The Tinderbox

Why this Andersen tale has to be ‘retold’ when a good translation would suffice is a mystery. Mitchell makes a reasonable fist of the narrative but his soldier does not have the casual chutzpah of other (more authentic?) versions. ‘It’s awfully strange that no one’s allowed to see the princess,’ he tells us rather primly.

But the point of this new large format picture book version of The Tinderbox is Bagram Ibatoulline’s artwork and this perfectly captures the insouciance of the soldier as he salutes the dog with eyes as big as cartwheels and, later in the tale, demands to smoke a pipe on the gallows. Ibatoulline’s strong contrasts and fine cross hatching are enhanced by a sepia wash and muted colours and he convincingly achieves tonal variety and texture both in his writhing landscapes and more formal townscapes and in his close up figure work. His instinct for the macabre and grotesque produces balefully powerful dogs not to speak of his gnarled witch whose misshapen body is reflected in the ancient stunted tree behind her with its twisted and broken branches. Character and atmosphere are powerfully conveyed whether it’s the wary soldier with his hand on his sword as he listens to the witch or the exquisite sleeping princess carried back to the palace on the back of the dog with eyes as big as clocks. A treat for readers of any age.