Fairy Tale Retelling

Sofia’s Kids’ Corner: Katie the Catsitter by Colleen AF Venable & Stephanie Yue

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Sofia is a 10-year-old brilliant reader who aspires to be a book reviewer, who started with us when she was 8 years old. On select Saturdays, Sofia shares her favorite books with kids! She is one of the most well-read elementary schoolers that we know, so she is highly qualified for this role!

Dear readers,

Whether you are a cat fan or not this funny graphic novel will make it into your hearts. Presenting… Katie the Catsitter by Stephanie Yue and Colleen AF Venable! This amazing book will make you want to read it every single day! This book is recommended for ages 8-12.

Katie’s friends are going to camp and are always talking about how many hours are left until camp starts. Katie is not going to camp because she does not have enough money to. Then she gets an idea to get money! She puts up a poster in her apartment hallway saying that she can help watering plants, carrying grocery bags, that kind of stuff. But after she kills a lot of plants and accidentally breaks an egg carton in a shopping bag she starts to doubt that she will have enough money to go to camp. Just when Katie has given up, a nice lady comes to her with a job, cat sitting. Katie loves cats, but when Katie agrees to the job she has no idea what a handful the cats are! The cats are super intelligent, they do not use a litterbox, they use a real toilet! The weirdest part is that they all have talents! Not just any talents though, Potato is a yoga instructor, Jolie is a computer hacker, Jack Slayer is a getaway driver and, best of all, DJ Bootie Butler is a DJ with mad beats! With 217 of these crazy and not to mention mischievous cats to take care of, how will Katie survive and save enough money for camp! Oh and when you are reading brace yourself for more crazy action as the book goes on!

This book is one of my all time favorites because of all of the action that happens in the story. So many things are not what they seem and that makes this book super exciting! This is the best book any kid could wish for! The illustrations are also sooooooo cute! I love how the illustrations are filled with all sorts of beautiful colors! The illustrator did a beautiful job coloring this in. This book is easily one of the best graphic novels I have ever read and probably ever will read! I can not wait for the second book in the series called Katie the Catsitter Best Friends for Never! Enjoy!

**Thanks so much, Sofia! We are so glad you loved it!**

August 10 for 10: Kellee’s Favorite Fairy Tale or Nursery Rhyme Inspired Picture Books

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Happy August 10th! That means it is time to share some favorite picture books!

This year, I want to share some favorite fairy tale or nursery rhyme inspired picture books.
(As with most lists, I may have cheated a bit to include more than 10 books, but they all are worth being on the list!)

Bethan Woollvin’s Fairy Tale books

Josh Funk & Edwardian Taylor’s It’s Not a Fairy Tale books

Chicken Little: The Real and Totally True Tale by Sam Wedelich

Eduardo Guadardo, elite Sheep by Anthony Pearson, Illustrated by Jennifer E. Morris

Princess and the Pit Stop by Tom Angleberger, Illustrated by Dan Santat

Deborah Underwood’s Interstellar Cinderella and Reading Beauty

Susan Middleton Elya’s Little Roja Riding Hood (illustrated by Susan Guevara) and La Princesa and the Pea (illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal)

Jon Sciezska’s The True Story of the Three Little Pigs (illustrated by Lane Smith); The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales (illustrated by Lane Smith); and The Frog Prince, Continued (illustrated by Steve Johnson)

The Very Impatient Caterpillar and The Little Butterfly that Could by Ross Burach

The Little Red Fort by Brenda Maier, Illustrated by Sonia Sanchez

Happy reading!!!!

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Sofia’s Kids’ Corner: Princesses Wear Pants by Savannah Guthrie & Allison Oppenheim, Illustrated by Eva Byrne

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Sofia is an 9-year-old brilliant reader who aspires to be a book reviewer. On select Saturdays, Sofia shares her favorite books with kids! She is one of the most well-read elementary schoolers that we know, so she is highly qualified for this role!

Dear readers,

Introducing Princesses Wear Pants by Savannah Guthrie! This is one of my favorite picture books and my little sister agrees. Princesses Wear Pants is a colorful picture book which every kid will love! This book is recommended for ages 3-12.

In this book there is a princess named Penny. The princess wears dresses and tiaras but she also has a closet of all kinds of pants. She wears pants for things like workouts and tending a garden. Then the royal ball comes up! Penny goes to the ball at first with a fancy shirt and pants but a person named Grand Lady Busyboots tells her that princesses don’t wear pants. Penny goes home to change but with a secret pair of pants underneath her dress. When she arrives at the ball for the second time she forgets all her worries but then her royal cat is seen hanging on the side of a tower trying not to fall. The princess throws off her dress and dives in the water around the tower. To everyone’s surprise the princess had put on her bathing suit underneath her clothing! You should read the book so you know what happens to the cat and the princess! 

I love this book so much because of the beautiful illustrations! I got this book as a gift a few years ago and have read it countless times since. This is an amazing book to give as a gift. This is a cute and powerful story which tells about the importance of wearing pants! There is a sequel which I have on my NEED TO READ list. I really hope you and your family members love this book as much as I do!

**Thanks so much, Sofia, for this wonderful review!**

Blog Tour with Review and THREE BOOK Giveaway!: It’s Not Little Red Riding Hood by Josh Funk, Illustrated by Edwardian Taylor

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It’s Not Little Red Riding Hood
Author: Josh Funk
Illustrator: Edwardian Taylor
Anticipated Publication: October 27, 2020 by Two Lions

Goodreads Summary: Once again, the beleaguered storyteller tries to tell a traditional fairy tale, with little success. Red has some questions about her delivery to Grandma’s house, the wolf calls in sick, and more chaos ensues.

About the Creators: 

Like the characters in his books, Josh Funk doesn’t like being told how stories should go—so he writes his own. He is the author of many popular picture books, including the popular Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast series, illustrated by Brendan Kearney, and the It’s Not a Fairytale books, illustrated by Edwardian Taylor. He lives in New England with his family. Learn more about him at www.joshfunkbooks.com and follow him on Twitter @joshfunkbooks and Instagram: @joshfunkbooks.

Edwardian Taylor is the illustrator of multiple children’s books, including Race!, written by Sue Fliess; the Toy Academy chapter books, written by Brian Lynch; and the It’s Not a Fairytale books, written by Josh Funk. He lives in Texas with his partner and their four dogs. Learn more about him at www.edwardiantaylor.com.
Twitter: @edwardiantaylor
Instagram: edwardiantaylor
Tumblr: Edwardian Taylor

Review: With each book that comes out in this series, I have a long, intense internal debate. I ask myself, “But which one in the series is your favorite NOW?” And I simply cannot decide. Josh Funk and Edwardian Taylor’s It’s Not a Fairytale books are the best picture book fairytale retellings that exist. I know that’s a bold statement, but it is the truth. If you’ve missed this series, you must order copies from your nearest bookstore. They are such beautiful, thoughtful texts, and they inspire amazing classroom opportunities and critical thinking.

When I pulled out It’s Not Little Red Riding Hood, I suspect the shrieks of joy from my children could be heard by passersby outside of my house. These books are so cherished in our home. I’ve had It’s Not Little Red Riding Hood about a week, and I think we’ve read it about fifteen times (no exaggeration). Similarly to the other books in the series, Red is smarter than the narrator, and she tells her own story and does so boldly. Readers will laugh aloud as they read it! It offers good critical discussions about the stories we hear and read. I loved it and can’t wait to read it (several times) tomorrow. Thanks so much to Josh and Edwardian for another great book in this series!

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: This book would be great to read as a Readers’ Theatre. Students could read different characters and the narrator aloud to create a powerful effect. Fairy tale retellings offer great opportunities for kids to tell counterstories to the narratives that are popular in society or the media, and teachers might ask students to write retellings and counterstories to those that are commonly told.

Discussion Questions: 

  • How would you describe Red?
  • How do the author and illustrator work together to create a story?
  • What aspects of the retelling are different from the traditional fairy tale? What does this make you think about when you consider the original fairy tale? How is the story improved in this retelling?

Flagged Spreads: 

Giveaway:

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Read This If You Loved:  It’s Not Hansel and Gretel by Josh Funk, It’s Not Jack and the Beanstalk by Josh Funk; Dear Dragon by Josh Funk; Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast by Josh Funk; Whose Story is This, Anyway? by Mike Flaherty; Battle Bunny by Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett; A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz

Recommended For: 

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**Thank you to Barbara at Blue Slip Media and Two Lions for providing copies for review and giveaway!**

    Unicorns are the Worst by Alex Willan

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    Unicorns are the Worst!
    Author: Alex Willan
    Published September 29th, 2020 by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers

    Summary: This wildly funny and imaginative picture book celebrates the value of differences as a grumpy goblin gets to know his new unicorn neighbors.

    It’s an undeniable fact that unicorns are the worst!

    Magic is serious business, but all unicorns do is frolic around, have tea parties, and leave glitter all over the place! They’re nothing like goblins—practical and hard-working, who can put magic to good use! Unicorns aren’t helpful at all.

    Or are they?

    About the Author: Alex Willan grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, where he was seldom seen without his sketchbook in hand. His love of drawing led him to earn a BFA in illustration from Savannah College of Art and Design. Alex has exhibited in art galleries and has painted murals, theater sets, and squirmy kids’ faces, but his true love has always been children’s books. He lives in Chicago with his dog, Harley. Visit him online at Alex-Willan.Squarespace.com.

    P.S. If you haven’t read Alex Willan’s Jasper and Ollie, I HIGHLY recommend it as well!!!

    Review and Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Happy book birthday to this funny tale! I am a sucker for a funny and unique narrator, and our Goblin in Unicorns are the Worst! fits that bill. You can hear his grumpy voice as he tells of his tales of whoa trying to do his job while unicorns get to just frollick and be happy. You can feel his despair while he gets frustrated with his hardworking life versus the laidback life of the unicorns. But you also witness his realization that his assumptions were wrong.  Because the reader has such a connection with him, this realization comes to the reader as well because as you read, you are starting to agree with the goblin. All of this leads to the idea of assumptions, fake news and gossip, propaganda, different points of view on one thing, and envy–all topics that are tough to talk about with young children, but Unicorns are the Worst! gives the perfect context (and is hilarious!).

    Book Trailer:

    Flagged Passages:  

    Read This If You Love: Unicorn Thinks He’s Pretty Great by Bob Shea, Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin, Eduardo Guadardo, Elite Sheep by Anthony Pearson

    Recommended For: 

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    **Thank you to Simon Kids for providing a copy for review!**

    Abby in Oz and the Whatever After Series by Sarah Mlynowski

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    Abby in Oz
    Whatever After #13.5 (Special Edition #2)
    Author: Sarah Mlynowski
    Published April 7th, 2020 by Scholastic
    (Series debuted May 1st, 2012)

    Series Summary: Siblings Abby and Jonah have a magic mirror that leads them into different fairy tales, from Snow White to Rapunzel to the Little Mermaid. In each fairy tale, Abby and Jonah accidentally mess up the story — and hilarity and hijinks ensue!

    Abby in Oz Summary: In this second Special Edition of the New York Times bestselling Whatever After series, Abby and her friends enter the magical Land of Oz . . . with hilarious and empowering results!

    Follow the yellow brick road . . . I’m with my best friends Robin and Frankie (and my sometimes friend, Penny) when a TORNADO scoops us up and whisks us away. As soon as we land, I can tell we’re not in Smithville anymore — we’ve been transported into The Wonderful Wizard of Oz!

    We’re excited to meet Dorothy and Toto . . . but the story isn’t going as planned. The Wicked Witch of the East locks us in her dungeon, so we have no way of getting the magic slippers that will take Dorothy home. Plus, the Emerald City is under attack, and the Wizard himself may be in danger!

    Now we have to:
    – Befriend the Lion, the Tin Man, and the Scarecrow
    – Flee the flying monkeys
    – Learn to steer a hot-air balloon
    – Find the courage, heart, and smarts to save the day

    . . . or we’ll never escape — and everyone knows there’s no place like home!

    Praise for Abby in Oz:

    “Hilarious…with unexpected plot twists and plenty of girl power.” –Booklist

    “My daughter loved the young, sassy girl on the cover and I loved the premise of the book…The best part is that they mess up the story and the lead female character has to learn how to stand on her own. The feminist in me adored it, and the mother in me loved how my daughter would long to cuddle in close as we read together.” –The Washington Post

    “An uproariously funny read.” –Kirkus Reviews

    About the Author: Sarah Mlynowski is the New York Times bestselling author of the Whatever After series, the Magic in Manhattan series, Gimme a Call, and a bunch of other books for tweens and teens, including the Upside-Down Magic series, which she is cowriting with Lauren Myracle and Emily Jenkins. Originally from Montreal, Sarah now lives in the kingdom of Manhattan with her very own prince charming and their fairy-tale-loving daughters.

    Review of Abby of Oz: I am a huge fan of this series. I already love fairy tale retellings, but this is such a unique way of telling them, and I love how each are different and do not follow a predictable pattern. 

    This newest installment is a special edition of the series and is a bit different. While Abby and Jonah normally go through a magic mirror, the special editions find Abby and her friends entering books because an evil fairy is trying to trap Abby in the story. The addition of Abby’s friends’ personalities definitely makes for an interesting story and more conflict throughout the book.

    Lastly, I could not review any book in this series without celebrating the audiobooks–they are phenomenal!

    Teachers’ Tools for Navigation (series): Immediately, when reading this series, I thought of a creative writing activity for students to take part in and would be a great introduction to the series: Have students take parts of fairy tales that they feel are wrong, unjust, dated, they didn’t like, or even something that would be fun to change; come up with a plan on how they would fix it if they were in the fairy tale; and have them rewrite the fairy tale.

    Then, I would read parts of some of the books out loud where Abby does just that: she changes fairy tales for the better! (Even if it is a bit of a mess along the way…)

    Discussion Questions (series): 

    • What did Abby change in the fairy tale/story? Do you think this is a good change or not? Explain.
    • What did Abby do to make the change happen?
    • Do you think it is okay ethically for Abby/Jonah/Abby’s friends to change things in the story?
    • Do you think Abby would be as successful as she is without the help of Jonah/her friends?
    • Why do you think the magic mirror allows Abby and Jonah to go through the mirror?
    • What fairy tale would you want to go into if you were being transported into one? What would you want to change? Make sure stays the same?

    Flagged Passages: Visit the Scholastic website for the series to view the series trailer. I also highly recommend listening to an audiobook sample!

    Read This If You Love: Fairy Tale Retellings

    Recommended For: 

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    The Forest Queen by Betsy Cornwell

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    The Forest Queen
    Author: Betsy Cornwell
    Published: August 7, 2018 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

    Guest Review by Rachel Krieger

    Summary: When sixteen-year-old Sylvie’s brother takes over management of their family’s vast estates, Sylvie feels powerless to stop his abuse of the local commoners. Her dearest friend asks her to run away to the woods with him, and soon a host of other villagers join them. Together, they form their own community and fight to right the wrongs perpetrated by the king and his noblemen.

    Review: Anyone familiar with the tale of Robin Hood likes the idea of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. Betsy Cornwell’s twist on this idea changes it just enough to give the story some flavor and novelty. The characters were compelling and the relationships were truly touching, but everything felt a little too convenient to me. There were several times when characters all but died and ended up making it out without a scrape. In a world where all of the favorable characters are on the lamb, there was a fair amount of luck and inaction that saved nearly every one of them. As a gender bent twist on a fairytale and a lively retelling of an old story, this novel had merit, but there wasn’t quite enough to it to call it a masterpiece.

    However, as far as representation goes, Betsy Cornwell hit it on the head. The Forest Queen, as the title lets on, has a female leading things. The role of Robin Hood was usurped by a woman and amplified by the fact that the woman is stealing from her own family to give to the poor. The other females in the novel show strength in the face of things like rape and a shocking lack of agency. There are even LGBTQ characters that add to the sense that women in this world are the epitome of overcoming their circumstances.

    Teacher’s Tool For Navigation:This novel is a great outlet in which to discuss rape culture. Although it is not the most prominent part of the story, it plays a part and is represented in an ideal way in relation to discussion. Because this subject is extremely difficult to discuss in general, let alone in a classroom, talking about it within the realm of this fantastical society may make it a bit easier. It would be interesting to reflect upon the similarities between the culture in the novel and our own culture in this society. It is so incredibly important to discuss difficult subjects in the classroom, but when it is in reference to a novel like The Forest Queen, it can be looked at in a more academic way.

    Discussion Questions: 

    • Did Sylvie have a right to encourage the village people to rebel against her brother?
    • What do the ties to the story of Robin Hood do for this novel?
    • How do women take power in this story and how does that differ from classic fantasy?

    Read This If You Loved: Cinder by Marissa Meyer, Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo, The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg

    Recommended For: 

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