Leaping Beauty: And Other Animal Fairy Tales [Paperback]

Gregory Maguire (Author), Chris L. Demarest (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

Who better to wreak havoc with eight beloved fairytales than Gregory Maguire, the brilliantly funny author of the adult novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, as well as of the hilarious middle–grade series, The Hamlet Chronicles.

Zany animals of all species run through these fractured tales with alarming speed and dexterity. Who would have thought that Sleeping Beauty, that most regal of all fairy– tales, could be twisted into the story of a frog with a most unusual and promising dance career? Get ready to meet a gorilla queen and a psycho chimp, seven giant giraffes; and one very bad walrus.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6–Eight well-known fairy tales are recast, with the aid of animal characters and outrageous puns (with some tongue-in-cheek witticisms thrown in), into such stories as "Little Red Robin Hood" and "Cinderelephant." In one of the most entertaining stories, "Rumplesnakeskin," a gorgeous and tough-talking sheep named Norma Jean changes her name to Beauty and ends up being forced to spin straw into gold to finance the king's latest failing movie venture. Demarest's madcap illustrations add energy and fun to a somewhat uneven collection. While kids will laugh out loud at the irrepressible youngest sibling in "The Three Little Penguins and the Big Bad Walrus," some of the selections, including "Leaping Beauty," seem labored and uninspired. However, fans of Dav Pilkey and Jon Scieszka will appreciate the zany situations and the joyful fracturing of traditional tales.–Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. The author of numerous books for children as well as Mirror, Mirror (2003) and other adult fairy-tale adaptations tries his hand at parodying for kids in this collection of eight animal tales. In the title story a cursed tadpole becomes, successively, Weeping Beauty, Sleeping Beauty, and finally, Leaping Beauty. Most tales involve slightly skewed but satisfying endings: Goldifox, an unemployed carpenter, moves in with three chickens so that he can make them some comfortable furniture in "Goldifox and the Three Chickens." But a few include references that may be beyond the target audience: the miller's daughter, a blond sheep fond of tight sweaters, changes her name from Norma Jean to Beauty in anticipation of a movie career. Demarest's comical line drawings add humor to the droll text and highlight the tales' absurdities. More upbeat than Vivian Vande Velde's Tales from the Brothers Grimm and the Sisters Weird (1995) and more complex than Jon Scieszka's The Stinky Cheese Man (2002), this is a delightful collection, sure to be popular with sophisticated readers. Kay Weisman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (February 21, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060564199
• ISBN-13: 978-0060564193
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #308,721 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gregory Maguire received his Ph.D. in English and American Literature from Tufts University, and his B.A. from the State University of New York at Albany. He was a professor and co-director at the Simmons College Center for the Study of Children's Literature from 1979-1985. In 1987 he co-founded Children's Literature New England. He still serves as co-director of CLNE, although that organization has announced its intention to close after its 2006 institute.
The bestselling author of Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, Lost, Mirror Mirror, and the Wicked Years, a series that includes Wicked, Son of a Witch, and A Lion Among Men. Wicked, now a beloved classic, is the basis for the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical of the same name. Maguire has lectured on art, literature, and culture both at home and abroad.
He has three adopted children and is married to painter Andy Newman. He lives with his family near Boston, Massachusetts.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious Book!, October 8, 2005

By 

Pilot Wife (Okinawa, Japan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leaping Beauty : And Other Animal Fairy Tales (Hardcover)

This book contains the funniest fractured fairy tales I have ever read. The stories are long, but a great read for reluctant readers in the 3-6 grade range. The library that I work at owns this book, but I like it so much, I had to buy my own copy! A must have for storytellers and teachers.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars To Be Swallowed, April 24, 2007

By 

Stacey @ Tree, Root, and Twig (Houston Metro, TX) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Leaping Beauty: And Other Animal Fairy Tales (Paperback)

What is it with this guy? I'll tell you something, he found a niche and is really working it. It's a good thing he works it well!!

Gregory Maguire (author of Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister and Wicked, among many others) turns well-known fairy tales on their heel (or hoof, paw, sticky digit...whatever) in Leaping Beauty, and Other Animal Fairy Tales. This book, recommended for youth 8-12 but really enjoyable for all, tells us the untold stories of characters like Goldiefox and the Three Chicks, So What and the Seven Giraffes, and Leaping Beauty herself. There are 8 stories in all, and certainly best enjoyed read aloud.

Though Maguire tones down his acerbic wit for the young crowd, these stories leave plenty of opportunities for uncomfortable conversation with your child. For instance, they may ask you, "Exactly what is a hot toddy?" or "Why would the bad guy make someone wear concrete boots?". Then again, the actual fairy tales from Brothers Grimm were pretty controversial in their own way, too. It's all just good fun, though, and a great way to show kids that every story has two (or more!) sides.

9 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fractured Fearless Fairy Tales, October 21, 2004

By 

Kristin J. Johnson "Three-time published author" (Hilo, Hawaii) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Leaping Beauty: And Other Animal Fairy Tales (Hardcover)

Gregory Maguire, author of such fairy tale revisionist histories as Wicked and Mirror, Mirror, serves up the traditional glass slipper, pumpkin coach and gingerbread house with a generous helping of irreverence and irony. The humor relies heavily on modern satire, which many adults will enjoy.