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Oklahoma State University Opera Theatre students were preparing for a spring production when the March wildfires raged through Stillwater and the opera was put on hold. This week, that production will finally be presented, seven months later. Opera theatre students will perform “Hansel and Gretel” at 7:30 tonight and again at 7:30 p.m. Friday in The McKnight Center for the Performing Arts. ...

EVER wanted to stay in a place that makes you feel like you have stepped into a fairytale? Well now you can without having to go too far. Nestled in the hills of Bideford in Devon is a 15th century…

Amazon.com: Librarium Arcane: A Hansel & Gretel Retelling (Librarium Quartet Book 1) eBook : Smoke, Jackie: Kindle Store

Librarium Vivium: A Hansel & Gretel Retelling Quartet (Librarium Quartet Book 2) - Kindle edition by Smoke, Jackie. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Librarium Vivium: A Hansel & Gretel Retelling Quartet (Librarium Quartet Book 2).

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_Follow the breadcrumbs_ From “Hansel and Gretel.”Credit…Copyright © The Maurice Sendak Foundation, Inc. > _Once upon a time, long before your grandmother’s grandmother was born, a poor broom maker and his wife lived on the edge of a great dark forest with his two children, Hansel and Gretel._ > > Stephen King, Hansel and Gretel It seems like a curious combination; Stephen King, horror writer of great renown, and Maurice Sendak, children’s writer of perhaps even greater renown. For Sendak, it is a posthumous collaboration. The illustrations found in this story come from set and costume designs for an opera that Sendak designed. King was approached by the Sendak estate to write an interpretation of the original tale, and having had a long history of finding interest in oddball publishing (**Cycle of the Werewolf** or **The Green Mile** for starters), he took up the offer with glee. King has touched upon children’s tales before. Most notable is **Charlie the Choo-Choo** , a children’s story that originally appeared in **The Dark Tower III**. A couple of his novels, though some fans may cringe at the idea, could easily slot into a YA bookshelf: stories like **The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon** and **The Eyes of the Dragon**. But this time, especially judging from some of the comments in King’s introduction, is the first time he has explicitly written for kids. It is the perfect story for him to do so. Out of the old fairy tales, it is one that has resisted a Disney-sanitised version. No matter what, no matter how sweet that gingerbread house is, the witch should end up in the oven, burned alive after the titular children are abandoned by their father. Though the retelling is generally quite a straight retelling, there are touches of King’s voice that bleeds through into the narrative. The dreams that haunt Hansel, especially when coupled with Sendak’s illustrations, have the feeling of a woodcut illustration excavated from a Gothic German church. Be under no illusion – King is interested in the purity of the nastiness of the original fairy tale. This can be found just as clearly when King describes the actual gingerbread house. This is the most iconic scene of the whole story, barring the burning of the witch, and the accompanying illustration lends itself to vile, disgusting description. At times, that this is a posthumous illustration job is somewhat limiting – one gets the feeling the actual burning of the witch, though gruesomely described, would have had a bigger impact if it had been given a glorious Sendak illustration. But at the same time, the glimpse of Rhea’s real face can send shivers down the spine of anyone turning the page for the first time. I could imagine little ones holding pages and skipping them altogether to avoid those hungry yellow eyes looking out at them. And yes, the witch is called Rhea – Rhea of the Coos, specifically. Those with long memories may recall that King has welded his version of **Hensel and Gretel** into the wider **Dark Tower** universe. I’ll explain how she connects in more detail below, but for many Stephen King fans, this was an unexpected treat to be found within the pages. IT fits perfectly within the general themes of the **Dark Tower** books: that of the power of telling stories, the warnings they can carry to keep little children on the side of the angels. There’s an interesting meta aspect to the fact that this book exists at all. There is the classic fairy tale that will almost certainly outlive us all, illustrated by an author who’s creations have outlived him, retold by an author who has gone on the record as saying, “ _I think that when I die I will kind of disappear from the paperback racks. But that fucking clown is going to live forever._ ” King knows and I’m sure appreciates that artists are lucky to be remembered for one thing, and he has at least a couple of those to his name. It doesn’t need to exist because the original story will be eternal. Yet the fact that it does exist is what makes it a playful addition to King and Sendak’s bibliographies and the **Hansel and Gretel** legend. Mostly, it’s King just having a little bit of fun with stories and giving his little twist on a classic. And that, sometimes, is enough. Long days and pleasant nights, little ones! **Observations and Connections** In a surprise cameo, Rhea of the Coos returns! She was first mentioned way back in **The Eyes of the Dragon** , before making an unforgettable appearance as one of the villains of **The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass**. However, it is suggested that Roland had a final confrontation with her, though this is never specified. Maybe this version of **Hansel and Gretel** takes place on Midworld, and is the final fate of Rhea. It would certainly be an appropriate end for her. **UP NEXT** : Probably the all but announced **Talisman 3** book. ### Share this: * Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook * Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X * More * * Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit * Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon * Like Loading... ### _Related_

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