#243 of 1001 · March 31, 2021

Today I have for you The Enchanted Nightingale, Bernadette Watts’s adaptation of the Brothers Grimm tale “Jorinda and Joringel”. Two young sweethearts wander too close to the castle of a malevolent witch and fall under the sway of her power: the man is paralyzed and left to watch as the woman is turned into a nightingale and imprisoned. Aided by a clairvoyant dream, the youth locates a magic flower with which he undoes the old hag’s terrible enchantment. Watts presents the tale with graceful turns of phrase and fully realized emotional depth. She composes her illustrations with beautiful contrasting colors to achieve rich textures of light and shadow. A note for folklore enthusiasts: Watts has created a faithful adaptation of the Grimm’s plot. She preserves much of their vocabulary and phrasing, and only alters a few details (changing the flower from red to purple, muting a few references to death, explicitly noting that the witch’s other victims are freed at the end). Her original German-language edition of the book even retained the Grimms’ original title; the new title was selected for the English translation. #witch #castle #bird #magic #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbook #beautifulbooks #beautifulbookcover #beautifulbookcovers #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookillustrations #picturebookart #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks