Germany

Materials from Germany

Hansel and Gretel

One of the oldest and most treasured folktales in the world, Hansel and Gretel resonates deeply with young readers. Now Jane Ray revives this venerable story with a retelling that preserves the power of the tale.

Rose Red & Snow White

Snow White and her sister, Red Rose, let a cold bear into their home to rest one night, but as he leaves, he warns them of the dangers of a little man, so when a evil dwarf shows up on the doorstep, the girls begin to get very worried.

The Goose Girl

On her way to marry a distant prince, a young princess is forced to trade places with her evil serving maid and becomes a goose girl instead of a bride when she reaches her destination.

The Bearskinner: A Tale of the Brothers Grimm

A dejected soldier makes a pact with the devil in this haunting, ultimately hopeful fairy tale. When a person gives up hope, is he still human? Such is the story of a soldier who has lost everything to war: his childhood home, his family and friends, his youth, and his innocence. Enter that sly opportunist, the devil, who wraps the soldier in the armor of a dead bear’s skin, fills its pockets with gold, and makes a dangerous and horrible wager.

When The Root Children Wake Up

When Old Grandfather Winter disappears into his ice palace high in the mountains, Young Robin chirps her wake-up song to the Root Children deep underground. ³Wake up,² she sings, ³it¹s time for the masquerade!² Right away, the Root Children set to work sewing their flowering costumes and painting bugs with rainbows until they sparkle like jewels. Then they frolic out into the world in a joyous chorus of frolic and song all through Summer, until the frosty Autumn winds blow away the leaves and flowers. The Root Children return to their underground bed with gentle Mother Earth until Spring returns again.

An Eye for Color: The Story of Josef Albers

As a child, Josef Albers loved to watch his handyman father paint houses. When Josef grew up and became an artist, he reduced each image to its simplest shapes, breaking it down into blocks of color. He made an incredible discovery: he could alter the entire mood of a painting just by changing the way he combined the colors. Josef spent his entire life studying color, and what he found revolutionized the way people look at art.

Truce

On July 29th 1914, the world’s peace was shattered as the artillery of the Austria-Hungary Empire began shelling the troops of the country to its south. What followed was like a row of falling dominoes as one European country after another rushed into war. Soon most of Europe was fighting in this calamitous war that could have been avoided. This was, of course, the First World War.

But who could have guessed that on December 25 the troops would openly defy their commanding officers by stopping the fighting and having a spontaneous celebration of Christmas with their “enemies”?