Tales from the Brothers Grimm and the Si

Tales from the Brothers Grimm and the Sisters Weird.jpg

Same book, different covers!

Awards & Honors

ALA Best Book for Young Adults
ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers
IRA Young Adults' Choice
Storytelling World Winner "Tellable Stories" (1996) (for "Jack" and "Frog")

Review

"Terrific fun."

—Kirkus, starred review

"Entertaining and provocative, these selections make good read-alouds and can be used to spark discussion or creative writing exercises."

—School Library Journal

Tales from the

Brothers Grimm

and Sisters Weird

Illustrator of hardcover: Brad Weinman

Ages: 10 & up

Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books

Book Description:

13 twisted versions of such familiar tales as Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Hansel and Gretel, and the Three Billy Goats Gruff.

Where do you GET those ideas?

I got the idea for writing Tales from the Brothers Grimm and the Sisters Weird from thinking about fairy tales and how quite often they don't make sense. I just couldn't figure out why the characters acted the way they did, so I made up my own reasons. Playing with fairy tales can be addictive. I started with Rumplestiltzkin, but in the end hit most of the best-known fairy tales.

Have I mentioned lately that I love fairy tales?

Excerpt

Author's Note:

I think I've gotten into trouble because this appears on the back cover of Tales from the Brothers Grimm and the Sisters Weird. I think parents are scared off by thinking the book is rated PG-13, and I think they believe that this describes the stories in the book.

Rated PG-13 is just a poem.

(Or, more accurately, thoughts expressed in short lines.)

These stories do not appear in the book.

RATED PG-13

Fairy-tale endings you're not likely to see:

after growing into a beautiful swan, the Ugly Duckling pecks all his tormentors to death.
the Emperor orders the execution of everyone who's seen him naked.
the lazy cat, dog, and mouse suffocate the Little Red Hen with her own cake.
the elves lock the Shoemaker and his wife in the basement, take all their money, and run off to Central America, where they operate a pirate radio station.
the Gingerbread Man turns out to be carnivorous and eats the fox.
Snow White and Sleeping Beauty simply refuse to get out of bed.
when a portion of the sky really does fall, Chicken Little becomes the leader of her own religious movement; she gets her own TV show, collects millions of dollars to build a theme park, then makes off with the money, joining the elves in Central America.