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.

Reviews

These eight retellings with animals such as "Cinder-Elephant" and "Goldiefox and the Three Chickens" in the starring roles may well appeal to readers weaned on The Stinky Cheese Man. Maguire's adaptations tend more toward Grimm than Disney, and take on a modern cast. The frog heroine of "Leaping Beauty," for instance, obviously does not prick her finger; instead she "bite[s] down on a stray explosive from some stupid human engineering project." The mother in "Hamster and Gerbil" is a beaver (the kids are adopted) who dies in the opening scene when a tree falls on her head. When the baboon king marries an evil gorilla queen in "So What and the Seven Giraffes," she orders a hunter (a human being) to leave her stepson (a chimp) in the woods. But the hunter returns with chicken livers from the supermarket rather than the chimp's heart. Maguire (Wicked; the Hamlet Chronicles) pitches much of the humor over the heads of middle graders (e.g., in "Rumplesnakeskin," a beautiful sheep named Norma Jean must spin straw into gold to keep her movie afloat). But there's clever wordplay-the witchy porcupine threatens to turn Hamster and Gerbil in for "assault and peppery" after catching them snacking on her house-and Demarest's wild and scratchy line drawings help pump up the child appeal. A good choice for those whose tastes run to silly and sillier. Ages 8-12. (Aug.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

" ... eight deeply and profoundly silly stories....Puns, literary and political references, wordplay, and sly wisdom abound....Dizzylingly funny."--Kirkus Reviews *starred review*

Gr 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 2004 Reed Business Information.