We had a fractured fairy tale theme July and August of this year. I recalled that we had so much fun going over quite a number of postmodern picture books that presented a peculiar twist to beloved narratives. This was one of the reasons why I fell in love with picture books. Prior to this, we also did a lot of book reviews on this theme. I shall include those as well in what I am hoping would be a relatively-definitive list on fractured fairytales.
Of Pigs, Wolves, Hooded Girls, Bears and Beanstalks
Fats and I have done several reviews of fractured versions of the three little pigs. Click on the image below to be taken to our reviews of the books:
A 2 in 1 Special on The Three Little Pigs: (1) The True Story of The 3 Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith
Click on the image to be taken to my review of the book.
(2) The Three Little Wolves and The Big Bad Pig by Eugene Trivizas and Helen Oxenbury
Click on the image to be taken to my review of the book.
Fats’ 3-in-1 post on the 3 little pigs: (1) The Three Little Pigs: An Architectural Tale by Steven Guarnaccia
Click on the image to be taken to Fats' review of the book.
(2) Pig, Pigger, Piggest by Rick Walton and illustrated by Jimmy Holder – Fats’ review
Click on the image to be taken to Fats' review of the book.
(3) The Three Horrid Little Pigs by Liz Pichon – review by Fats
Click on the image to be taken to Fats' review of the book.
You might also want to check out Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith’s The Stinky Cheese Man and other fairly stupid tales as well as their Squids will be squids. David Weisner also has his own version of three little pigs with his award winning The Three Pigs.
The wolves seem to be everywhere in fairy tales. Not only are they chasing pigs, they are also chasing hooded girls (or boys) lost in the forest. In that vein, we have reviewed several versions of the Little Red Riding Hood as could be seen below:
Lon Po Po: A Red Riding Hood Story from China – review by Fats
Click on the Image to be taken to Fats' Review of Lon Po Po
Little Red: A Fizzingly Good Yarn by Lynn Roberts and David Roberts – review done by Iphigene
Click on the image to be taken to Iphigene's review of the book.
I was also glad to have found this book by Nadia Shireen that presents a different face to the wolf in:
Good Little Wolf by Nadia Shireen
Click on the image to be taken to my review of the book.
There are also several picture books that seem to gather together quite a number of fairy tale characters all at once. This book written by Alma Flor Ada would be a good example of this.
Yours Truly, Goldilocks by Alma Flor Ada and Leslie Tryon
Click on the image to be taken to my review of the book.
I discovered that this was part of a series that Alma Flor Ada has written. While we were not able to review the two other books, I would encourage you to look for her Dear Peter Rabbit and her With Love, Little Red Hen. All three books in the series were illustrated by Leslie Tryon.
I have also done a few fractured retelling of Goldilocks and the three bears as can be found below – also by Steven Guarnaccia.
Goldilocks and Three Bears: A Tale Moderne by Steven Guarnaccia
Click on the image to be taken to my review of the book.
I was also glad to have discovered the highly-esteemed British author Frank Muir who has done not just one but three fractured versions of fairy tales as illustrated by Graham Philpot. I have done a 3-in-1 special of his decidedly-quirky versions of these three tales:
Click on the image to be taken to my review of the book.
Click on the image to be taken to my review of the book.
Click on the image to be taken to my review of the book.
We could not possibly do a postmodern retelling of beloved stories without including the award-winning Emily Gravett. I have done a review of four of her books a year ago which I would also like to share with you here:
Click on the image to be taken to my review of these four delectable books.
Cinderella and its Many Many Variations
Apparently there are over a thousand versions of Cinderella – as portrayed in different cultures, settings, historical background, and so forth. As I was surfing the net, I found this extremely helpful website created by Mary Pitner from Thomas School which details how these different versions of Cinderella could be used inside the classroom. We managed to review several for our bimonthly theme as well as during our Chinese New Year special.
Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China As Retold by Ai-Ling Louie and Illustrated by Ed Young – reviewed by Fats
Click on the image to be taken to Fats' review of the book.
Cinderella Skeleton by Robert D. San Souci and David Catrow
Click on the image to be taken to my review of the book.
Cinderhazel: The Cinderella of Halloween by Deborah Nourse Lattimore – review done by Iphigene
Click on the image to be taken to Iphigene's review of the book.
Cinder Edna by Ellen Jackson and Kevin O’Malley - review done by Fats
Click on the image to be taken to Fats' review of the book.
Cinder-Elly written by Frances Minters G. Brian Karas - review done by Fats
Click on the image to be taken to Fats' review of the book.
Cinderella by Charles Perrault and Kveta Pacovska
Click on the image to be taken to my review of the book.
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine – review done by Iphigene
Click on the image to be taken to Iphigene's review of the book.
More Versions of Princess Tales
As a child I grew up on Princess Tales – both the Brothers Grimm version and the Disney-manufactured ones. Now that I am grown, I am glad to discover these ‘other’ versions of stories involving princesses, dragons, knights, beasts. Here are several that we were able to discover and review:
The Dragon Prince: A Chinese Beauty and the Beast Tale by Laurence Yep and Kam Mak
Click on the image to be taken to my review of the book.
Snoring Beauty by Bruce Hale and Howard Fine
Click on the image to be taken to my review of the book.
Sleeping Bobby by Will and Mary Pope Osborne, illustrated by Giselle Potter – review done by Fats
Click on the image to be taken to Fats' review of the book.
The Pea and the Princess by Mini Grey – review done by Iphigene
Click on the image to be taken to Iphigene's review of the book.
Images of Beauty: The Ugly Duckling by A. A. Milne and Beauty and the Beast by Marianna Mayer - review done by Fats
Click on the image to be taken to Fats' review of the book.
Falling for Rapunzel by Leah Wilcox and Lydia Monks – review done by Iphigene
Click on the image to be taken to Iphigene's review of the book.
The Prince’s Diary by Renee Ting and Elizabeth O. Dulemba
Click on the image to be taken to my review of the book.
Rumpelstiltskin illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky
Click on the image to be taken to my review of the book.
It was also good to have discovered these culturally-transplanted and beautifully-illustrated narratives:
Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, The Twelve Dancing Princesses by Rachel Isadora – a 3-in-1 special
Click on the image to be taken to my review of the book.
Click on the image to be taken to my review of the book.
Click on the image to be taken to my review of the book.
The Girl who Spun Gold by Virginia Hamilton and artwork by Leo & Diane Dillon
Click on the image to be taken to my review of the book.
Here are a few more books that show a different twist to fairy tales – be they a shift in perspective, a behind-the-scenes portrayal (secret lives/little known facts) or fairly-weird fairytales as could be found below:
The Secret Lives of Princesses by Philippe Lechermeier and illustrations by Rebecca Dautremer - review done by Fats
Click on the image to be taken to Fats' review of the book.
Wingless: A Fairly Weird Fairy Tale by Paro Anand and Atanu Roy
Click on the image to be taken to my review of the book.
Once Upon a Fairy Tale: A Benefit for the Starbright Foundation
Click on the image to be taken to my review of the book.
Lauren Child and her Retellings
Another author that we simply love here in GatheringBooks is Lauren Child. We have reviewed a number of her works that tweaked and twisted fairy stories, such that they are brand new tales altogether. Check out a few of her creation that we have managed to find and review:
The Princess and the Pea by Lauren Child and Polly Borland
Click on the image to be taken to my review of the book.
Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Book? – A Vlog (videoblog)
Click on the image to be taken to my review of the book.
Beware of the Storybook Wolves by Lauren Child, Paper Engineering by Corina Fletcher
Click on the image to be taken to my review of the book.
Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Lauren Child, Polly Borland, with Set Creation by Emily Jenkins
Click on the image to be taken to my review of the book.
Academic Nook: Done Kissing Frogs
Our Academic Nook was also in keeping with our theme. Check out the essay written by Professor Tuting Hernandez entitled “Done Kissing Frogs” and take note of his recommended reads for this theme.
Other Resources
I searched the net for more links to fractured fairy tales – and here are several that I was able to discover: Logan Library has created this comprehensive list of book titles on fractured fairy tales that you might wish to check out. This list on the other hand is created by University of Calgary. Maurice’s Monkeys also prepared a comprehensive post that details various links that you might want to check out in connection with fractured fairy tales – it also includes teacher resources you may wish to explore further.
I am sure that there are a few more that we may not have included in this list. If you have any more recommended titles, we’d be glad to hear them.
Hi, can i ask you something? I’m looking for children books with “scary” animal illustrations like the big bad wolf (or a fox) eating pigs (or seven kids or Red Riding hood or birds in Chicken Little) or being pictured with a fat stomach. Have you seen any book of this sort? Any sort of help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Great blog, by the way!
Hi Nelly, thanks for dropping by. I think that any of the picture books under the theme “of pigs, wolves, hooded girls, bears and beanstalks” above would fit that which you need (e.g. Lon Po Po, The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, etc). I hope that helps.
Hi Nelly! Thank you for your kind words. You might also want to check out Neil Gaiman’s The Wolves in the Walls. Not a retelling of a classic tale, but it is rather dark.