Jane Ray (1) (1960–)

The first thing I notice when flipping through this book is the illustrations. They are beautiful depictions of a land that has seen rough times. I love it because nothing is perfect. The houses are slanted, slightly worn, and mismatched in color. There is always something different that will catch your eye. At the same time the illustrations are not overly bright or to fanciful.

This story is about 3 sisters who are in line for ruler of their kingdom. Both older sisters seem slightly vain and only seem to care about themselves. Predictable in that fact, but children never care about the predictability of a story. The youngest you would think would have an idea that will quickly put her above her sisters. However, she is down to earth and humble and admits to not knowing what to do; that her sisters could come up with a far better idea. Then she pulls out the box she chose to remember her mother by. From there the story goes on to talk about how she made the kingdom better and how her father chose her as new ruler. I loved that it wasn't perfect and that even though we knew the outcome we also didn't get what we were fully expecting. It's a nice reminder that good things can come from small unexpected things.… (meer)

The text is a great read aloud without being too short, although this retelling is much more lighthearted than some other retellings I've enjoyed. The illustrations took me a few pages to get used to, but the further into the enchanted land the princesses ventured, the more lush and engaging Ray's art became. I especially liked that the princesses represent a variety of women---dark-skinned and fair, curly- and short-haired; a couple of the princesses even wear glasses. A warm and imaginative retelling.… (meer)

Jane Ray's version of "Hansel and Gretel" seems to revisit the older version of fairy tales. A far cry from the Disney version of fairy tales we have become accustom to, this story shows some of the classic elements of fairy tales. It begins as a step mother is plotting to get rid of her husbands children since they cannot feed them due to a drought. The children do run into a witch and are able to get away and find their way home. Though the book is not the romanticized version of Hansel and Gretel we may be used to now I enjoyed this version. The illustrations were fantastic and I enjoyed them as much as I did the story.… (meer)