Cinnamon

Cinnamon

Neil Gaiman

pictures by Divya Srimivasan

2017

I'm definitely a fan of Neil Gaiman, though I don't love all his books.  (Coraline and Neverwhere are favorites). This book is a great pairing with the illustrator Divya Srimivasan.  I thought this might be based on the Indian Folktale:  The Brahmin Girl that Married a Tiger but it certainly is not!  I think this is what Gaiman does so well- takes common elements of folk and fairy tales, but twists and weaves them into his own original story.  He doesn't simply retell a story, instead, he leaves you with a feeling of something old and familiar but also mysterious and slightly dark and dangerous.   

In this tale, a young Indian princess is blind and does not talk.  Her parents offer "a room in the palace, a field of stunted mango trees, a portrait of the Rani's aunt executed on hardwood in enamels, and a green parrot, to any person who could get Cinnamon to talk".   They are certainly surprised when a fierce tiger shows up for the task!  And he teaches Cinnamon in an unexpected way.  The ending does not wrap up as most princess tales do, but is satisfying none the less.