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"The Juniper Tree and Other Tales from Grimm"

Selected by Lore Segal and Maurice Sendak                Illustrated by Maurice Sendak

       

Image Source: betterworldbooks.com

        The purpose of the collection is not clearly stated in the opening section. They just make a note about the translations that Lore Segal did for the texts. The implied purpose of the collection is housing the work of the brothers Grimm in two volumes (I only looked at the first volume). In "A Note on the Translations" Segal does mention which translations she used from Randall Jarrell's traslations. She also thanks Paul Stern for helping her with the translations from German to English. This is the only reference in the book that shows that Segal was paying attention to authenticity with the translations.
        The narrative style is preserved in these tales. The tales could easily be read aloud or read silently to oneself. Often tales such as these would be meant for children, however, many of these tales are very adult. I think that many of these stories should be reserved for older children. I think that the impact of some of these tales would be best be read aloud by an adult to help with setting the pace. Older kids, middle school to high school age, could probably handle reading some of the most complex language to themselves. However, many stories do have mature concepts. (For example, "The Juniper Tree" includes gore, child abuse, child death and cannibalism.)
        There are 13 tales in volume I and 14 tales in volume II. They do not appear to be in any kind of order and would be best read independently. The tales all include elements of magic or fantasy featuring variations of anthropomorphic animals, wicked stepmothers or even witches, including the well known tale "Hansel and Gretel".
        There is typically 1 black and white ink illustration per story. One of the shorter stories, "The Goblins", did not have an illustration. Maurice Sendak's illustrations use his well known line styles to create shadows and texture that help show depictions of some of the more fantastical creatures in these tales. The illustrations are a great anchor for anyone struggling to imagine the odd and fantastical tales of the brothers Grimm.

    
Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm. The Juniper Tree and Other Tales from Grimm. Illustrated by Maurice Sendak. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1973. 168 pages. ISBN 0-374-18057-1.

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