Bargain Ebooks: It’s Not a Fairy Tale Books for $.99 Each

It's Not Jack and the Beanstalk (It’s Not a Fairy Tale Book 1) by Josh Funk (Author) and Edwardian Taylor (Illustrator) is on sale in ebook format for $.99. Their second book, It's Not Hansel and Gretel (It’s Not a Fairy Tale Book 2), is on sale for the same price. 

Book descriptions:

“When I was a kid, my best friend was Josh Funk. Now he’s becoming a friend to a whole new generation.” —B.J. Novak, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Book with No Pictures

Jack is not fond of the bossy narrator of his fairy tale! When Jack is told to trade his beloved cow Bessie for some magic beans, throw the beans out the window, climb the ENORMOUS beanstalk that sprouts overnight, and steal from a GIANT, he decides this fairy tale is getting out of control. In fact, he doesn’t want to follow the story line at all. Who says Jack needs to enter a life of daring, thievery, and giant trickery? He takes his story into his own hands—and you’ll never guess what happens next!

With laugh-out-loud dialogue and bold, playful art (including hidden fairy tale creatures for kids to find), this Jack and the Beanstalk retelling will have children rolling with laughter till Bessie the cow comes home.

and 

Hansel and Gretel will not listen to their storyteller. For one thing, who leaves a trail of bread crumbs lying around, when there are people starving? Not Hansel, that’s for sure! And that sweet old lady who lives in a house made of cookies and candy? There’s no way she’s an evil witch! As for Gretel, well, she’s about to set the record straight—after all, who says the story can’t be called Gretel and Hansel? It’s time for these wacky siblings to take their fairy tale into their own hands. So sit back and enjoy the gingerbread! With laugh-out-loud dialogue and bold, playful art (including hidden search-and-find fairy-tale creatures), this Hansel and Gretel retelling will have kids giggling right up to the delicious ending!

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TODAY ONLY: Bargain Ebook: Gingerbread: A Novel by Helen Oyeyemi for $1.99

Gingerbread: A Novel by Helen Oyeyemi is on sale today only for $1.99 in ebook format. This one draws on gingerbread uses in children's literature. We know that means primarily Hansel and Gretel. I'd consider this one for completists (like me) who try to have most fairy tale retellings in their library. This is a cheap way to achieve that goal.

Book description:

The prize-winning, bestselling author of Boy, Snow, Bird and What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours returns with a bewitching and imaginative novel. 

Influenced by the mysterious place gingerbread holds in classic children's stories, beloved novelist Helen Oyeyemi invites readers into a delightful tale of a surprising family legacy, in which the inheritance is a recipe. 

Perdita Lee may appear to be your average British schoolgirl; Harriet Lee may seem just a working mother trying to penetrate the school social hierarchy; but there are signs that they might not be as normal as they think they are. For one thing, they share a gold-painted, seventh-floor walk-up apartment with some surprisingly verbal vegetation. And then there's the gingerbread they make. Londoners may find themselves able to take or leave it, but it's very popular in Druhástrana, the far-away (or, according to many sources, non-existent) land of Harriet Lee's early youth. The world's truest lover of the Lee family gingerbread, however, is Harriet's charismatic childhood friend Gretel Kercheval —a figure who seems to have had a hand in everything (good or bad) that has happened to Harriet since they met.    

Decades later, when teenaged Perdita sets out to find her mother's long-lost friend, it prompts a new telling of Harriet's story. As the book follows the Lees through encounters with jealousy, ambition, family grudges, work, wealth, and real estate, gingerbread seems to be the one thing that reliably holds a constant value. Endlessly surprising and satisfying, written with Helen Oyeyemi's inimitable style and imagination, it is a true feast for the reader.

SurLaLune's Small Print:

As an Amazon Associate, the SurLaLune Fairy Tale site earns a percentage from qualifying purchases as a referral incentive which helps support the site. Your cost does not increase by using the links on this site. Read SurLaLune's Privacy Policy here.

From the Brothers Grimm Series on Folkstreams Vimeo Channel: Activities During Coronavirus

Last week one tweet I read that made me laugh was a mother stating emphatically that she's not going to do anything educational while stuck at home with her young kids. They would watch too much tv. They would eat too much junk. Essentially, they would escape anyway they could during the Corona shutdown. I laughed. I liked that she was lowering her expectations and not putting too much pressure on herself. But even those activities will get old in my opinion, so I will keep looking for fairy tale related options to share. Fairy tales and folklore are about surviving trying times.

But on the note of watching TV, I wanted to share links to the From the Brothers Grimm series by Tom Davenport. These are rentable for a few dollars each on the Folkstreams Vimeo Channel. This is just an FYI service from SurLaLune--there is no affiliate earnings with these. Davenport Films made these many years ago so they are not HD and have a folksy feel. They are also mostly set in Appalachia. They are more suitable for older kids, I'd say 3rd grade and up.

I've linked and embedded the films below but some may not embed due to privacy settings. Just follow the links to learn more. They are all viewable for a $1.95 month long rental each.

My husband's favorite (and thus one of my sentimental favorites, too) is Soldier Jack or The Man Who Caught Death in a Sack:


Soldier Jack or The Man Who Caught Death in a Sack from Folkstreams on Vimeo.

Jack and the Dentist's Daughter


Jack and the Dentist's Daughter from Folkstreams on Vimeo.

I remember when this aired on PBS, the last film they produced, Willa: An American Snow White:


Willa: An American Snow White from Folkstreams on Vimeo.

Hansel & Gretel: An Appalachian Version


Hansel & Gretel: An Appalachian Version from Folkstreams on Vimeo.

Ashpet: An American Cinderella


Ashpet: An American Cinderella from Folkstreams on Vimeo.

Rapunzel, Rapunzel


Rapunzel, Rapunzel from Folkstreams on Vimeo.

Mutzmag or The Girl Who Killed the Cannibals. This tale appears in many of the strong women of folklore collections.


Mutzmag or The Girl Who Killed the Cannibals from Folkstreams on Vimeo.

The Frog King


The Frog King from Folkstreams on Vimeo.

Bristlelip is a version of King Thrushbeard.


Bristlelip from Folkstreams on Vimeo.

Bearskin or The Man Who Didn't Wash for Seven Years--Another favorite tale of mine. Really gets the feel of how disgusting Bearskin is!


Bearskin or The Man Who Didn't Wash for Seven Years from Folkstreams on Vimeo.

The Goose Girl


The Goose Girl from Folkstreams on Vimeo.

Storybook Playsets: Activities During Corona--With Thoughts on SurLaLune Changes on Horizon

I've had the Hansel and Gretel Toy House and Storybook Playset and the others below in my list for posting for a while. I really love the design on all of these, but the Hansel and Gretel is my favorite. All of the candy and the oven right there front and center in the house design makes me cringe and smile. The other two sets are much more innocuous but also pretty, too. I like the Three Bears' house, too.

And don't worry, like yesterday's Princess and the Pea craft, as I share ideas for fairy tale related activities they are not all going to require a purchase. I know economic hardships are going to be one of the biggest challenges for many during this time. And the activities won't all be for kids--or those of us with kid-like hearts for playing with playsets, making crafts, etc.

In fact, I have some ideas of how to allow for volunteer work with getting the new SurLaLune Fairy Tales Database  more populated. I just need to ponder some logistics on that and will share some ideas next week. These are interesting times we live in and I am finding actually one of the things I miss most is the opportunity to do service. I am putting that energy into SurLaLune again after a long year of grief and other distractions. I am determined for this pandemic to bring about some blessings, too. The opportunity to spend some time finishing my current books that have been nearly done for almost two years now and finally getting the new SurLaLune website ready for launch. Good times ahead for those who use the SurLaLune site.

STORYTIME TOYS The Three Little Pigs and Bad Wolf, Book and Toy Set

STORYTIME TOYS Goldilocks and The Three Bears Book and Toy Set

SurLaLune's Small Print:

As an Amazon Associate, the SurLaLune Fairy Tale site earns a percentage from qualifying purchases as a referral incentive which helps support the site. Your cost does not increase by using the links on this site. Read SurLaLune's Privacy Policy here.

Bargain Ebook: No Place Like Here by Christina June for $2.99

Released this past May, No Place Like Here by Christina June is on sale for $2.99. This is a contemporary YA novel with Hansel and Gretel inspiration.

Book description:

From Christina June, author of It Started with Goodbye and Everywhere You Want to Be, comes No Place Like Here, a modern twist on Hansel and Gretel.

Ashlyn Zanotti has big plans for the summer. She's just spent a year at boarding school and can't wait to get home. But when Ashlyn's father is arrested for tax evasion and her mother enters a rehab facility for "exhaustion," a.k.a. depression, her life is turned upside down.

The cherry on top? Ashlyn's father sends her to work with a cousin she doesn't even know at a rustic team-building retreat center in the middle of nowhere. A self-proclaimed "indoor girl," not even Ash's habit of leaving breadcrumb quotes--inspirational sayings she scribbles everywhere--can help her cope.

With a dangerously careless camp manager doling out grunt work, an overbearing father trying to control her even from prison, and more than a little boy drama to struggle with, the summer is full of challenges. And Ashlyn must make the toughest decision of her life: keep quiet and follow her dad's marching orders, or find the courage to finally stand up to her father to have any hope of finding her way back home.

Fans looking for stories with elements of drama, romance, friendship, and an unflinching look into navigating and improving even the most difficult parent-teen relationships need look no further.

New Book: Gingerbread: A Novel by Helen Oyeyemi

Gingerbread: A Novel by Helen Oyeyemi is a new book released this week. Oyeyemi is marketed more under literary fiction than genre fiction although she uses fairy tales to inspire her novels.

You can read an interview with Oyeyemi about the book on Vulture at Helen Oyeyemi at Gingerbread, Her Twist on Hansel and Gretel, and Reading Amazon Reviews.

Book description:

The prize-winning, bestselling author of Boy, Snow, Bird and What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours returns with a bewitching and imaginative novel.

Influenced by the mysterious place gingerbread holds in classic children's stories, beloved novelist Helen Oyeyemi invites readers into a delightful tale of a surprising family legacy, in which the inheritance is a recipe.

Perdita Lee may appear to be your average British schoolgirl; Harriet Lee may seem just a working mother trying to penetrate the school social hierarchy; but there are signs that they might not be as normal as they think they are. For one thing, they share a gold-painted, seventh-floor walk-up apartment with some surprisingly verbal vegetation. And then there's the gingerbread they make. Londoners may find themselves able to take or leave it, but it's very popular in Druhástrana, the far-away (or, according to many sources, non-existent) land of Harriet Lee's early youth. The world's truest lover of the Lee family gingerbread, however, is Harriet's charismatic childhood friend Gretel Kercheval —a figure who seems to have had a hand in everything (good or bad) that has happened to Harriet since they met.

Decades later, when teenaged Perdita sets out to find her mother's long-lost friend, it prompts a new telling of Harriet's story. As the book follows the Lees through encounters with jealousy, ambition, family grudges, work, wealth, and real estate, gingerbread seems to be the one thing that reliably holds a constant value. Endlessly surprising and satisfying, written with Helen Oyeyemi's inimitable style and imagination, it is a true feast for the reader.

New Book: Straw into Gold: Fairy Tales Re-spun by Hilary McKay and Sarah Gibb

Straw into Gold: Fairy Tales Re-spun by Hilary McKay (Author) and Sarah Gibb (Illustrator) was released this month. Gibb has illustrated several romantic fairy tale picture books that SurLaLune readers have enjoyed over the years. Hilary McKay has a loyal following in YA and is better known in the UK than the US. Her Casson family series has been highly recommended to me by several YA professionals over the years but I've yet to encounter a casual reader who has read her work in the states. An oddity but I am sharing to let you know she is well-liked, even beloved by many readers, even if you are not familiar with her work. What fascinated me was that the Wall Street Journal has reviewed the book for its United States release this month.

I haven't read the book myself yet take joy in that there are retellings of Princess and the Pea, The Swan Brothers and The Twelve Dancing Princesses among the other more usual suspects.

Book description:

Award-winning author Hilary McKay reimagines your favorite fairy tales with humorous and heartfelt twists in this beautifully illustrated collection of short stories.

Imagine Hansel and Gretel’s story from their teacher’s point of view, when Gretel submits her report of, “What I Did in the Holidays, and Why Hansel’s Jacket Is So Tight.” Learn the story of how Rumpelstiltskin was used by a greedy girl who wanted to marry a prince in “Straw into Gold.” Find out what was really underneath all those mattresses the unlucky princess had to sleep on in “The Prince and the Problem.”

Award-winning author Hilary McKay brings a modern sensibility and inventive quirkiness to this beautiful collection of ten classic fairy tales, reimagining them with emotional depth and lighthearted humor. Each story is also accompanied by black and white illustrations and includes fresh perspectives with hilarious new twists.

Using details never revealed before, this sure-to-be treasured collection includes: 

Rapunzel
Cinderella
The Princess and the Pea
Rumpelstiltskin
The Pied Piper
The Swan Brothers
Snow White
Red Riding Hood
The Twelve Dancing Princesses
Hansel and Gretel

New Book: Between Before and After by Maureen Doyle McQuerry

Between Before and After by Maureen Doyle McQuerry was released this month. This one stands out due to the setting and the fairy tale involved--the Spanish Flu Epidemic in 1918 and Hansel and Gretel.

Book description:

“The carnage began with the roses. She hacked at their ruffled blooms until they dropped into monstrous drifts of red on the parched yellow lawn … Only two things kept my mother grounded to us: my uncle Stephen and stories.”

Fourteen-year-old Molly worries about school, friends, and her parents’ failed marriage, but mostly about her mother’s growing depression. Molly knows her mother is nursing a carefully-kept secret. A writer with an obsession for other people’s life stories, Elaine Donnelly is the poster child of repressed emotions.

Molly spends her California summer alternately watching out for her little brother Angus and tip-toeing around her mother’s raw feelings. Molly needs her mother more than ever, but Elaine shuts herself off from real human connections and buries herself in the lives and deaths of the strangers she writes about. When Uncle Stephen is pressed into the limelight because of his miracle cure of a young man, Elaine can no longer hide behind other people’s stories. And as Molly digs into her mother’s past, she finds a secret hidden in her mother’s dresser that may be the key to unlocking a family mystery dating to 1918 New York—a secret that could destroy or save their future.

Told in dual narratives between 1918 New York City and 1955 San Jose, California, Between Before and After, by award-winning author Maureen McQuerry, explores the nature of family secrets, resiliency, and redemption. This is an historical coming-of-age Young Adult story about the complex bonds between mothers and daughters.

A great article about the book can be read at This Tri-City author’s family loss to Spanish flu inspired her new young adult novel by Sara Schilling.

Bargain Ebook: Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet by Charlie N. Holmberg

Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet by Charlie N. Holmberg is on sale in ebook format for $1.99. If you read the description you can see inspiration from Gingerbread Man and Hansel and Gretel in its pages, at least the food tropes from those tales.

Book description:

Maire is a baker with an extraordinary gift: she can infuse her treats with emotions and abilities, which are then passed on to those who eat them. She doesn’t know why she can do this and remembers nothing of who she is or where she came from.

When marauders raid her town, Maire is captured and sold to the eccentric Allemas, who enslaves her and demands that she produce sinister confections, including a witch’s gingerbread cottage, a living cookie boy, and size-altering cakes.

During her captivity, Maire is visited by Fyel, a ghostly being who is reluctant to reveal his connection to her. The more often they meet, the more her memories return, and she begins to piece together who and what she really is—as well as past mistakes that yield cosmic consequences.

From the author of The Paper Magician series comes a haunting and otherworldly tale of folly and consequence, forgiveness and redemption.

New Book: Tricked by Jen Calonita

Tricked by Jen Calonita was released earlier this year, the third in the Fairy Tale Reform School series. This has been a popular series with some clever usage of classic fairy tale characters and tropes.

Book description:

Things are changing at Fairy Tale Reform School.

At least, that's what Gilly's heard through the Enchantasia rumor mill. Word is, notorious trickster Rumpelstiltskin has taken over management from Headmistress Flora, and he's locked down the school tighter than the Pied Piper's pants. Not that this news concerns Gilly. She's been released from FTRS and is now suffering through attending Jack of All Trades School, where she gets to learn about different kinds of shoe leather and ways to measure feet. Truly riveting stuff.

But when Gilly's little sister Anna gets whisked off to FTRS thanks to her troublemaking new friends, Hansel and Gretel, Gilly knows she's got to get Anna out of there. There's only one thing to do; make some serious trouble and get thrown back into FTRS.

Bargain Ebook: The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy

The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy is on sale for $1.99 in ebook format. I don't know that it has ever been sale priced before--I've owned the paper edition for years. The book belongs in the subgenre of books that retell fairy tales during one of the World Wars, specifically WWII and the Nazis with this one--which Hansel and Gretel is rather ripe to deal with when you consider the story elements.

Book description:

A poignant and suspenseful retelling of a classic fairy tale set in a war-torn world

In the last months of the Nazi occupation of Poland, two children are left by their father and stepmother to find safety in a dense forest. Because their real names will reveal their Jewishness, they are renamed "Hansel" and "Gretel." They wander in the woods until they are taken in by Magda, an eccentric and stubborn old woman called "witch" by the nearby villagers. Magda is determined to save them, even as a German officer arrives in the village with his own plans for the children. Louise Murphy’s haunting novel of journey and survival, of redemption and memory, powerfully depicts how war is experienced by families and especially by children.

"Lyrical, haunting, unforgettable." —Kirkus Reviews

"No reader who picks up this inspiring novel will put it down until the final pages, in which redemption is not a fairy tale ending but a heartening message of hope." —Publishers Weekly

Bargain Ebook: Smoke and Mirrors (Magic Men Mysteries) by Elly Griffiths

Smoke and Mirrors (Magic Men Mysteries) by Elly Griffiths is a book I haven't featured here on the blog yet. It also happens today to be bargain priced in ebook format for $2.99.

Rather unusual here at SurLaLune, it's the second book in a murder mystery series. The plot offers a killer inspired by fairy tales, especially Hansel and Gretel and Aladdin. Fairy tales are not part of the first book in the series, Zig Zag Girl, but magic is part of the world building with one of the detectives a magician. Intrigued yet? Murder mysteries with fairy tale references are not that unusual but this particular mix is one of the most original combination of elements I've seen in a while. There's also a 1950s setting and a pantomime, very British. And the second book is slightly better reviewed than the first in the series, too.

Book description:

In the sequel to the "captivating" Zig Zag Girl, DI Edgar Stephens and the magician Max Mephisto hunt for a killer after two children are murdered in a tragic tableau of a very grim fairy tale.

It’s Christmastime in Brighton, and the city is abuzz about a local production of Aladdin, starring the marvelous Max Mephisto. But the holiday cheer is lost on DI Edgar Stephens. He’s investigating the murder of two children, Annie and Mark, who were strangled to death in the woods, abandoned alongside a trail of candy—a horrifying scene eerily reminiscent of Hansel and Gretel.

Edgar has plenty of leads to investigate. Annie, a surprisingly dark child, used to write gruesome plays based on the Grimms' fairy tales. Does the key to the case lie in her unfinished final script? Or does the macabre staging of Annie and Mark’s deaths point to the theater and the capricious cast of characters performing in Aladdin? Once again Edgar enlists Max's help in penetrating the shadowy world of the theater. But is this all just classic misdirection?

Bargain Ebook: The Witch: And Other Tales Re-Told by Jean Thompson for $1.99

The Witch: And Other Tales Re-Told by Jean Thompson is on sale in ebook edition for $1.99.

Book description:

A National Book Award finalist and bestselling author, Jean Thompson’s new collection of “bewitching improvisations on fairy tales” are “spellbinding” (Booklist, starred review).

Jean Thompson—author of the National Book Award finalist Who Do You Love and the New York Times bestseller The Year We Left Home—is a writer at the height of her powers. Capturing the magic and horror in everyday life, Thompson revisits beloved fables that represent our deepest, most primeval fears and satisfy our longings for good to triumph over evil (preferably in the most gruesome way possible). From the wolf in “Little Red Riding Hood” to the beauty asleep in her castle, The Witch and Other Tales Retold triumphantly brings the fairy tale into the modern age.

NRA Rewrites Fairy Tales With More Firearms, Less Bloodshed

Illustration by Amy Hulse, Studio Coronado

So SurLaLune tries to be apolitical as much as possible. So I am going to not comment but will share the following article and links from NPR and the NRA: NRA Rewrites Fairy Tales With More Firearms, Less Bloodshed by CAMILA DOMONOSKE

Adding guns to the world of the Brothers Grimm drastically reduces death rates, according to a study — well, OK, according to a couple of stories published by the NRA.

So far, there are only two data points. And they're imaginary. But the trendline is clear: In the NRA's reimagined fairy tales, putting rifles in the hands of children creates a safer world.

The NRA Family site published its first reimagined fairy tale — "Little Red Riding Hood (Has A Gun)" in January, and followed up with "Hansel and Gretel (Have Guns)" last week.

On Twitter, inspired by the series, a few people have been inventing their own #NRAfairytales, imagining tales that begin with "once upon a time" and end with a bang.

There's much more, so click through to read.

And that's all I have to say about that. Thanks to Val for sharing!

New Release: Ravenous by MarcyKate Connolly

Ravenous by MarcyKate Connolly was released last month. It is a companion to last year's Monstrous which I have not featured on the blog since it is more of a Frankenstein inspired story although the reviews say there are many fairy tale elements within.

This new book retells Hansel and Gretel in a way that sounds like a cross with the Snow Queen and other tales where sisters rescue brothers. And the witch obviously has some Baba Yaga elements to her.

So looks like fun for readers who like to identify their fairy tale bits and pieces!

Book description:

For fans of tales by the Brothers Grimm, this novel, inspired by the fairytale "Hansel and Gretel," is a riveting and wholly original story of an epic quest and a heroine who will stop at nothing to save the one she loves most. A companion to the author's Monstrous, it will be enjoyed by fans of that book as well as readers who are new to this fully imagined and rich world. Also includes a bonus story, Precious, a prequel to both Monstrous and Ravenous.

A witch has come to the city of Bryre. She travels in a hut that has chicken feet, and she's ravenous for children.

When the witch captures Hans, Greta's little brother, Greta refuses to let her have him. The two strike up a bargain. Greta will retrieve something the witch desires in exchange for her brother's freedom.To get the prize Greta must travel to Belladoma—a city where she was once held captive. With the help of a new friend, Dalen, a magical half-boy and half-horse, Greta embarks on the journey and tries to overcome both foes and her own weaknesses.

Crafty Friday: Crochet Stories: Grimms' Fairy Tales by Vanessa Putt

Crochet Stories: Grimms' Fairy Tales (Dover Knitting, Crochet, Tatting, Lace) by Vanessa Putt is today's Crafty Friday offering. I couldn't find many images to share but there's enough to entertain for today.

Book description:

"Incredibly innovative, fun, and creative, Crochet Stories: Grimms’ Fairy Tales is something you can share with your loved ones for many years and it will surely inspire you to go on to create even more fairy tale characters." —Erisea Mag

Practitioners of amigurumi, the Japanese art of crocheting stuffed dolls, will adore this collection of sixteen playful patterns for fairy tale figures. Projects include the witch and the gingerbread house as well as the hero and heroine of "Hansel and Gretel"; the giant and the golden goose's eggs of "Jack and the Beanstalk," in addition to the beanstalk and Jack himself; the long-haired captive of "Rapunzel," her lonely tower, and her rescuer, the prince; the animals of "The Hare and the Hedgehog" plus a juicy carrot; and the wee subject of "Tom Thumb" and his cow.

Clear instructions for creating the characters are accompanied by color photos of the finished products along with charming retellings of all five fairy tales. An introductory chapter offers general notes and tips, including pointers on working in the round, stuffing, measurements, and finishing.

New Book: Hansel & Gretel by Hollie Hobby

Hansel & Gretel by Hollie Hobby is a new release and I have to admit one of my favorite illustrated versions of Hansel and Gretel in several years. Just look at the page images I included below. They are scrumptious. Hansel and Gretel is a perfect story for modern Halloween celebrations--witches, candy and some jeopardy. One might think with the Holly Hobbie name this would be overly sweet, but it isn't. The atmosphere is gorgeous and dense.

So a perfect book for this week and I know I will adding this one to my personal collection. It resonates with me. Lovely!

Book description:

Holly Hobbie brings to life a favorite spooky tale from childhood.

When a woodcutter and his scheming wife abandon Hansel and Gretel in the forest, all hope is lost until they come upon a cottage made of tasty sweets. But the owner is not the kindly old woman she pretends to be. Can Gretel save Hansel from the clutches of a hungry witch? Holly Hobbie's masterful watercolors reach new heights in this spine-tingling rendition of the tale, faithful to the beloved classic.