I was given a task, to find three versions of the same story and share which one I liked the best. It was not an easy task but I said I would try. I first understood the meaning of the word ‘versions’. I thought of a story I knew from my school days – The Tortoise and the Hare, but I could not find three versions of this. I then took the help of Jewel, Stephie and others to understand the task better and get suggestions for stories that Bookworm has more versions of. The story had to be a traditional tale.
I could not find 3 versions of any story. Finally Shraddha suggested I look for Hansel and Gretel. I immediately found one book in the folktale section. I was really happy. I no longer felt in the dark.
I went to the catalogue and found that there were more books by this name, but one was assigned to the MOP site in Cacra. I requested Stephie who in charge of this site to bring the book for me. Now, I had two. Hansel and Gretel by Anthony Browne is also interesting but I still had to find one more.
I searched in many places in the library and realised that in searching I am looking at many different books. I think this was the purpose of the task, but I still had to find three versions and present to ma’am (Sujata). I asked Shraddha and she told me there was one more version of Hansel and Gretel by Neil Gaiman in the Outstanding Shelf. I was really happy to know where to look and I found the book there.
I read all three books again and again to see what was different and felt ready to share my thoughts. What I found was that every book was different and to me, every book would best suit a different age. While it was the same story, I felt that one was rather simple – told in a straight way and would be good for a young reader (below 6 year old ) to listen to the story. Even the illustrations are simple. The other book was more complex but it did not interest me as much as Hansel and Gretel by Neil Gaiman.
The reason I liked this book best is because I felt the story was complete. It tells of how Hansel and Gretel were born and even what happens after they grow up. The illustrations are beautiful although in black and white and I really enjoyed reading this story. I had never read Hansel and Gretel before so this was very good for me to read.
