The Juniper Tree : And Other Tales from Grimm

by Maurice Sendak; Lore Segal, Maurice Sendak (Illustrator)

A one-volume hardcover edition for the 30th anniversary Originally published as a two-volume set thirty years ago, The Juniper Tree is distinguished first by the selection of stories. Lore Segal and Maurice Sendak have jointly culled 27 from the 210 in the complete collection, and their contents page presents a fascinating critical statement. The translations are another distinguishing quality of the Segal/Sendak edition. Both translators have been painstakingly faithful to the German texts; they have not cut, “retold,” or bowdlerized. In addition, Segal and Jarrell bring to their renderings of Grimm the grace and precision that are characteristic of their own original prose. This must-have edition for every home library is jacketed and cloth-bound and has a bookmark ribbon.

Genres: Short Stories, Fairy Tales, Classics, Fiction, Fantasy, Folklore, Childrens

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

Reviews

[Cheryl]

For some reason this collection is divided into two separate books. My library sent me volume one, which does not include the title story. I'll look for it online, and I won't care if it's been adapted. This collection prides itself on authenticity to the Grimm originals, but I don't think that's a good thing except for scholars... the nature of the folktale is to be adapted to fit the teller's contemporary audience (within reason). I did not actually enjoy very many of these stories, nor even the illustrations. Sendak's work here is, imo, too polished, even pretentious, and the ugly people are all shaped like toddlers and they all push out the edges of the pages. Blech.

[Lars Guthrie]

Wow. And I mean, wow. I had to drop all the things I thought about these stories, some of which ("Hansel and Gretel," "Snow White," Rapunzel") I thought were etched into memory. Stark. Eerie. Bloody. Matter-of-fact and bizarre at the same time, a paradox emphasized and reinforced in Sendak's splendid illustrations. Here's what it made me think about successful narrative: A good story is about events that we can never really understand served up in a structure that we do.

[Eddie Watkins]

There are few better combinations than a well-translated and complete Grimm's tale and an illustration by Maurice Sendak. Each Sendak illustration in this collection (there's about one illustration per tale) is a tale in itself, dense with detail but balanced, simultaneously innocent and menacing, and saturated with narrative suggestion.

This is a reissue of a classic collection. The book is well designed too, short and sturdy with clear text and the illustrations look almost like etchings.

[Graychin]

A choice selection of Grimm tales, well translated – with all the weird violence intact. Sendak’s illustrations are fascinating. I picked this up for two bucks at a local used bookshop and consider it one of my best finds of the year.

[Kristen Miller]

LOVE read when I was a kid. Excellent translations.

[Betsy]

The scholar in me appreciated this more than the reader in me enjoyed it, if that makes sense.

[Deirdre]

Wowowow I love Maurice Sendak. Also whoever translated these stories - the prose is simple, readable, unadorned, complete with the odd, endearing ending tags of some tales (not the kind where the stepmother dances dead in red-hot iron shoes, but the kind where there's a little rhyme or sentence from the storyteller to the audience). Sendak and his fellow artist did an excellent job capturing the slightly surreal, slightly creepy, slightly claustrophobic atmosphere of Grimm fairytales - even when these stories are funny there is always something heartbreaking under the surface or around the next corner. And Sendak's illustrations are brilliant. There's one illustration per story, and it's so intriguing to see which moments he illustrated, how he depicts his characters, and what else is going on in his pictures.

I found the original hardcover two-volume boxed set at my favourite used bookstore in Wolfville, NS when I was there on my vacation and couldn't resist. So now I also own this beautiful object.

Would highly recommend to anyone who is interested in fairy tales.

[Anne Sanow]

What German parents (including my 2nd-generation parents) give the kiddies to read for fun. This is for children who display an early distaste for fluff, and looooove seeing the wicked get punished. Some weird moral twists, particularly in some of the lesser-known tales such as "Many-Fur," wherein: a princess who looks like her beautiful dead mother runs away and disguises herself in dead animal skins when her father, the king, decides he wants to marry her (?!?!!), then returns incognita as a kitchen maid who then endeavors to win the love of said father/king at a series of balls where she wears magical dresses that come out of a walnut shell....um, I am not making this up.

Lots of fodder for women's studies classes, too!

[Oliver Bateman]

the lore segal translations of the grimm stories in these two volumes are excellent, particularly the weird and seemingly pointless tales: "many-fur" (the daughter hides from her father in a fur coat, then eventually consents to marry him), "rabbit's bride" (a girl tasked with removing a rabbit from the garden is forced to become his bride, then escapes, then the rabbit is sad), "mrs. gertrude" (a naughty child decides to go visit a witch, is turned into a log, and burned up), and "spindle, shuttle, and needle" (a king's advisor, who is a lion, is ignored by the king but ultimately proves to be correct). the main event, though, is the artwork of sendak--probably his best and most disturbing material outside of all the pictures of naked little boys he drew over the years. special mention should be made to the pictures for "spindle, shuttle, and needle" (an amazing lion in fancy clothes), "the poor miller's boy and the little cat" (a melancholy boy is surrounded by a bunch of serving-cats; google that one). great stuff here. i'd read it as a kid, left it among my mother's effects, and retrieved it a few months ago. i'm glad i did.

[Ashley Lambert-Maberly]

Not something I'd pick for small children (some of the stories are a bit long, and with only one illustration per tale, it won't hold their interest). But I would have enjoyed reading this at age 7, and I enjoyed it now, although I admit to skimming a few stories that I'd read before (in a presumably different translation). Sendak's illustrations are always interesting, and the primary reason for me to read this one.

It seems a bit churlish to criticize the stories themselves, but their quality does vary. I still don't quite understand the punishment and reward system: sometimes being dumb is very bad, and sometimes very good. Some people misbehaved terribly and it turned out all right for them. I've no idea what St. Peter was up to or why he persisted for so long.

(Note: I'm a writer, so I suffer when I offer fewer than five stars. But these aren't ratings of quality, they're a subjective account of how much I liked the book: 5* = an unalloyed pleasure from start to finish, 4* = really enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = disappointing, and 1* = hated it.)

[Min]

The desire to read these again, so many, many years after my introduction, is purely nostalgic. My grandmother had a love of stories, particularly folk talks, and fairy tales; one that I share. She presented me with her copy shortly after its publication. Continuing my efforts to return to the tales of my youth, and finding it in my library, made this the perfect next selection.

A new translation of twenty-seven of the two-hundred and ten tales published by Grimm. Several of the stories are uncommon, juxtaposed next to those tales most everyone knows; ranging in length from a page, and a half, to ten pages for the longest ones. Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, The Frog King, and Rapunzel for the well-known selections. My favorites of the lesser known are Mrs. Gertrude, Bearskin, Godfather Death, Hans my Hedgehog, and Spindle, Shuttle, and Needle.

The illustrations by Maurice Sendak are the best of his I have ever seen. They capture a moment in his unique style of disproportional bodies, and detailed realism for nature and her creatures. A picture of each tale.

[Weeping Onion]

Had always been a big fan of the Grimm brothers for their disturbing stories. Aside from the old and famous ones that were already modernized such as Hansel and Gretel. There are other beautifully creepy stories out there like the one I just read, titled The Juniper Tree. It was shocking when it came to the detail of the boy’s death and the boy’s return by the end of the story is even more intriguing and disturbing.

[Toppie]

A thoughtfully curated collection that seems to speak to the themes and stories that resonated most with Segal and Sendak. The cadence of the translations feels faithful to the original text in a way I hadn't yet experienced and Sendak's illustrations are mesmerizing. The reprint has been faithfully realized and is a lovely piece to hold in your hands.

[Bruce]

This is an impressive collection of twenty-seven of the tales collected by the Brothers Grimm selected by Lore Segal and Maurice Sendak and illustrated by Sendak. The translations are by Segal and Randall Jarrell. The titles given for some of the tales differ from those in other translations, however, the design, binding, and paper quality are outstanding.

[Dave]

Quite a large collection of tales, many of which were unfamiliar to me. These were translated as closely to the original as possible, which in some cases means that they sound a bit dull. Overall quite good, with excellent woodcuts by Sendak.

[Mhd]

As expected, beautiful Sendak illustrations. "The Juniper Tree", itself, is at the end of Vol 2. Very interesting selections from Grimm works. I didn't read them all since I was specifically interested in Juniper, but did read about 5 in each volume.

[Drusilla]

This was my sad attempt to read Nordic Noir for the 52 Book Challenge. Nordic Noir wigs me out so I attempted (per advise of other challengers) to read Grimm instead. Pretty scary stuff for younger kids.

[Jenny K]

The editing is not very well done on this compilation. In some places it’s hard to figure out who is speaking because everything is just jammed in long paragraphs that don’t change with different speakers.
This interrupts the flow of the story when you have to stop and try to figure it out.

[Susanna Grant]

Totally delicious serving up of the dark, strange, and violent tales of the brothers Grimm. Devoured this one as a kid and loved every minute

[Gabrielle Chiararo]

Marvelous tales and striking illustrations of stories we think we know.

[Ella]

This was so much more of a trip than when I was a kid

[Gallagher]

I only want to read versions of Rapunzel where vegetables are a main theme in the story, and I was not disappointed.

[Sharon Zink]

Included many fairy tales I hadn't read before. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

[Stephanie]

One of my favorite children's books.

[Daniel Draper]

Brothers Grimm revolutionised the genre of Fairy Tale and it's a real pleasure to read their work.

[Grace Chen]

4.25/4.5

[Meghan]

Read aloud to my kids. We loved it!

[Sophie 🥱]

I love these stories. They can be so bizarre and fun to read. My personal favorite was “Hans My Hedgehog” after reading these stories I have gone out and purchased the complete works of Grimm and am excited to read all of them.

[Vicki]

Excellent collection of fairy tales in their original form. Includes many familiar stories such as "Hansel and Gretel" and "Rapunzel" , as well as many unfamiliar ones.Recommended.

[Miss Kelly]

The Juniper Tree is a far less well known Grimm story, probably because it is so filled with evil. Not only does the step mother kill the little boy, but she allows her own daughter to believe that she is guilty of the crime. It seems to be indicative of a time that we no longer know. It is hard to imagine a world where stories like this made sense and were commonplace. The sound effects (clickety~clack for a mill and chip~chop for a mill stone) are unfamiliar and odd. The idea of even a magical bird making the words "my mother she butchered me, my father he ate me" into a song so beautiful that people rush to pay the bird to hear it again is so foreign.

Snow White ends on an odd note with the iron shoes. Odd to us, at least, because the iron shoes seem like they are an expected punishment. I'd really like to know the background to that!