Cirrus@Austlit

'Fairy tales with their tales of morality and otherworldliness are a relatively benign way of facing our fears, even as they might haunt our nightmares. But is it enough to reproduce them again and again? New fairy tale picture books capture our attention because they employ captivating language or a Jane Ray or Lauren Child, some of the best contemporary retellers do, the messages are changed ever so slightly so that those communicated don't merely reiterate ones that seem out of kilter with messages we might want to instil in our children; hence Hansel and Gretel might still be on their way to the oven but princesses are not lauded merely for their appearance.' (Introduction)