Who doesn’t like reading old fairy tales with new twists?
In this collection of Twisted Fairy Tales, the authors present six twisted tales illustrated by Chris Jevons and James Hearne.
In the first offering, Cinder-Elephant, Newman and Hearne deliver a delightful spin on Cinderella. In this version, poor Cinderella has to deal with wicked stepsisters and a hard-of-hearing fairy godmother. The poor prince has to deal with being bossed around all day by his parents. What are two people to do if they want to enjoy their lives how they want? Turn into elephants, of course.
The second offering, Little Rude Riding Hood, turns sweet little Red into a terrible brat who finally gets punished for their behavior. Chris Jevons’ illustrations are darling but cannot change how I feel about this story. I really, really dislike this twist.
The Three Little Narwhals, the third twisted tale penned by Stewart Ross and illustrated by Chris Jevons, is a quirky take on the Three Little Pigs. Spike, Spiral, and Stubby enjoy their lives under the sea and discover a sunken pirate ship and decide to make their home, but the big, bad shark had other plans. But I completely feel bad for the shark by the end of this tale.
Octo-Puss in Boots, written by Samantha Newman and illustrated by James Hearne, is the fourth offering and is a twisted take on Puss in Boots. The illustrations are cute and the twist is certainly unique but I must admit, the twist isn’t enough to make me like the story.
The fifth offering, The Ninjabread Man, written by Stewart Ross and illustrated by Chris Jevons, is a funny twist on what I consider to be a very annoying story, The Gingerbread Man. A ninja couple wants a child, and so they bake a Ninjabread Man, but they were not quite happy with the results after he destroys everything in their house, and the chase is on. Kids will laugh at this story.
The last offering, Snow White and the Seven Robots, written by Stewart Ross and illustrated by Chris Jevons, presents a unique SciFi twist. The Star Queen is upset because the viewscreen declared Snow White to be “doing best of all,” and so she blasts Snow White off into space. There, she uses her talents, meets new friends, and defeats the wicked Star Queen.
All in all, this is a cute collection that is sure to be a hit with many kids (and adults).