A Handful of Beans: Six Fairy Tales Retold

by Jeanne Steig, William Steig (Illustrator)

Six fairy tales are told anew,And spiced with picturesquite a few.It took a pair of Steigs to do ' 'Twas Jeanne who wrote 'em. William drew 'em. Here's Rumpelstiltskin, in a rage; The Frog Prince hops right off the page; Hansel and Gretel thwart the witch; Jack slays the giant (and gets rich); Red Riding Hood and Gram survive; The Beast and Beauty wed, and thrive. That's quite enough. The book's a killer. To say more would be idle filler.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Fairy Tales, Retellings, Fantasy, Folk Tales, Classics

144 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1998

Reviews

[Shanna Gonzalez · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightfully told collection of six classic fairy tales, told in crackerjack prose and rhymes, and illustrated by the inimitable William Steig. The author keeps closely to the traditional versions of these tales, giving them a uniquely wry and playful flavor reminiscent of Edith Nesbit: In Rumplestiltskin, the queen inquires, "Is it Crumple or Blister, or Guggle or Nank? Williwaw, Flimflam, or Hiccup or Clank?" The witch tucks Hansel and Gretel into beds "with sheets as soft as a spider's web," and the Frog Prince concludes with, "And was the Princess kind to her Prince?/ Who knows? They have never been heard of since."

This book is more text than picture, so it is best for older children, familiar with the stories, who can appreciate Steig's wonderful use of language. Whether read aloud or silently, it is a definite winner.

[R. C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's the little verses added to these six well-known fairy tales. That's why I love reading these aloud. My kids love them too. My oldest gobbled them all up on the day the book arrived. My middle recorded MP3s of himself reciting his favorite poems. My youngest requests this book at bedtime pretty much every night.

[Carol Bakker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Six fairy tales are told anew,
And spiced with pictures — quite a few,
It took a pair of Steigs to do 'em:
'Twas Jeanne who wrote them,
William drew 'em.

This book was hard to find — until I looked at archive.org where you borrow an hour at a time (and, alas, read from a screen). These are no Disney retellings; they stick close to the classics. I found Jeanne's* words charming and captivating.

"What are you bawling and squalling about? Some fiddle-dee-diddle, I have no doubt?"

"Her sisters were glad to see her go, but rubbed onions in their eyes to make themselves weep."

William's whimsical drawings feature bulbous noses, triangular teeth, and thick, bepolkadotted women (again, all things NOT Disney).

* Jeanne died last July at the age of 92. A quote from her obituary: Humor is largely the way I get by in the world.

[Lisa Montgomery · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am always a sucker for a good retelling. Some of these fit the bill. Others, not so much.
William Steif and Jeanne Steig customarily produce a great children's book. This is good, but not great. Six classic tales - Rumplestilskin, Hansel and Gretel, Beauty and the Beast, Little Red Riding Hood, The Frog Prince, and Jack and the Beanstalk are retold. Attempts are made to learn something new of each character. I am not saying this does not do exactly that. It just was not what I was expecting.
The book is 116 pages in length.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Little Red Riding Hood from A Handful of Beans, written by Jeanne Steig in 1998. This version of the fairy tale has one similar to the traditional ending where the grandma emerges from the wolf unharmed after the huntsman helps cut them out of the wolf. It is a very good fairy tale with some great illustrations.

[Victoria Grusing · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a little disappointed as I had hoped there would be more of Wm. Steig's magic telling like The Magic Pebble. Should have read description better. It is basically just one more book of these 6 old tales with new pictures.

[Deborah Bancroft · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twists on well-known fairy tales, with illustrations by William Steig.

[Sadie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories were great. I didn't care for the few and far between illustrations.

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Steigs retell the Rumpelstiltskin, Beauty and the Beast, Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, The Frog Prince, and Jack and the Beanstalk.

Surprisingly, the Steigs stayed pretty close to the classic versions of each of these tales. That's also a warning, the wolf gets cut up in this version, Rumpelstiltskin splits himself in half, the giant dies when the beanstalk falls and Gretel offs the witch by pushing her into the oven. These are not the Disney versions. I did like the little rhymes Jeanne made for each tale. She did a great job with those. I'm not a huge fan of William Steig's art style in this. His people are lumpy and oh boy, do they have weird tastes in fashion! What is Beauty wearing?!? And I thought the Beast looked better in his beast form than in his human form (he's got a nose that would rival Cyrano de Bergerac). If you're looking for short versions of the classic tales, this is a good pick. Don't pick it up for the illustrations. They are weird and they don't even appear on every page spread.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Six classics in one book: "Rumpelstiltskin," "Beauty and the Beast," "Hansel and Gretel," "Little Red Riding Hood," "The Frog Prince," and "Jack and the Beanstalk."--according to Goodreads review

I haven't read these stories in ages, so it was fun to read them again. For some reason when I first started reading Rumpelstiltskin, I got it confused with Rip Van Winkle and couldn't figure out the story! I loved the descriptions Jeanne Steig gives for the different characters and the way Wiliam Steig illustrates them (just makes them look fun). The one thing I wondered is the bad witch inside the gingerbread house their stepmother? I was wondering this because she seems to mysteriously die the same time as the bad witch. This was a delightful read, and a good way to introduce kids to fairy tales.

[Bree · Rating 4 out of 5]

Notes:
best for kids who already know these tales
just the right amount of illustrations
love the added rhymes within the mostly traditional tales
the violence of the originals is in these (Rumpelstiltskin tears himself in two, the Beast talks of murder, Gretel pushing the witch in the oven is illustrated and also elaborated in gruesome words, Wolf is filled with rocks and dies)

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book to observe another version of Rumpelstiltskin. I did not find it particularly appealing.

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Retelling of: Rumplestiltskin, Beauty and the Beast, Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, The Frog Prince, and Jack and the Beanstalk. Illustrations. Small sized book.

[Edy Gies · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute retelling of the stories accompanied by wonderfully charming illustrations

[Bill]

Great to see this reissued by Atheneum.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a retelling