Tales from the Brothers Grimm and the Sisters Weird (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Brad Weinman (Illustrator) "Once upon a time, in the days before Social Security or insurance companies, there lived a miller and his daughter, Della, who were fairly well-off..." (more)
Key Phrases: Prince Royal, Princess Courtney, Madame Yvette

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-8?A different take on traditional icons of virtue and evil. In the course of retelling some popular fairy tales, Vande Velde challenges readers' notions of good, bad, and ugly by examining the stock characters' motivations and often recasting them in a different light. Needless to say, these role reversals affect very different outcomes to the familiar, if slightly fractured, story lines. For example, kindhearted Rumpelstiltzkin wins the heroine away from the vain, self-important king, and the Frog Prince, once restored to his princely stature, rejects the haughty princess and goes home to the goose girl. To say nothing of the demonic twins Hansel and Gretel, who have done in one mother and are ready to take on another. Modern references and sensibilities, such as those in the "And Now a Word from Our Sponsor" and "PG-13," add to the humor (often the gallows variety). Entertaining and provocative, these selections make good read-alouds and can be used to spark discussion or creative writing exercises.?Luann Toth, School Library Journal
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Review

Grade 4-8. A different take on traditional icons of virtue and evil. In the course of retelling some popular fairy tales, Vande Velde challenges readers' notions of good, bad, and ugly by examining the stock characters' motivations and often recasting them in a different light. Needless to say, these role reversals affect very different outcomes to the familiar, if slightly fractured, story lines. For example, kindhearted Rumpelstiltzkin wins the heroine away from the vain, self-important king, and the Frog Prince, once restored to his princely stature, rejects the haughty princess and goes home to the goose girl. To say nothing of the demonic twins Hansel and Gretel, who have done in one mother and are ready to take on another. Modern references and sensibilities, such as those in the "And Now a Word from Our Sponsor" and "PG-13," add to the humor (often the gallows variety). Entertaining and provocative, these selections make good read-alouds and can be used to spark discussion or creative writing exercises. Luann Toth, School Library Journal
(School Library Journal )

"Imaginative and entertaining." (The Horn Book )

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Jane Yolen Books; 1st edition (October 31, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152002200
• ISBN-13: 978-0152002206
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,410,016 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun fractured fairy tales, January 11, 2000

By	Jennifer Mo - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Tales from the Brothers Grimm and the Sisters Weird (Paperback)

Vivian Vande Velde neatly skewers some traditional fairy tales in this collection of stories; most are moderately good-- entertaining, but not terribly deep. This anthology would have joined the ranks of the mediocre if not for one absolutely clever and wonderful retelling of Rumpelstiltskin called "Straw into Gold." This one story makes the whole book worth getting. The others are good, but "Straw into Gold" outshines them by far.

There are many fairy tale retellings; those of Robin McKinley (Beauty, Rose Daughter), Donna Jo Napoli (Spinners, Zel, The Magic Circle) Mercedes Lackey (The Fire Rose, The Firebird) and Patricia Wrede (Snow White and Rose Red) are particularly worth checking out.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun Fractured Fairy-Tales!, November 4, 1998

By A Customer

How do you fracture a fairy tale? The dust cover of my edition of the book says there are four different ways: make the villain a hero, make the hero a villain, tell what really happened, or all of the above. A fifth way might be added: let the tale ferment in the mind of Vivian Vande Velde for a while until you get a heady wine of gruesomeness, fun, and hilarity. The best of the best in this group of short stories would have to be "Staw into Gold," a new twist on the Rumpelstiltskin tale that has a perfect ending for children of seperated, divorced, or remarried parents and "Frog" a re-telling of the classic Frog Prince with a lesson about keeping promises.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tales From the Brothers Grimm and the Sisters Weird, October 31, 2005

By	M. Lierman - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Tales from the Brothers Grimm and the Sisters Weird (Magic Carpet Books) (Paperback)

This book is full of variations of many famous fairy tales. I was particually interested in the varition of Rumpelstiltskin. Velde also wrote a book called the Rumpelstiltskin problem which includes one of these stories which creativly shows the different twists of the story! Very interesting.