Great illustrations. Good moral tale. ( )

School was reading and defining what makes a story a fairy tale so I thought we'd read a few too. O has always enjoyed them and we've had multiple round of fairy tale reading in the past. This one is a good read. ( )

Trina Schart Hyman is a master illustrator of the fairy tale. Everything she touches turns to gold. ( )

With a story from the Brothers Grimm (retold by Barbara Rogasky), and artwork from Trina Schart Hyman, what's not to love? The tale of a dying king, and his three sons, who each set out, in their turn, to discover the magical Water of Life that will restore their father to youth and health, this fairy-tale offers a study of differing character, and of the nature of love. For, as it turns out (and as readers of the genre will no doubt be expecting), the two older brothers are not motivated by love alone, but also by worldly concerns, in the form of a desire to inherit, while the youngest son - not too proud to speak to the dwarf whose path he crosses, trusting of his elder brothers, and forgiving of their faults - is motivated by pure love. It is that purity that allows him, in the end, not only to restore his father to health, but to avoid the destruction set in motion by his brothers' wicked schemes, and to win a beautiful princess (and her kingdom) as his own.

Rogasky's retelling of The Water of Life is engaging enough, but is Hyman's gorgeous artwork that truly makes this title stand out! Wonderfully expressive (I loved the expressions on the various characters' faces), beautiful, but with an undercurrent of menace - it has a sharp, sometimes quirky quality that raises it above the "pretty" - Hyman's illustrations linger in the memory, and are instantly recognizable, as her creations. All in all, this is a lovely fairy-tale title, one I would recommend to readers of the genre, or to Trina Schart Hyman fans, and one which I thank my friend Chandra for recommending to me! ( )