LoveReading4Kids Says
Exquisitely gorgeous illustrations accompany a well known fairy tale with a difference, an edge. Tiny Owl Publishing have a series of books called ‘One Story, Many Voices’, where authors and illustrators explore well known fairy tales from different perspectives. Here, the Twelve Dancing Princesses from the Brothers Grimm are transformed into The Secret of the Tattered Shoes by Jackie Morris. I opened the package containing the book and exclaimed in delight. The illustrations by Ehsan Abdollahi carry the story perfectly, the gold glistens, the pears call to be picked, the background as stunning as the puppet-like characters. The story by award-winning Jackie Morris sits boldly on the page, simple, evocative, familiar yet different. The love that Jackie Morris holds for nature shines through, while the ending made me smile, it suits, it feels, well, just so right. The Secret of the Tattered Shoes conjures the traditional fairy tale yet awakens new feelings and thoughts. I absolutely adored this rich and vibrant tale, both for the new interpretation, and the illustrations which adorn it.
Liz Robinson
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The Secret of the Tattered Shoes Synopsis
The Secret of the Tattered Shoes is a fresh interpretation of the beloved Brothers Grimm fairy tale about twelve princesses who are locked in at night, yet whose dancing shoes are still worn down by morning. A young soldier is tasked to discover their night-time adventures. But unlike the story told by the Brothers Grimm, this soldier seeks a different ending.
Jackie's dark and poetic text updates this well-known tale and shows how stories evolve and adapt over time. Beautifully illustrated by Ehsan Abdollahi, who has created stunning puppet-like illustrations in rich and delicate detail, this unique illustrative style brings the story to life and perfectly encapsulate the beauty and melancholy of the story.
About This Edition
About Jackie Morris
Jackie Morris is a bestselling writer and artist. Her almost uncanny ability to draw and paint living landscapes and wildlife began around the age of six when she watched her father draw a lapwing and wanted to learn the same magic. Born in Birmingham, she grew up in Evesham, but has lived for a long time in Wales, in “a small cottage held together by spiders’ webs”.
As a writer and illustrator she has many books to her name; of which The Lost Words, in collaboration with Robert Macfarlane, is the best known. For Otter-Barry Books she has written, among others, the three much-loved Mrs Noah books, The Jackie Morris Book of Classic Nursery Rhymes and Something About a Bear.
Her internationally bestselling picture books for Frances Lincoln are Ted Hughes’ How the Whale Became; Mariana and the Merchild; The Snow Leopard; Can You See a Little Bear?; The Snow Whale; Lord of the Forest; as well as those she has both written and illustrated, The Seal Children; The Time of the Lion; Little One We Knew You’d Come; Tell Me a Dragon; The Cat and the Fiddle: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes; The Ice Bear. She has also written and illustrated a critically acclaimed novel for older children, East of the Sun, West of the Moon.
In 2019 she won the Kate Greenaway Medal for her illustration of The Lost Words by Robert Macfarlane. In her acceptance speech, Jackie Morris, said: “The times ahead are challenging. It seems to me that artists, writers, musicians have one job at the moment – to help to tell the truth about what is happening to this small and fragile world we inhabit, to re-engage with the natural world, to inspire and to imagine better ways to live. Because there is no Planet B and we are at a turning point. And because in order to make anything happen it first needs to be imagined. And as writers and illustrators for children we grow the readers and thinkers of the future.
“I’m learning so much as I watch our young people call politicians to account. Together we can make a change. And we must. While politicians nod and pretend to listen to Greta Thunberg, declare Climate Emergencies, then continue with ‘business as usual’ finding money always for bombs and seldom for books we need to stand beside these children and hold our deceitful leaders to account.”
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