#655 of 1001 · May 17, 2022

Another version of the Brothers Turned into Birds arrives in this adaptation of The Six Swans, translated by Anthea Bell and illustrated by Dorothée Duntze. Duntze’s alluring illustrations reveal a wealth of fascinating details, including the use of fox imagery on the witch’s daughter and the furtive reappearance of the witch herself in miniature form in the young king’s garden. A note about the text: Bell’s translation for this edition was later reillustrated in a version by Gerda Raidt, which was the first book I featured during this very theme week. A side-by-side comparison reveals the text of the two books to be identical, with two glaring exceptions—this earlier version includes the queen mother’s false accusation of cannibalism, which Raidt’s later version softens to killing, and her eventual fate of being burned at the stake, which the later version changes to life imprisonment. #brother #brothers #sister #bird #birds #swan #swans #magic #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbooks #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookart #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks