This is a beautifully illustrated version of this story. The story itself (a very old fairytale) is dated in terms of ableist ideas, but the incredibly detailed pictures are truly something special.

A lovely fable that delivers exactly what it promises. Originally written in Swiss and published in 2006, this edition is the English translation.

This goes pretty much like good old parables did. Two brothers, one good and one bad, live in a remote place. When the good brother sets out to do a task and is kind to forest creatures on his way, they return the favour by gifting him something special. The bad brother ventures on the same journey, but because of his attitude, he ends up with only a lesson learnt.

This is not a level one picture book. The text content takes up about a quarter of the page (in small font) and the rest of the page contains the illustration. There are a few words that might be difficult for beginner readers. However, if this is to be chosen as a read-aloud, it would be a wonderful choice. The language in the book is beautiful and creates such a nice imagery of the forest and its denizens.

The illustrations in my copy were alternately B&W and coloured, quite possibly because it was an ARC. But I still enjoyed the beauty of them. They reminded me of my childhood storybooks, what with their intricate detailing, especially of the forest creatures. The sketches match the content and the mood of the story beautifully.

Heartily recommended.

4.5 stars from me.

My thanks to North South Books Inc. and NetGalley for the DRC of “A Tale of Two Brothers”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

We read this book and really enjoyed the story but spent the rest of the day looking at the illustrations. They are so detailed and beautifully drawn. Then we read the book again !

Beautifully illustrated picture book that tells the tale of two hunchbacked brothers. One who is kind to nature, and the other that steps all over it.

So, when the kind one treats nature well, the spirits of the forest take away his hump. But when the mean brother goes to the forest, he is given a double hump.

Like most stories of this kind, they are trying to tell people to be better. This is the first that wanted the characters to be better to the earth, so that is a neat twist.

The pictures are those that when you look at it a certain way, you see trees, and another way, you see a face. quite lovely.

<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>

The two brothers, Morris and Boris, go on the same physical journey through the woods, but emotionally they are vastly different. I loved the black and white passages of the book in addition to the colored ones. I loved the different animals and plants speaking in the book. This book will show the reader that your attitude and how you treat others is everything!!