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A review by gracegreenlaw
Blackberry Blue: And Other Fairy Tales by Jamila Gavin
3.0
Blackberry Blue provides a selection of short stories that have the feel of traditional tales while making links to the modern day. The stories could definitely be compared to those of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen as they are quite gruesome and grisly but also simultaneously feel quite different as they represent a far more diverse group of children which makes the book engaging and personal. While I liked the more modern, diverse take on traditional tales I found many of the stories to be quite scary or creepy and some of the descriptions are quite graphic and gruesome. Although the chapters were short, I was not particularly motivated to read on once I finished the end of any of them.
The clearest patterns throughout the book were the structure with each story starting with a problem, the character going through a time of hardship and then everything being righted in the end. In most of the stories there was a witch or sorcerer who caused the problems in the first place. As a result this book could be good to work on for making inferences or predictions. To make a receptive context you could bring in items from nature such as twigs, leaves and flowers for children to explore or perhaps hang up a purple cloak and ask children who they think it belongs to.
The clearest patterns throughout the book were the structure with each story starting with a problem, the character going through a time of hardship and then everything being righted in the end. In most of the stories there was a witch or sorcerer who caused the problems in the first place. As a result this book could be good to work on for making inferences or predictions. To make a receptive context you could bring in items from nature such as twigs, leaves and flowers for children to explore or perhaps hang up a purple cloak and ask children who they think it belongs to.