Gr 2–4—A mediocre pop-up version of one of the Grimm Brothers' lesser-known tales. To a readable and reasonably full retelling that makes the irascible Dwarf a comical figure-until the bear/enchanted prince suddenly comes along to kill him-Cloyne pairs dark, thickly detailed black-and-white scenes with barely visible highlights of murky red. Several of the multilevel scenes do not open fully unless their spreads are bent past flat, and though the major figures are separately cut and mounted, the visual contrast is so low that it is often difficult to distinguish them from the backgrounds, or even to tell what they're doing. The story and its illustrations are bland and largely lack drama or surprise.—John Peters, Children's Literature Consultant, New York City
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