The Poisoned Apple: A Fractured Fairy Tale Written and Illustrated by Anne Lambelet

A sweet princess, an evil witch, a poisoned apple and a dastardly plan. Familiar fairy tale ingredients mixed in with a new sauce. Anne Lambelet's brew of suspense, humour, and stylized art bring this classic to modern times. Quick paced and straight to the action, readers will anticipate the witches moves as the story develops. The princess is given the poisoned apple and the witch watches from afar as her scheme spirals out of control and she gets a taste of her own medicine.

Short descriptions are provided for the nameless characters to draw more attention to their actions and the consequences thereof. This story assumes that readers already know the classic tale of 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' by the brothers Grimm but it's not a prerequisite. The illustrations are wonderfully detailed and playful especially when showing the witch collecting her rare ingredients. This new fairy tale ends with an old-fashioned moral. Recommended for ages 3+. 

Amazon

Page Street Kids 2020
Hardcover 32p

10.11" x 9.49"

Classic Fairy Tales by Scott Gustafson

Happy new year! It's been a while since my last post but I'm very excited to have discovered a new illustrator. His name is Scott Gustafson. He attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts and Columbia College Chicago and graduated with a degree in animation. Scott Gustafson illustrated several children's books such as The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore and Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie. His work has earned him multiple awards which include the 2015 Spectrum Fantastic Art Grand Master Award.

More recently, he has illustrated three fairy tale books: Classic Fairy Tales, Classic Bedtime Stories and Classic Storybook Fables. As the titles suggests, these are all classic tales mainly from Grimm and Perrault. All three volumes are the same size and quite large too. I like these even more than Grimms' Fairy Tales by Don Daily. Every spread is richly illustrated. Below are some of my favourite illustrations from Classic Fairy Tales; this first volume is the best of the three because it has ten stories whereas the other two books only have eight stories. Also, Gustafson has painted a cover specifically for Classic Fairy Tales. I appreciate that over a duplicate of an internal illustration. The illustrations vary in size; some full page and some as a double page spread but all lush and opulent. The writing is an easy read with its very familiar storylines and large text make it a good choice for beginner readers. All three volumes are in reprint by Artisan Books. One of my copies is published by The Greenwich Workshop which has slightly thicker paper. All volumes come with a dust jacket.

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Artisan Books 2003
Hardcover 144p
10.8" x 12.2"