Tales from the Brothers Grimm and the Sisters Weird

Vande Velde, Vivian. Tales from the Brothers Grimm and the Sisters Weird. San Diego : Harcourt Brace, 1995.

Plot: The text offers a series of re-imagined fairy tales in the tradition of Shrek and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. In some, such as "Rumplestiltskin," the villain actually acts as a hero, and saves a queen from a loveless marriage. "Hansel and Gretel" and "The Frog Prince" take the traditional stories in a different direction. Instead of serving as the protagonists, the heroes become spoiled brats...or worse. Many other stories, such as "Little Red Riding Hood" and "Beauty and the Beast" view the stories through a cynical, modern view, displaying an unexpected results and responses to the story archetypes.

Genre: Fairy Tales, Horror

Reading Level: Grades 4-8

Similar Titles: The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, The Frog Princess, Wolf! Wolf!

Plot: I found some of the stories disturbing, but younger readers will likely find them funny. Much like stories about grief, humor often reaches children differently from adults, so try to avoid over-analyzing the tales. Many are, actually, quite funny, and feature whinny "heroes" and sensible villains. A good example of the fractured fairy tale genre.