they finally had found food to eat. Not only was it food, since the house was made out of sweets I felt it would be relatable to young children. However, when the Witch in the story captured Hansel and Gretel and put Hansel in a cage, I felt the store might not be good for young readers. In addition, the witch had bad eyesight (said to be a known fact about witches based on the book) so she thought Hansel wasn’t fattening up in his cage so she could cook and eat him. When the Witch tries to eat them however, they push her in the fire “the horrid Witch roasted to a regular crisp.” Although I like the tradition of the Hansel and Gretel tale, I thought it was a little bit harsh for a children’s book. The main idea for this book is to not talk to strangers and wander off alone.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    In my opinion this book was an interesting version of “Hansel and Gretel”. I liked that the illustrations were so colorful and creative. Although they were a little dark and twisted, they really helped to enhance the plot and make the reader feel a part of the story. I liked the plot of this particular version because at the end the children escape the witch and return to their parents. I think that the message of this story is to teach children not to wander off alone or be too trusting of strangers.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I loved rereading this timeless tale. The main message was to stand up for yourself and stick with your family no matter what. One thing I liked were the illustrations. They were very kid-friendly and definitely helped set the mood for the story. When they were at home, the sky would be blue and the pictures would look happy, but when they were in the woods and at the witch's house the sky was black and it had a very frightening element to it. The other reason I liked this book was because of the message. Hansel and Gretel tried going back to their house to get to their father, even though they knew their step mom was trying to abandon them. And even when they were in the woods and got captured by the witch, they helped each other escape, and Hansel comforts Gretel several times throughout the book. I think family is one of the most important things a person can cherish, so I am glad that they portrayed that in the book.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    The moral of this fable is to not trust strangers. Just because the outside of the witches house was coated with candy, and looked like a safe place, did not mean that what lied within was. This fable is a classic that can be used to explain the importance of being careful with strangers. It is also a good book to touch on the idea of not judging a book by its cover.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    James Marshall tells the classic story of Hansel and Gretel in his book. The book does not differ from previous versions of the same story that I have heard. Cute story to read to children to introduce them to classic fairytales.