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Fractured Fairy Tales: 8 Great Titles that Mix Things Up

Hello! Today I have another helpful booklist for you, from Bethany Jensen. You can see previous posts by Bethany here. Thanks for these great suggestions, Bethany. 


In my last post I shared the funny way my dad read our bedtime stories. My favorite jumbled stories were fairy tales, the stories I know by heart. I grew up with classic characters like Rindercella, her Gary Fodmother, and the never-waking princess Aurora Borealis.

Speaking of lights in the heavens, here are two fairy tale twists that take place in a land far, far and even farther away than the Brothers Grimm ever imagined.




The Three Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot by Margaret McNamara and Mark Fearing

In this story aliens travel the galaxy in search of homes of their own, but they have to watch out for the big bad robot. There is lots of fun language, although I'm still not sure how to pronounce Nklxwcyz (I wish that was a scrabble word). Also, Mark Fearing studied Nasa photographs for the illustrations. Very cosmicly cool.



Interstellar Cinderella by Deborah Underwood and Meg Hunt

Cinderella is a intergalactic fix-it gal. Instead of a shoe that fits, the prince is looking for that special girl that can repair a spaceship. His only clue is a lost socket wrench. I love this concept and the sparkling word choice. The illustrations are saturated in color and in a style reminiscent of 1960's space. I half-expected to see the Jetsons zoom by across the page.


Now back to Earth. My all-time favorite fractured fairy tale is:



Sleeping Ugly by Jane Yolen and Diane Stanley

No, this book is not the awful truth about bedhead and morning breath. It is almost twenty years since its publication, but I still love this retelling of Sleeping Beauty. I remember reading this in my younger years and liking the illustrations of the prince in a jogging suit; so relatable. This story is about being beautiful on the inside and how that can shine through to the outside, even if you don't have the perfect hair, nose or teeth. And if you do have all the perfect features, you can still be nice. I don't want to leave out pretty people. Don't be fooled by the title. This book is for you, too.

And something with a little mix of everything:



Little Red Gliding Hood by Tara Lazar and Troy Cummings

I think this is a darling story of Little Red finding a partner to skate with. I love all the cameos of other fairy tale and nursery rhyme characters. The opening pages have Little Red gliding across the ice through whimsical painted fairy tale land and you can pick out some of the familiar stories.


Finally (because this list could go on forever, so I really must stop somewhere) I want to mention a series of stories that share fairy tale versions from all around the world. These aren’t funny twists, instead each book contains three to four of the same fairy tale told by a different culture. The illustrations are beautiful and unique for each story. The stories are shortened and simplified which is good for a young audience. Sometimes the shortness of the text seems jarring as so many original fairy tales are actually very dark. I think it’s fascinating to learn the tales from countries around the world and the origins of our favorite fairy tale gems.




Snow White Stories Around the World by Jessica Gunderson.



Little Red Riding Hood Stories Around the World by Jessica Gunderson.



Rapunzel Stories Around the World by Cari Meister.



Cinderella Stories Around the World by Cari Meister.

That was fun! Thanks again, Bethany. Now I have a bunch of books to put on my library list. Do any of you readers have other favorite

1 comment:

  1. Hadn't heard of these books, but how fun! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete

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