The Great Fairy Tale Disaster

PreS-Gr 2—This companion to The Great Nursery Rhyme Disaster (Tiger Tales, 2009) stars an aging big bad wolf. Aching for a vacation, he turns to a compilation of fairy tales and tries to find "a relaxing fairy tale for a change." The wolf barges right into some tales, while in others he creeps in unexpectedly. When Cinderella's fairy godmother dresses him for the ball, he find himself suddenly cast as Sleeping Beauty and receives an unsolicited kiss. At this, he hurls himself into another tale, Jack Skellington-style, and so on, until there is quite a tangle of tales (and more kisses, just for the ew-effect). The illustrations work in perfect tandem with this accessible and fast-paced romp. The beanstalk requires a pivoting of the book, and readers traverse checker-boarded forest paths and troll-patrolled bridges. The palette is bright and balanced, full of lively and textured patterns, stylized elongated fir trees, and rotund, huggable faces. Burtonesque curlicues wind around the pages. Flying objects and myriad small creatures leave little white space for reflection but offer plenty of opportunities for discovering hidden details in this densely illustrated, whirlwind tale. Anyone looking for a lighthearted read with a droll ending that will engage young readers will find it here. Pair it with any fractured fairy tales, while reading it with Mario Ramos's I Am So Handsome (Gecko, 2012) might present a good opportunity to discuss all things wolfish.—Sara Lissa Paulson, American Sign Language and English Lower School, New York City