Brother & Sister | Modern Interpretations

The story of Brother and Sister and its themes have appeared in literature and other forms of art. This page provides a small discussion of some of the better known treatments by authors and other artists.





Modern Interpretations

Bach, Shelby. Of Giants and Ice (Ever Afters). New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2012.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in ebook or hardcover or paperback.

Bach, Shelby. Of Witches and Wind (Ever Afters). New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2013.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in ebook or hardcover or paperback.

This series offers a large range of fairy tales with many tales referenced or used to drive the plot. The second book includes the Brother and Sister fairy tale as one of the character's tales.

NOVEL: Description for Of Giants and Ice: When Rory realizes fairy tales are the real deal at Ever After School, she embarks on a classic quest to fulfill her destiny in this “fast-paced combination of middle school realism and fairy-tale fantasy” (Kirkus Reviews). Rory Landon has spent her whole life being known as the daughter of a famous movie star mom and director dad. So when she begins a new after-school program and no one knows who her family is, Rory realizes something is different. After she ends up fighting a fire-breathing dragon on her first day, she realizes the situation is more unusual than she could have imagined. It turns out the only fame that matters at Ever After School is the kind of fame earned from stories Rory thought were fictional. But as Rory soon learns, fairy tales are very real—and she is destined to star in one of her own. This first installment of The Ever Afters series reimagines classic fairy tale characters in a modern context, merging familiar fantasy with the everyday realities of middle-grade existence.

 


A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz

Gidwitz, Adam. A Tale Dark and Grimm. New York: Dutton Juvenile, 2010.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in ebook or hardcover or paperback.

NOVEL: Reader, beware!

Warlocks with dark spells, hunters with deadly aim, and bakers with ovens retro-fitted for baking children lurk within these pages.

But if you dare,

Follow Hansel and Gretel as they walk out of their own story and into the wilds—where magic, terror, and a little bit of humor shine like white pebbles lighting the way.

Come on in. It may be frightening, and it’s certainly bloody, but, unlike those other fairy tales you know, this one is true.
Once upon a time, you see, fairy tales were awesome.

In this mischievous and utterly original debut, Hansel and Gretel walk out of their own story and into eight other classic Grimm–inspired tales. As readers follow the siblings through a forest brimming with menacing foes, they learn the true story behind (and beyond) the bread crumbs, edible houses, and outwitted witches.

Fairy tales have never been more irreverent or subversive as Hansel and Gretel learn to take charge of their destinies and become the clever architects of their own happily ever after.

 


The Witch's Curse by Keith McGowan (Author), Yoko Tanaka (Illustrator)

McGowan, Keith. The Witch's Curse. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2013.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in ebookhardcover, or paperback.

NOVEL: Another funny hair-raising adventure based on the Brothers Grimm folktale Brother and Sister. Sol and Connie--the brother and sister who were almost EATEN in The Witch's Guide to Cooking with Children--are back, and this times things look worse than ever as they meet a cursed hunter, a shadowy witch, a mysterious elk, a vegetarian and more on their newest adventure.


Armless Maiden edited by Terri Windling

Steiber, Ellen. "In the Night Country." The Armless Maiden.Terri Windling, ed. New York: Tor Books, 1995.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover or paperback.


Steiber, Ellen. "A Matter of Seeing." The Armless Maiden.Terri Windling, ed. New York: Tor Books, 1995.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover or paperback.

ESSAY

Armless Maiden edited by Terri WindlingThe Poets' Grimm edited by Beaumont and Carlson

Windling, Terri. "Brother and Sister." The Armless Maiden.Terri Windling, ed. New York: Tor Books, 1995. 
Amazon.com: Buy the book in hardcover or paperback.

Also available in:
Windling, Terri. "Brother and Sister." The Poets' Grimm: 20th Century Poems from Grimm Fairy Tales. Jeanne Marie Beaumont and Claudia Carlson, editors. Ashland, OR: Story Line Press, 2003. p. 154.
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback.


I have listed primarily classical compositions of music using the themes of this fairy tale in either ballet, opera or some other musical style. I have also provided links to popular recordings of the music when available at Amazon.com. The advantage to these links is that you can listen to samples of the music at no charge.

None so far!

 

To learn more about these films, please visit the
Internet Movie Database.

The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm (Hansel and Gretel/Brother and Sister)

Features additional film of "Brother and Sister"









Back to Top