A Tale Dark and Grimm

Reach for this book when your child is starting to question the sanitized versions of childhood stories and is ready to explore the messier, more complex reality of growing up. This dark and humorous reimagining of Hansel and Gretel follows the siblings as they escape their own fairy tale only to wander through eight others, facing dragons, devils, and deep personal betrayals along the way. While the book deals with intense themes of parental abandonment and physical peril, it uses a witty narrator to help children process these heavy moments with a sense of safety. It is an ideal choice for the middle-grade reader who enjoys a touch of the macabre but ultimately needs to see that children have the agency to fix a broken world and forge their own paths toward forgiveness.