The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving retold by Blake A. Hoena

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Graphic Revolve series. Raintree, 2011. ISBN: 978 1406 224979.
When the new school master, Ichabod Crane, arrives in Sleepy Hollow, he visits some of the local families for his evening meals. During these visits he hears the legend of Sleepy Hollow and the Headless Horseman. Not only the school teacher, but also the singing teacher, Crane has amongst his singing students the beautiful Katrina, a young lady whom he chooses to teach privately. The unattractive Crane has as his rival for her affections a strapping young man named Brom. Unbeknownst to many locals, the handsome Brom plays practical jokes on Ichabod. Is he responsible for the demise of Ichabod Crane? Will the truth ever be revealed?
With cartoons taking several forms, from colourful stylised pictures to depict the current day, sepia for the historic components of the story and silhouette style for the night time and more gruesome parts of the tale, the illustrations add an extra dimension to the text. Minimal word count, simple language and different fonts for speech and descriptive text make this another accessible tale for not just those who enjoy classic tales but also for the reluctant reader.
Jo Schenkel

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