Children's Lit Book Reviews

Summary: There was once a mother who sat beside her dying child and became very sad because she was afraid that it would die. She wanted so badly for her child to survive and live its life. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and it was death dressed as a poor old man wrapped in a large horse cloth. The mother invited the old man in and set a pot of ale on the stove in hopes that it would warm the old man up. As the mother sat next to the old man, he found himself beside the little child rocking the cradle. With tears rolling down her cheeks, the caring mother finally decided to close her eyes for she had not slept for the past three days and nights. Finally, she had awakened after having only been a sleep for just a minute and sees that both the old man and the child are gone. Almost immediately, the crying mother ran out of the house on a trek to find the child. Yelling in the streets, the mother ran into an older lady dressed in black clothes and told the caring mother that death had taken the child. The lady dressed in black happened to be night, and she told the mother what to do. Night told the mother to go into the forest and sing every lullaby that she had ever sung to her little child. While in the forest, a thorn bush told her that in order to continue she must press a thorn bush up against her chest so that the bush could be warm. Once the mother reached a lake she found she had to forfeit her eyes in order to get across the lake, and she cried them out. The mother eventually ran into death and found her sick child as a plant in a greenhouse. Death then gave the loving mother her eyes back, the mother saw the future of what the child would go through if it survived, and it seemed to her that the child would be unhappy. The mother then decided to allow death to take the child to the unknown land for it was the fate of her child.
Who would benefit from reading this fairy tale?: I think that everyone who would take the time to read this fairy tale will walk away satisfied. There are many great morals and values that are taught within this book. I liked especially how it showed the love a mother had for her child.
What problems/conflicts could this fairy tale potentially cause?: This fairy tale is quite violent. The loving mother must do several things in order to find her child.
My reaction: I loved this fairy tale. This really shows what a loving mother would do for her child. This mother in this fairy tale went as far as crying her eyes out so that she could have her child returned. But once her vision was restored and she saw the future of her child, out of love she let her child go. That's such a strong storyline, and it makes me think about the love that my mom has for me. I would recommend this to a very mature audience.