Godfather Death

by Sally Nicholls, Júlia Sardà (Illustrator)

Overview

A soul-stirring reimagined Grimm tale by award-winning author Sally Nicholls and hauntingly illustrated by Júlia Sardà that will spellbind and thrill readers of all ages.

When a poor fisherman chooses Death to be godfather to his son, he’s certain he’s made a good choice—for surely there’s no man more honest than Death? At the christening, Death gives the fisherman a gift that seems at first to be the key to the family’s fortune, but when greed overcomes the fisherman, he learns that nobody can truly cheat Death...

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593692103
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	08/13/2024
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	7.38(w) x 9.75(h) x 0.42(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Sally Nicholls grew up in Stockton-on-Tees and after school traveled the world, working for a period at a Red Cross hospital in Japan. Sally's first novel, Ways to Live Forever, won the Waterstones Children's Book Prize, and she has been shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, the Costa Children's Book Award, and the Carnegie Medal twice. She lives in Liverpool with her husband and two sons.

Júlia Sardà is an artist who has illustrated many books for children, including The Liszts by Kyo Maclear and Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein by Linda Bailey. Her work has been published around the world in many languages. She lives in Barcelona, Spain.

Editorial Reviews

★ 05/27/2024

Nicholls (The Button Book) pens a prickly, haunting story about a poor fisherman searching for an honest man to serve as godfather of his newborn son. Who should the fisherman meet first but Father God? An ideal godfather, surely! But when Father God says he treats “all men and all women fairly,” the fisherman balks. “Some people live in great big palaces...! Others live in horrible cold, wet houses...! How is that fair?” Though the fisherman’s “baby son was cold, and his family was hungry,” an offer of boundless riches from the Devil produces similar contempt (“No. Thank. You”). Then the fisherman encounters scythe-toting skeleton Death—“the only honest man in all the world”—who brings an end to all. In fear and trembling, the fisherman accepts Death’s proposal. But when Death provides the fisherman a tempting chance to prosper, the man’s downfall begins. Throughout, gracefully stylized vignettes and elaborate borders in autumn hues by Sardà (Moving the Millers’ Minnie Moore Mine Mansion) present a distinctive concoction of humor and anxiety. It echoes suspenseful, folkloric prose that grapples with truth and human frailty. Human characters’ skin tones reflect the white of the page. Ages 4–8. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

★ 2024-05-17
A lesser-known Brothers Grimm tale finds new life.

Upon the birth of his son, a poor fisherman sets out to find an appropriate godfather. First, he approaches God but doesn’t care for God’s sense of fairness—God claims to treat all the same, but the fisherman points out that some people live charmed lives, while others experience only hardship. Next, he considers the Devil but rejects him for his wickedness. Finally, he encounters Death and, upon realizing that Death is always fair and honest (he takes everyone, rich or poor), makes him his son’s godfather. Soon thereafter, Death grants the fisherman information that will make him a rich doctor. If Death stands at the foot of a patient’s bed, the patient can be cured. If Death stands at the head of the bed, nothing can be done. All goes well, until the day the fisherman foolishly decides to trick Death himself. Nicholls proves unafraid to attach an appropriately bleak ending to this straightforward morality tale, doing so with such flair that many (though not all) will forgive her. Along the way, she tweaks the original tale, turning it into something palatable to contemporary readers. Meanwhile, Sardà’s limited orange, green, and red palette and distinctive style evoke the colored lithographs of artists such as Walter Crane. Characters have paper-white skin.

Deft writing and entrancing art prove once more why the old stories are worth retelling. (Picture book/folktale. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews