HANK AND GERTIE

A new twist on an old favorite takes readers along the Oregon Trail.

It’s just a hop, skip, and a jump from Hansel and Gretel’s forest in Germany to the lonely high deserts of Oregon and Idaho. Here, siblings Hank and Gertie wander too far from their wagon train only to discover a cabin made of rock candy and licorice. The witch inside immediately imprisons Gertie and feeds Hank past satiety, meaning it’s up to the girl’s quick brain, applying what she’s learned on the trail, to save both herself and her brother. Kimmel proves yet again that folk- and fairy tales still make for great picture-book fodder. Eschewing Western vernacular, he tells his tale straight, albeit with some startling details (the witch takes a page out of Baba Yaga’s playbook, traveling by kettle). Serviceable, sometimes-awkward, flat images accompany the text, occasionally surprising readers with understated details (as when the wagon train loads up the candy from the cabin at the end). The illustrations shine when displaying the magnificent array of foods—duff pudding with maple cream sauce, fried chicken, hoecakes, and more—that disappear down Hank’s gullet. Hank, Gertie, and their mother are white, and no mention is made of American Indians, though the villain’s darker skin, fringed buckskin jacket, and moccasins are entirely avoidable choices that play into stereotypes.

Spotty visuals drag down a lively text.