Leaping Beauty: And Other Animal Fairy Tales (Hardcover)

~ Gregory Maguire (Author), Chris L. Demarest (Illustrator) "The king and queen of the frogs gave birth to a baby..." (more)
Key Phrases: Little Red Robin Hood, Old Dame Hornet, Granny Porky (more...)

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.

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

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1 edition (August 10, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060564172
• ISBN-13: 978-0060564179
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #528,452 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #26 in	Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( M ) > Maguire, Gregory
  #73 in	Books > Children's Books > Literature > Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths > Collections

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 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.

3 of 3 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

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" (Palm Desert, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.