Newfangled Fairy Tales (Paperback)

~ Bruce Lansky (Author) "No one had seen Big Bad Wolf for a week since the morning he'd gone hunting along the new road through the forest..." (more)
Key Phrases: frog princess, true princess, three princesses, Prince Ferdinand, Mama Bear, Baby Bear (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gr. 3^-5, younger for reading aloud. After being cooped up in that castle for a hundred years, Sleeping Beauty thinks she'll take the summer off and backpack through Europe. King Midas is a workaholic banker who neglects his family. Cinderella is a chamber maid who meets the fairy godmother (in drag) when coming out to dump the trash. Fractured fairy tales are now an established genre in picture books. This small paperback anthology is for middle-grade readers who know the traditional stories and can appreciate the playful parody and the contemporary spin. From ecology to gender roles, the messages are sometimes a bit heavy (wolves and bears, far from being scary predators, are helped by strong girls who conserve the forest), but the dialogue is cool, the farce is wild, and kids will appreciate how the damsels in distress make their own happy endings. In fact, these comedies could be a start for lively classroom writing projects and readers' theater. Hazel Rochman

Product Description

These inspiring new versions of fairy tales are sure to delight boys and girls with the tale of a contemporary King Midas who doesn't have time for his son's Little League games; a prince who refuses to marry any of the unpleasant, grumpy young women who can't sleep on a mattress with a pea under it; and more 15-city author tour.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Meadowbrook (January 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671577042
• ISBN-13: 978-0671577049
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #513,728 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun, clever, and imaginative., February 5, 1999

By A Customer

No one gets rewarded for stealing, for killing, or for being a spoilt brat. It's about time someone realized that most of the classic fairy tales should really be rated R and that they teach kis all kinds of wrong lessons. The heroes in this series are good role models and have fun as well. Wonderful for kids (and adults) of all ages.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars monica's reveiw on book, November 30, 2004

A Kid's Review

Monica: I thought this story was very good. I thought this because when we read it over some parts made all of us laugh. One part that I thought was funny was when they can never get Rumplistiltskin's name right. I had a lot of fun acting this play out.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars kayla's reveiw on book, November 30, 2004

A Kid's Review

Kayla: I thought the book was great. One of the funniest part was when the captain (which was me) couldn't get Rumplistiltskin's name right. When we were just practicing we always ended up laughing. The book was really great.