Seidel, Ina (1885–1974), German writer who wrote numerous poems, novels, essays, and memoirs. Her major contribution to the fairy‐tale tradition in Germany was Das wunderbare Geissleinbuch (The Wonderful Book about the Little Kids, 1925), which has the subtitle ‘New Stories for Children who Are Well‐Acquainted with the Old Ones’. Seidel portrays a child who visits the seven kids and their mother, and he encounters other characters from the Grimms' tales in adventures that do not involve magic, bewitchment, and punishment. In this way Seidel sought to modernize the Grimms' tales and make them more cheerful and soothing for young children. During the difficult post‐war years in Germany, parents and educators were attracted to the non‐violent nature of the book, which was reissued in 1949, and remained very popular until the early 1960s.

— Jack Zipes

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