Veronica Schanoes is writing fairy tales that highlight different points in history. She pulls from the ancient tales, where stories were meant to terrify and empower and break your heart and stay rattling around in your soul, long after you have finished listening (or reading) them. These stories are not for the faint of heart. They are quite brutal, and rarely have a happy ending. The foreword by Jane Yolen is really brilliant, and prepares the reader (as much as she could prepare us) for a journey through "Jewish fabulism," and I think anyone with Eastern European roots will vibrate with recognition in reading these stories. And as all well-crafted fairy tales do, these tales speak as much to history as they do to present time, and make fierce warnings about potential futures. The reader must be strong of heart, and be ready for a long journey in reading this book. You will find yourself changed on the other side....