Twice upon a Time (Paperback)

~ Vatious (Author), Denise Little (Editor), Yvonne Gilbert (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

How would Little Red Riding Hood's story play if we heard it from the viewpoint of the wolf, and what's the real scuttlebutt about the seven dwarves? Whether they're told to us as bedtime treats or viewed as Disney movies, fairy tales fuel our imagination. Now fantasy's finest indulge themselves and offer us some wonderful new versions of these treasured tales. Maybe the wolf should get to eat at least one little pig. Perhaps Cinderella was really a master schemer in her own right. Could Sleeping Beauty have had a problem with narcolepsy? Whatever readers' favorite story is, they're bound to find it in this treasure trove of carefully fractured fairy tales. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 309 pages
• Publisher: DAW Books / Penguin Putnam, Inc.; DAW Book Collectors No. 119 edition (April 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0886778352
• ISBN-13: 978-0886778354
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 3.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,198,018 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it!, November 11, 2000

By	"princessariellia" (Fairfield, CT United States) - See all my reviews

This is definatly a great fairy tales book...with a bit of a twist. Okay, more than a bit, but who's counting? My favorite stories: True Love and The Constant Tin Soldier. Although I must say, despite what they say, this book is not for nine year olds. Let's rule out 10 and 11 year olds too. 12 year olds, I think they can handel it. Some of this book is quite, shall we say...vulgar, but I think they should be able to handle it. Over all it's a great book especially if you're looking for a good laugh.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not my cup of tea, but it may be yours, July 18, 2002

By	Kelly L. (www.FantasyLiterature.com) (Columbia, MO United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

_Twice Upon a Time_ is a glib, sarcastic take on fairy tales. Yes, a few of the retellings are serious, but most of them are attempts at poking fun at the conventions of fairy tales. I like these sorts of stories when they are well done, but most of these stories seem to be groaners rather than side-splitters; farces whose main purpose seems to be dragging every single fairy tale cliche into every single story. I mean, seriously, does a detective story about Rumpelstiltskin, which was just getting interesting, really need Hansel and Gretel barging into the plot? Many of the stories are like this. Just throw the ten or so most famous fairy tales into a blender and see what comes out, and top it off with a forced wittiness. If you're looking for cheesy fairy tale humor, check this out. Otherwise, look up Datlow and Windling.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good collection of fractured fairytales., November 13, 2000

By	Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Twice upon a Time is an anthology of eighteen fractured fairytales. Taking off on such stories as sleeping beauty, the emperor's new clothes, and Jack and the beanstalk, these stories recast the stories in a new and often humorous form. My favor was True Love (or The Many Brides of Prince Charming), which is hilariously funny, showing that happily ever after isn't always in the cards for Prince Charming either.

Some of these stories are somewhat off-color, and inappropriate for small children. However, as these stories are not intended to teach uplifting stories, as the original fairytales are, I would recommend against using these stories for small children. That said, though, this book does contain a number of quite entertaining stories, and is a very good read.