#476 of 1001 · November 19, 2021

If it’s a merry bit of comic fantasy you’re after, may I suggest The Talking Tree by Inna and Robert Rayevsky? Spurred on by a visitor’s story, a king sets out on a quest for a marvelous tree possessed of the power of speech. He eventually locates the tree and learns that it is in truth a princess, long since ensnared by a witch’s curse. In order to set her free, the monarch must evade a hungry ogre, locate his magic axe, use the weapon to behead the witch, and finally outwit the ogre’s daughter, who had contrived to turn the princess’s human flesh into living wood. The husband and wife achieve a pleasing unity in their adaptation of this Italian fairy tale, her engaging writing style and his wispy, elongated character art meshing delightfully. #talking #tree #king #princess #witch #ax #axe #magic #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbooks #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookart #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks