Old Fashioned Alsace
This is an old fashioned story in that it features an Ogre who eats little children. He's not the best looking chap either (see picture of book cover) but Zeralda tames him with her kindness and good cooking, finding his nicer side - so there's a moral but it's not schmaltzy.
Apparently based on a folk tale from the Alsace French/German border this is what middle ages northern european story telling is all about: scarey monsters, women happy to keep men happy by cooking and a (probably) under age marriage. Refreshingly unsanitised.
I saw it in French whilst on holiday and my childhood memories came flooding back. I had to import this English version (not available in UK).
Superb!
