From School Library Journal
Starred Review. PreSchool-Grade 3—Turning the standard fairy-tale formula on its head, LaRochelle begins his story at the end. The endpapers depict a princess and a knight waving good-bye to a long line of intriguing characters who are marching away from the castle. The text begins, "And they all lived happily ever after. They lived happily ever after because…" and proceeds backward through a madcap chain of events that includes a skittish dragon, a giant tomato, a pack of ferocious bunnies, and a fortuitous bowl of lemonade. Only on the last page are readers rewarded with the anticipated phrase, "Once upon a time." Egielski's illustrations are a triumph. The flattened, static quality of the characters calls to mind Maurice Sendak's
In the Night Kitchen (HarperCollins, 1995), and the warm, muted tones evoke the fairy-tale art of Trina Schart Hyman, but the fanciful details—a blue, winged pig; a pair of runaway lemons—are completely original. The hand-lettered text, enclosed in streaming banners, consists of terse, declarative statements that are lavishly expounded upon by the illustrations. The tension between the simplicity of the narrative and the richness of the artwork allows this tale to transcend its clever gimmickry. Though the book can be appreciated in one reading, and would work well when shared aloud, multiple perusals are necessary to spot all of the details. When youngsters reach the beginning of
The End, they will want to start all over again.—
Rachael Vilmar, Atlanta Fulton Public Library, GA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to an alternate
Hardcover
edition.
*Starred Review* This fairy tale resolves predictably enough, with the traditional sign-off ("They all lived happily ever after") and a splashy depiction of a royal marriage. Here's the twist: the wedding is actually the story's opener, occurring before any clue about the couple's identity or about why the nuptials are attended by bunnies, a dragon, a flying pig, two giants, an enormous tomato, and a pair of dancing lemons. Patience, dear reader; each subsequent spread portrays the action a beat before its predecessor, flowing backward to supply the needed context and reveal the tale's true beginnings--a reversal of convention that extends to the surprising placement of the a title page at the end of the book. LaRochelle's text is all the funnier for its spare, deadpan statements of effect and cause, each taking maximum advantage of the page turns, and Egielski's artwork exaggerates the zaniness of the reversed narrative by placing it within a mock-stately context, including decorative borders and graceful scrolls containing the hand-lettered text. As fun as it is handsome, this offering will be a hit at storytimes, where it will pair nicely with the wild chain reaction in Remy Charlip's
Fortunately (1964)
. Present this as inspiration for young storytellers, who may discover that writing a tale in reverse frees their ideas to move in unexpected directions.
Jennifer MattsonCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
--This text refers to an alternate
Hardcover
edition.
