Mother Holly: A Retelling from the Brothers Grimm

The charming artwork of Bernadette Watts brings this classic tale to life.

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were born in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Germany, in 1785 and 1786 respectively. The Brothers Grimm collected fairy tales, which until then had mostly been passed on orally, and captured them in writing for the first time as a collection. One of their most important sources was the storyteller Dorothea Viehmann. The first volume of their Children’s and Household Tales was published just before Christmas 1812. Their fairy tales have appeared in many languages since and in a multitude of editions. In 2005, the Grimms’ fairy tales were made part of UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register for the preservation of cultural documents.

Bernadette Watts has illustrated many well-reviewed books for children. She illustrates classic fairy tales, such as The Three Little Pigs, and writes original stories, including Will You Be My Friend. Watts created her first picture book under the influence of Beatrix Potter and studied at the Maidstone Art School in Kent, UK.