Rump

Rump

by Leisl Shurtliff

Genre: Juvenile Fiction, Fractured Fairy Tale

Synopsis:  In a magical kingdom where your name is your destiny, twelve-year-old Rump is the butt of everyone's joke.  But when he finds an old spinning wheel, his luck seems to change.  Rump discovers he has a gift for spinning straw into gold-as much gold as he wants!  His best friend, Red, warns him that magic is dangerous, and she's right.  With each thread he spins, he weaves himself deeper into a curse.

To break the spell, Rump must go on a perilous quest, fighting off pixies, trolls, poison apples, and a wickedly foolish queen.  The odds are against him, but with courage and friendship-and a cheeky sense of humor-he might triumph in the end.

from the back of the book

Natalie's Review: I really like this book because I like how they solve the problem that Rump had.  This is the true story of who Rumpelstiltskin is.  In the first place Rump didn't have part of his name but at the end he finds out his name.  Other people would like this book because it is kind of funny and that it has fairy tale characters in it like Rumpelstiltskin and Little Red Riding Hood.  There were pixies in the story and they were funny because they would bite people when someone stepped on their nest or when people gold.

Noah's Review:  I thought this book was spectacular because I like mixed up fairy tales and ones that are made funnier and better.  This book is better than Rumpelstiltskin because it tells more about Rump's life and how he learned how to spin straw into gold.  I also liked that he didn't know his name and how he learns his whole name at the end.  People who like made up things and stories that are based on other stories will like this book.  I rated this 4 stars because there weren't exciting events that happened in the first few chapters.

Editor's note: There are many fairy tales and characters that are alluded to in this story but the book never comes out and says that other fairy tale characters are in the story.  These were just passing comments and not connected to the story but it is interesting to see if kids can figure out what character/fairy tale the author is referring to.

Natalie's Rating: 5 stars

Noah's Rating: 4 stars

A True Princess

A True Princess

Diane Zahler

Genre: Chapter Book

Summary (from Goodreads): Twelve-year-old Lilia is not a very good servant. In fact, she's terrible! She daydreams, she breaks dishes, and her cooking is awful. Still, she hardly deserves to be sold off to the mean-spirited miller and his family. Refusing to accept that dreadful fate, she decides to flee. With her best friend, Kai, and his sister, Karina, beside her, Lilia heads north to find the family she's never known. But danger awaits. . . .

As their quest leads the threesome through the mysterious and sinister Bitra Forest, they suddenly realize they are lost in the elves' domain. To Lilia's horror, Kai falls under an enchantment cast by the Elf King's beautiful daughter. The only way for Lilia to break the spell and save Kai is to find a jewel of ancient power that lies somewhere in the North Kingdoms. Yet the jewel will not be easy to find. The castle where it is hidden has been overrun with princess hopefuls trying to pass a magical test that will determine the prince's new bride. Lilia has only a few days to search every inch of the castle and find the jewel—or Kai will be lost to her forever.

Review: I liked this book a lot; it reminded me of the story of the Princess and the Pea.  It is about a girl names Lilia who is a servant and runs away because she is going to be sent to a mean family.  Her friends Kai and Karina go along with her, but Kai becomes enchanted by the Elf King's daughter.  Lilia has to find Odin's clasp so that the Elf Princess will let Kai go.  I like this book because everything turns out fine in the end.  I liked Lilia because she was brave and kind.  It's the kind of book that I like to read because most of the characters are nice, the characters go on adventures, and it was a kind of mystery.  Oh, and because it was about a girl.

Rating: 5 stars

A Bean, a Stalk, and a Boy Named Jack

A Bean, a Stalk, and a Boy Named Jack

by William Joyce

Illustrated by Kenny Callicutt

Genre: Picture book, Fractured Fairy Tale

Synopsis: Here's Jack, a smallish boy.

Here's a smallish bean, last one outta the pod.

Here's a smallish giant kit with a great big problem.

But with a smallish wave of a wand and a lotta courage, maybe this pair can make a GIANT difference...Let's give it a go!

from the book jacket

Review:  It's hard to call this book based on Jack and the Beanstalk because nothing in the story is the same except for the fact that there is a boy named Jack and he plants a bean that makes a giant beanstalk.  That's about it in similarity.  They do introduce Jack to Jill at the end of the book and it turned into the nursery rhyme.  This was just a fun, quirky book full of humorous language.  I love that the author made up some words like math-ing, used the word soooo, used phrases such as "no great shakes" and that the illustrator added some fun language to his pictures too.  It's really hard to describe but it's fun and cute!  This book was written to be read aloud.  Now the one thing I didn't particularly like was the use of non standard words like atcha, lotta, outta, etc.  Since those aren't real words, I have a hard time with them being used in print.  Overall, this was a really fun read that my kids enjoyed.

Rating: 4 stars

Interstellar Cinderella

Interstellar Cinderella

by Deborah Underwood

Illustrated by Meg Hunt

Genre: Picture Book, Fractured Fairy Tale

Synopsis: Once upon a planetoid, amid her tools and sprockets, a girl named Cinderella dreamed of fixing fancy rockets.

With a little help from her fairy godrobot, Cinderella is going to the ball-but when the price's ship has mechanical trouble, someone will have to zoom to the rescue!  Readers will thank their lucky stars for this irrepressible fairy tale retelling, its independent heroine, and its stellar happy ending.

Review:  With having a kid in the house who is obsessed with space and both kids loving fractured fairy tales, I knew I needed to check out this book the minute I saw it.  I love the Cinderella is portrayed as doing something not typically done by her gender-being a mechanic.  I also love the fact that she has a great time at the ball talking with the prince but does not fall head over heels for him.  I won't give away the ending but it is definitely not the traditional happily ever after story that we get from most fairy tales.  The rhyme scheme keeps the story flowing.  The space setting is a fun twist to the story.  My kids definitely enjoyed this book!

Rating: 4 stars

Snoring Beauty

Snoring Beauty

by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen

Illustrated by Jane Manning

Genre: Picture Book, Fractured Fairy Tale

Synopsis: Snoring Beauty is a sweetly hilarious spin on the classic fairy tale "Sleeping Beauty." Written in bouncy rhymed verse perfect for reading aloud, this whimsical reimagining from Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen is sure to appeal to children and parents alike.

Tucked in his little bed inside the castle walls, Mouse is eager to get a good night's sleep before his wedding tomorrow. But just as he begins to drift off, he's awoken by a tremendous roar. SNOOOOGA-SNOOOOOM! KER-SCHUPPP! Sleeping Beauty is snoring . . . again! When the handsome Prince Max arrives, Mouse thinks he's found the perfect scheme: He'll convince the prince to kiss Beauty and wake her up! But when Prince Max learns that Beauty is the one making such monstrous noises, will he still want to kiss her . . . or will he run away from the noisy princess, leaving her snoring for another hundred years?

Review:  Another fun fractured fairy tale narrated by the mouse who shares Sleeping Beauty's castle.  The rhyme scheme and meter are catchy, but I got irritated by the unusual snoring sound effects that were required to keep the reading going.  Who ever heard of a snore like Snooga Snoom?  I read it entertainingly the first time, but on subsequent re-readings, I've been irritated by having to make the snoring noises so loud and crazy. Megan especially loves this book, probably because of the snoring noises and the little funny bit at the end.

Rating:  4 stars

Little Roja Riding Hood

Little Roja Riding Hood

by Susan Middleton Elya

Illustrated by Susan Guevara

Genre: Picture Book, Fractured Fairy Tale

Synopsis: While Roja picks flowers on the way to her grandma's, a mean wolf sneaks away with her cape to surprise Abuelita. But Grandma's no fool and Roja's no ordinary chica. They send that hungry lobo packing with a caliente surprise!
 
This sassy retelling of Little Red Riding Hood has accessible Spanish rhymes and fresh illustrations, with hip cultural details throughout.

Review:  This was a fun book to read because it introduces Spanish words while the majority of the book is in English.  The rhyme scheme works well, for the most part, making this an easy book to read - as long as you can pronounce the Spanish words!  After reading this book to Megan last week, Aunt Julie approved.  I liked that Little Roja solved the problem of the wolf creatively on her own.  Fun illustrations, too.

Rating:  4 stars

The Great Fairy Tale Disaster

The Great Fairy Tale Disaster

Author: David Conway
Illustrator: Melanie Williamson

Genre: Picture Book, Fractured Fairy Tale

Summary (from Goodreads):  The Big Bad Wolf is fed up with blowing down the Three Little Pigs' houses. So off he goes in search of a new fairy tale to be in! Wearing the ball gown in Cinderella didn't work because "wolves don't wear dresses!," climbing up the beanstalk and seeing the giant's huge feet scared the wolf, and "yuck" getting kissed by the prince in Sleeping Beauty is not for the wolf at all! As the wolf runs from page to page the whole book of fairy tales becomes a great mixed-up mess! Children will enjoy spotting all of their favorite characters in this hilarious twisted-fairy tale adventure!

Review: The idea of the Big Bad Wolf looking for a place in a different fairy tale is certainly a cute one, and the first couple fairy tales he jumps into deliver surprises and laughs.  But then it gets a little disjointed, and the plot doesn't really go anywhere.  As I was reading it out loud, I found myself wanting to add dialogue so that it would make more sense.  The illustrations are busy and fun!

Rating: 3 stars

The Princess and the Peas

The Princess and the Peas

Author: Caryl Hart
Illustrator: Sarah Warburton

 

Genre: Picture Book, Fractured Fairy Tale

Summary (from Goodreads):  Lily-Rose May will not eat her peas. Even when her father turns them into the most fabulous smoothies, shakes, or cupcakes, Lily can always tell they are there and turns her little nose up at them. Luckily, the doctor knows exactly what to do. He diagnoses an incurable case of princess-itus and sends Lily to live at the palace. Unfortunately for Lily-Rose May, the perfect food for a princess is . . . well . . . that would be telling!

Review: My girls and I really enjoyed reading this cute book.  My five-year-old thought it was quite funny that the little girl was allergic to peas, and that she got green spots on her face because of that.  They also have a tendency to like books with pink covers, books about princesses, and books about girls wearing frilly dresses - so they were sure to like this one!

I liked this story because it was fun and easy to read (although a few of the rhymes were a little dicey).  And it sends TWO good messages to little girls.  First, that being a princess is not always fun and games; in fact, it can be tedious and boring!  And second, that being a picky eater can lead to problems.  I have enjoyed reading this book each of the 8 times I have read it.

Rating: 5 stars

Fairly Fairy Tales

Fairly Fairy Tales

Author: Esme Raji Codell
Illustrator: Elisa Chavarri

Genre: Picture Book, Fractured Fairy Tale

Summary (from Goodreads):  Parents and children love to play "question" games: Would you eat spaghetti made with gummy worms? Would you wear your clothes backwards all day? Sometimes the answer is "yes" and sometimes it's "no"--but the fun is in the asking. Gifted writer and educator Esme Raji Codell has writtten a book that incorporates fractured fairy tales with this kind of parent-child interplay to create a pitch-perfect combination of bedtime read-aloud and fairytales that will delight children and parents!

Review: This is a very simple story that takes the well-known components of a traditional fairy tale ("Cow?  Yes.  Beanstalk?  Yes.  Giant?  Yes.") and adds in an unusual and modern twist. ("Spaghetti?  NOOOOO!") There is no real plot to the book or sense of continuity between the tales, and the text is so simple that it is boring for an adult to read.  However, the kids loved to chime in with the "yes" and "no" parts, and they certainly enjoyed seeing how the fairy tale was twisted.  However, quite a few of the twists were beyond my 3 and 5 year old's comprehension, like solar panels, disco balls, and even a beauty parlor.  Having to explain these things took away from reading the story.  The best part of this book was the beautiful and funny pictures; we especially loved the Italian restaurant scene.

Rating: 3 stars

Snoring Beauty

Snoring Beauty

Author: Bruce Hale
Illustrator: Howard Fine

Genre: Picture Book, Fractured Fairy Tale

Summary (from Goodreads):  Everyone knows the story of Sleeping Beauty: A handsome prince rescues a beautiful princess from a wicked fairy's terrible sleeping spell.

This story is just like the original. Except for the sarcastic frog narrator, the garlic-scented fairy, and--oh yeah--the princess in this book not only sleeps and snores . . . she's also been turned into a hot-pink and purple dragon!

Certain to charm and delight fairy tale fans across the land, this raucous retelling is anything but a snoozer.

Review: A lot of the humor in this book was beyond my kids' comprehension; for example, I found the characters' names to be really funny, the word plays creative, and some of the illustrations downright hilarious, but my kids didn't notice that at all.  And the fact that they've never heard of a quince didn't help, either.  But they loved the snoring dragon!  The illustrations are almost like caricatures - very different from typical picture books.  With adult vocabulary and a sense of sarcasm, this picture book seems to be geared more for parents than for kids....

Rating: 3 stars

Good Little Wolf

Good Little Wolf
Nadia Shireen

Genre: Picture Book, Fractured Fairy Tale

Summary (from Goodreads):  Once upon a time there was a wolf called Rolf - a good little wolf who liked baking cakes and was always kind to his friends. But real wolves aren't supposed to be good - they're supposed to be BIG and BAD.

Can a good little wolf still be a real wolf?

And will Rolf discover there's something big and bad lurking inside him after all?

Review: This started out as a cute little book about a wolf who chooses to be good, and refuses to be influenced by the big bad wolf who tries to lead him astray.  As I was reading it, I was thinking how it was a nice lesson in being yourself and not giving in to peer pressure.  The pictures are very cute - Mrs. Boggins reminded me of the Grandma from South Park!  But the ending ruined the story for my family.  While many kids would probably find the ending funny, my two sensitive little girls HATED it, and actually told me that we should never read this book again and take it back to the library as soon as possible.

I should add that I thought the ending was funny in a twisted kind of way, and it actually made my husband laugh out loud when he read it.  But I base my picture book reviews primarily on how my kids reacted to it, hence the low rating.

Becky, your kids (and Brian!) might really like this!

Rating: 1 star

Huff & Puff

Huff & Puff
Claudia Rueda

Genre: Picture Book, Fractured Fairy Tale

Summary (from Goodreads):  This interactive retelling of the Three Little Pigs story allows the reader to play the part of the big bad wolf. Three interior die-cut holes invite readers to huff, puff, and blow the pigs’ houses down! This fractured fairy tale ends sweetly when, rather than blowing down the third pig’s brick home, the wolf/reader blows out the candles on a cake baked by the pigs! A satisfying and engaging read for every young Three Little Pigs fan.

Review: The illustrations are cute, although the "interactive" die-cut holes don't add any value, and so we completely ignored them.  The text is extremely simple, which might work well for a very young child, but I think my three-year-old was a little bored by the lack of content, and my five-year-old wondered why the author didn't write in complete sentences.  They both did love huffing and puffing, though!

Rating: 3 stars

Once Upon a Golden Apple

Once Upon a Golden Apple

Authors: Jean Little and Maggie de Vries
Illustrator: Phoebe Gilman

Genre: Picture Book, Fractured Fairy Tale

Summary (from Goodreads):  In this hilarious fractured fairy tale, everything seems to go wrong. Goldilocks lives with the seven dwarfs, a princess kisses a reluctant dragon, and she and her prince rescue the Wicked Witch of the West...until all mischief is sorted out and everyone lives happily ever after. Jean Little and Maggie de Vries' whimsical text and Phoebe Gilman's magical illustrations make this a magnificent feast for anyone who loves a good story — even when it's wrong!

Review: This is the story of a father who makes up a story for his two little kids, and mixes up all the fairy tales, to the kids' delight.  The illustrations are just beautiful, and full of funny little details that my kids love to look at.  They enjoy the story, too, especially because they can help read it by saying "No, No, No!" on every page.  There are a couple fairy tale references that my kids don't understand, and a few that even I don't know - I guess we'll have to start reading more traditional fairy tales!

Rating: 4 stars

Big Bad Wolf is Good

Big Bad Wolf is Good

Author: Simon Puttock
Illustrator: Lynne Chapman

Genre: Picture Book, Fractured Fairy Tale

Summary (from Goodreads):  Poor Wolf—he’s so lonely! Nobody wants to be his friend.
Not the ducklings, not the goslings, not the fuzzy yellow chicks. “Perhaps it’s because
I’m big and scary,” he thinks. “Perhaps it’s because I’m bad, bad, bad.” Then he has a bright idea: What if he changes his ways and becomes good? What if he does a noble deed?
But, none of the animals will listen when Wolf tries to tell them about his new plan.
They just flee in terror, slamming the door right in his face. Then something really awful happens: one of the ducklings disappears and everybody thinks Wolf has eaten him all up. Can the Big Bad Wolf prove he didn’t have duck for dinner—and bring the lost little baby safely home? A charming and delightfully fractured fairy tale about friendship, and a wonderful example for children that a person can change, with sweet and funny illustrations that will delight youngsters over and over again.

Review:  I imagine that I'm overreacting to this book based on the scary experience my kids had yesterday with a creepy guy in a pickup truck following them down the street....

The Big Bad Wolf is trying to change his image to become a good wolf, but the small animals he interacts with are still scared of him.  While this could be a good lesson for small children, to learn not to judge other by their appearance, I felt like a better lesson is that it is perfectly the right thing to do to run inside the house and slam the door if a scary person comes up to your yard and offers to play with you.  So while I felt sorry for the wolf because he genuinely was trying to be a nice guy, I felt like the small animals were doing the right thing.  But I am probably over thinking this book.

The illustrations were cute, and my kids like the story.

Rating: 2 stars

Cinderelephant

Cinderelephant

Author & Illustrator: Emma Dodd

Genre: Picture Book, Fairy Tale

Summary (from Goodreads):  A classic tale with a gigantic twist!

"Cinderelephant, make my breakfast!"
"Cinderelephant, mop the floor!"

Poor Cinderelephant! The Warty Sisters never say please or thank you (how rude!), and when she asks to go to the grand ball, they just laugh. "Whoever would want to dance with YOU?"

Little do they know, Cinderelephant has a Furry Godmouse on her side! And with a little help... and the right pair of shoes... anything is possible.

Review: This is not so much a fractured fairy tale as a simple retelling of the Cinderella story with an elephant as the main character.  It's a fine story with cute pictures (my three year old enjoys the illustrations with Cinderelephant's sparkly shoes), but I didn't love it.  My favorite part of the story was the name "Cinderelephant", and here are a few different plays on words related to elephants being huge, but I felt like the story could have been much more creative. 

Rating: 3 stars

The Three Little Pigs

The Three Little Pigs

by David Wiesner

Genre: Picture Book, Fractured Fairy Tale

Synopsis:  Three pigs...

Straw, sticks, bricks...

Huffs and puffs...

You probably know the rest.

It's an old story, and every time someone tells it the same thing happens.

But who's to say it's supposed to?

Who's in charge of this story?

Who gets to decide?

Has anyone asked the pigs?

No?

Well, it's about time someone did.

Here,

thanks to David Wiesner,

is the answer.

From the book jacket

Review: It's hard to decide what to rate this book because if I would rate it on quality of illustrations, this book would definitely rate 5 stars.  These illustrations are AMAZING!  I can't believe how the author has manipulated the pictures.  The pigs mess with the story and end up in different stories.  The pigs start as realistic looking pigs with hair and everything.  They go into almost like cartoon drawings and the pig that is half in and half out of the page is half realistic and half caricature.  But I can't just base the book on the illustrations.  The story was a little hard to read out loud and I'm not sure what age this book is targeted to.  My kids didn't understand what was going on with the book so clearly this book is not for 4 year olds!  But it is a different type of story so one that I would suggest picking up just for the illustrations.

Rating: 3 1/2 stars

Seriously, Cinderella Is So Annoying!

Seriously, Cinderella Is So Annoying!

by Trisha Speed Shaskan

Illustrated by Gerald Guerlais

Genre: Picture Book, Fractured Fairy Tale

Synopsis:  Of course you think Cinderella was the sweetest belle of the ball.  You don't know the other side of the story.  Well, let me tell you...

From the back of the book

Review:  This was Cinderella told from the point of view of the Stepmother.  Of course, she is not wicked in this story. instead Cinderella is an annoying girl who tells stories and talks to animals all the time.  The wicked stepmother had to put her to work (as well as her other daughters) to clean the house.  I think this book is intended to be used in a classroom to talk about point of view.  There are 3 more books written by this author in the same format.  While this book wasn't bad, it just wasn't as good as most other picture books I've read.  My kids were still engaged in the story though.

Rating: 3 stars

The Frog Prince Continued

The Frog Prince Continued

by Jon Scieszka

Illustrated by Steve Johnson

Genre: Picture book, Fractured Fairy Tale

Synopsis:  After the Princess kissed the frog, he turned into a handsome prince and they lived happily ever after... or did they? The Princess can't stand the Prince's froggy habits - the way he hops around on the furniture, or sneaks off to the lily pond. The Prince is unhappy, too, and decides that it would be best if he were changed back to a frog. But finding a witch who will do the job is harder than he expects. They all seem to have other spells in mind...

from GoodReads

Review:  This was a silly book about how the frog prince wanted to turn back into the frog because he was unhappy because happily ever after didn't mean happily ever after.  He found witches from other stories-Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, and Cinderella.  I liked that the illustrator made the Frog Prince look a little like a frog in his drawings.  The illustrations are a little dark and could potentially be scary but my kids didn't mind at all.

Rating: 4 stars

Little Red Hot

Little Red Hot

by Eric A. Kimmel

Illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith

Genre: Picture Book, Fractured Fairy Tale

Synopsis: Little Red Hot loves red hot chili peppers.  She eats them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  When her grandmother catches a cold, Little Red makes her a hot pepper pie that will "knock those cold germs right out of her."  But before Little Red shares her pie with Grandma, she meets Senor Lobo-and the pie comes in very handy when the wily wolf tries to trick her into thinking he's her grandmother.

From the book jacket

Review:  This is a fun book to read because it sounds great when read in a Texas accent.  Little Red Hot is a spunky girl who is not easily outwitted.  The wolf tries his normal act of trying to eat both Grandma and Little Red Hot but she is not going to put up with that and she takes matter in her own hands.  It was nice to read Little Red Riding Hood with a girl who can stand up for herself!

Rating:  4 stars

Prairie Chicken Little

Prairie Chicken Little

by Jackie Mims Hopkins

Illustrated by Henry Cole

Genre: Picture Book, Fracture Fairy Tale

Synopsis: Out on the grasslands where bison roam, Mary McBlicken the prairie chicken is scritch-scratchin' for her breakfast when all of a sudden she hears a rumblin' and a grumblin' and a tumblin'.

"Stampede's a comin'!"  Mary squawks.

She sets off to warn Cowboy Stan and Red Dog Dan, gathering up her friends along the way.  But before they can get to the ranch, the band of prairie critters is waylaid by Slim Brody the sly coyote.

The rumbling's getting louder.

Will they escape in time?

Review: This was a fun rendition of Chicken Little set on the prairie.  Mary McBlicken, the prairie chicken little, things a stampede is coming instead of the sky falling.  She tells all the other animals and they almost get duped by Coyote Slim Brody.  Of course Mary is wrong that a stampede is coming but I won't tell you what the rumbling and grumbling is.  This was a fun way to introduce kids to prairie animals.

Rating: 3 1/2 stars