The classic fairy tale. ( )

The story Hansel and Gretel is a vivid and entertaining story. Hansel and Gretel are disliked by their step-mother. The step-mother plots to get rid of them by asking their father to take them far into the woods. Hansel and Gretel become lost in the woods an stumble on what "seems" to be a nice old lady. She lives in a house made of gingerbread and candy. The children are excited to find that they have been rescued. However, the true intentions of the old lady will be revealed.

I think this is a exciting story that is told in a very vivid manner. However, I fear the themes may be to violent for young children. This book touches on the subject of having a bad step-parent, eating children alive, and pushing someone into a fire. In my opinion, this book isn't suitable for young children. The audience should be at minimum in the first-grade.

If I read this book to older children, I would approach the topic of different types of families. Hansel and Gretel had a family where a step-mother was present. I assume that at some point in time they had lost their mother. The students could write about their families and draw a picture. I would then lead a discussion about the different types of family. On the cover of the book is a picture of a gingerbread house. We could have an activity where each student is able to build and design a gingerbread house of their own. I could assign a number for each part. For example, I can say you must use five M&M's to make the window of the gingerbread house. If it is a younger grade level, they will have a chance to work on counting. I could also ask the children to use red skittles for the door and green skittles for the windows, etc. This way the children can work on following directions, and identifying colors.