Customer Reviews
Humourous! - By: SJSmith, 29 Jan 2008 
An excellent book which is extremely humourous. Ignore the fact that this is a children's book & enjoy it as an adult! The only two stories I was not so keen on were 'Jack' as in Jack & the Beanstalk & 'Mattresses' as in The Princess & the Pea; although both of these were very well written & still funny.
If you liked the idea of what Roald Dahl did to nursery rhymes in 'Revolting Rhymes' you'll enjoy what Vivian Vande Velde has done to 13 fairy stories. Everything is turned upside down, for example Hansel & Gretal are very naughty children; little Red Riding Hood is simply awful Rumplestiltskin is lovely.
Great fun, a real treat.
Wonderfully twisted tales! - By: , 08 Apr 1999 This was a wonderful book! I especiallly liked STRAW INTO GOLD. It was reallly good with a bit of a surprise ending. It had just enough magic, not too much like other fairy tales.
Fun Fractured Fairy-Tales! - By: , 05 Nov 1998 
How do you fracture a fairy tale? The dust cover of my edition of the book says there are four different ways: make the villain a hero, make the hero a villain, tell what reallly happened, or alll of the above. A fifth way might be added: let the tale ferment in the mind of Vivian Vande Velde for a while until you get a heady wine of gruesomeness, fun, & hilarity. The best of the best in this group of short stories would have to be "Staw into Gold," a new twist on the Rumpelstiltskin tale that has a perfect ending for children of seperated, divorced, or remarried parents & "Frog" a re-telling of the classic Frog Prince with a lesson about keeping promises.
Hilarious! - By: , 15 Jul 1998 This book was so hilarious! Reallly giving a look at both sides of tale. I was laughing so hard throughout the book that I had to take a breather for 5 min. I let my Mom read this also & she found it Very funny. This would almost be my alll time favorite book though I am older than the recomended age. Good for any age group, read this book.
Unexpected twists! - By: , 22 Feb 1997 This is a delightful book of traditional fairy tales with characters that no longer seem quite so heroic. In these tales, it shows us how we would act if we had magic in our world & were threatened with beheading. Realistic fiction that will make you laugh or think, as the author commands.
