I adored this short story by Hans Christian Anderson. It was a cute short story with an amazing theme that kept me interested in the story. It was a great story and I am quite surprised it is not one of the more well known Hans Christian Anderson tales. I would love to see another adaption of this story! Four out of five stars! ( )

The Red Shoes, adapted and illustrated by Barbara Bazilian.

Is it possible to create a satisfactory retelling or adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's The Red Shoes? If so, I've not seen it yet. Whether it be the misogyny implicit in the original tale, as seen in faithful translations such as that done by Anthea Bell, or the insipidity of narrative found in various revisionist adaptations, like the one done by Gloria Fowler, every edition I have seen has had serious textual flaws, whatever the merit of their illustrations. Sadly, this is also the case here, in this adaptation by Barbara Bazilian.

All of the religious content of the original has been omitted in this telling, which sees Karen saving up her own money to buy the much-coveted shoes. In this version there is no horrific mutilation, no amputation of limbs. Rather, Karen wishes to become a bird when the shoes seem to be taking her over a cliff, and is eventually restored to her grandmother, in human form. But although its omission of the more gruesome elements of the original can only be welcome, the end-product is a narrative - like Fowler's - that is uninspiring. Bazilian's artwork is pretty, but hardly attractive enough to overcome the weak text. ( )