#33 of 1001 · September 2, 2020

The book of the day is Rapunzel, retold from the Brothers Grimm and illustrated by Alix Berenzy. On each page Berenzy draws the reader further into a landscape of intoxicating detail through her vibrant use of color and her remarkable command of light and shadow. She achieves these distinctive visual textures through a singular combination of gouache painting and colored pencil drawing on black paper. A note for folklore enthusiasts: in her text, Berenzy identifies the malevolent Mother Gothel as a “fairy”, a direct translation of the German word “Fee”, which the Grimms themselves used in the first edition of Kinder- und Hausmärchen. The French-derived “Fee” hints at the work’s origin: the Grimms adapted it from a German translation of a French literary fairy tale. In later editions, they subtly cleansed the story of its roots by replacing “Fee” with the more appropriately Germanic “Zauberin”, or “sorceress”. Modern English-language adaptations typically give Mother Gothel the more familiar label “witch”. #alixberenzy #rapunzel #grimm #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbook #beautifulbooks #beautifulbookcover #beautifulbookcovers #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookillustrations #picturebookart #classicchildrensbooks #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks