The Three Billy Goats Fluff

by Rachael Mortimer

Summary: When Mr. Troll threatens to eat the three billy goats Fluff for being too noisy while going over his bridge, Mother Goat comes up with a plan.

I love this book! In this fractured fairytale, the traditionally-portrayed bad character, the troll, is the focus. I liked the goat mother who is strong and diplomatic.

Interest Level: ages 2-grade 3
Reading Level: grade 2

Kiss Me! (I'm a Prince!)

by Heather McLeod

Summary: Ella meets a prince that has been turned into a frog and shows him the fun he has been missing as a member of royalty.

This is an adorable fractured fairytale! The pretty, though tomboyish looking girl, is a great character. If your child takes the “I am a princess” play a little too seriously, this is a great book to share with her.

Interest Level: ages 2-grade 3
Reading Level: grade 2

Goldie and the Three Hares

by Margie Palatini

Summary: When Goldilocks, running from the three bears, falls down a rabbit hole and hurts her foot, a family of hares tries to help but she proves to be a very loud, demanding, and tenacious guest.

This story is superb for discussing how to act appropriately when one is a guest. It is also useful for teaching a child about manners. An educator can use th is humorous tales when teaching fractured fairy tales.

Interest Level: ages 2-grade 3
Reading Level: grade 3

The Sisters Grimm: The Fairy-tale Detectives

  by Michael Buckley

Summary: Orphans Sabrina and Daphne Grimm are sent to live with an eccentric grandmother that they have always believed to be dead.

I thoroughly enjoyed this fractured fairytale. It is the first book in the Sister’s Grimm series. This is a wonderful book to recommend to older children that enjoy fractured fairytale books such as The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. The beginning of the book is somewhat sad, but the majority of this book is light-hearted and entertaining. The sisters’ spunky personalities soften the blow. These strong female characters will resonate with less “girly” children as well as the feminine fairy tale loving crowd.

Interest Level: grades 4-6
Reading Level: grade 5

Summer Reading Theme 2011: One World Many Stories Reads for Preschool and Kindergarten Students

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The True Story of the Three Little Pigs!
by Jon Scieszka

Summary: The wolf gives his own version of what really happened when he tangled with the three little pigs.

This was one of my favorite books when I was a child. This books is a good opening to a lesson on points of view and how there are two sides to every story. With a more mature audience, an adult reader could point out that in the book one story is told by “The Daily Wolf” and the other by “The Daily Pig”. This could spark a discussion of examples in the media in which two different sources portray one event very differently.

Interest Level: grades k-6
Reading Level: grade 2

The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by John Sciezka

Summary: A collection of parodies of classic fairy tales.

As a child I remember looking at this book questioningly at the book fair. It sounded crude and the boys seemed to like it. One day the school librarian read it to us and I realized the boys were right; it is a very funny book. It helps to know classic fairy tales before reading this collection of “fractured fairy tales,” a newly named genre for traditional fairy tales told in a different way.


Interest Level:grades k-6
Reading Level: grade 3

Wolf Wanted

Wolf Wanted

by Ana Maria Machado

Summary: A human named Manny Wolf answers a job application that says "Wolf wanted" and gets a job answering the applications of the wolves from literature who apply for the job.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The first applicants are wolves from literature who are depicted as bad. Later, wolves that have depicted as good apply. A dog lover once brought to my attention that wolves have a bad reputation in literature but that some wolves are gentle and a generation away from a house dog. There are wolves in Alaska that have not attacked humans even after being provoked. The end contains a spread of wolves and the dog family around the world. It is a shame that parts of the text are difficult to read over the images.

Interest Level: ages 2-4, grades K-3, grades 4-6
Reading Level: grade 3

Librarianjk recommends Betsy Red Hoodie

Betsy Red Hoodie

by Gail Carson Levine

Summary: In this variation of "Little Red Riding Hood," Betsy Red Hoodie goes to visit her grandma with her friend Zimmo the wolf and her flock of sheep, but Zimmo, her mother, and her grandma have a surprise planned.

This is a great fractured fairytale that can be used to discuss stereotypes.

Interest Level: ages 2-4, grades K-3
Reading Level: grade 2

Librarianjk recommends The Three Pigs

The Three Pigs

by David Wiesner

Summary: The three pigs escape the wolf by going into another world where they meet the cat and the fiddle, the cow that jumped over then moon, and a dragon.

This is a superb fractured fairytale. I recommend it to anyone who likes fairytales told in a new way. This book can also be used to encourage students to create work inspired by other works.

Interest Level: ages 2-4, grades k-3
Reading Level: grade 3

Me and You

Me and You

by Anthony Browne

Summary: An urban retelling of the classic Goldilocks and the Three Bears story, told from the baby bear's perspective.

This delightful fractured fairytale has a wordless Goldilocks story with realistic looking illustrations on the left side of each page. I enjoyed that Goldilocks is more of a red head than the usual bleach blonde girl I was exposed to as a child. On the right side of the page is baby bear’s story with cartoonish illustrations.

Interest Level: ages 2-4, grades K-3
Reading Level: grade 2

Chicken Big

Chicken Big

by Keith Graves

Summary: A giant chicken hatches from an enormous egg, but the other chickens cannot accept that he is one of them.

This wild and crazy spin on Chicken Little is appropriate for fractured fairy tale discussions. It may also be used to discuss prejudices, assumptions, and for pure humorous entertainment.

Interest Level: ages 2-4, grades K-3
Reading Level: grade 3

Librarianjk recommends Politically Correct Bedtime Stories

Politically Correct Bedtime Stories

by James Finn Garner

Summary: “Politically correct" versions of traditional fairy tales or bedtime stories that have been changed to be feminist, equal-opportunist, etc.

Though many people do not recommend this book for children because of content and comprehension, I enjoyed this book in fourth grade. I did not understand everything, but what I did understand I found hilarious. There are others in the series I found just as entertaining. However, for a younger child there are now more age-appropriate fractured fairytales.

Interest Level: Young Adult
Reading Level: Young Adult

Fractured Fairy Tales

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Librarianjk recommends Pondlarker

Pondlarker

by Fred Gwynne

Summary: Not satisfied being a frog, Pondlarker seeks a princess' kiss to fulfill his princely ambitions

This is a very cute story. As a fractured fairy tale, it is a twist on The Frog Prince. The ending is very different from the tale that I have heard before! The story ends with an important moral.

Interest Level: grades K-3
Reading Level: grade 4

Librariankjk recommends Duffy and the Devil

Duffy and the Devil by Harve Zemach

Summary: This is a Conrnish tale with elements of Rumplestilskins. A girl is asked to knit for a squire and cannot. A devil comes and says he can help her; if in 3 years she cannot gues his name, he will take her away. Someone tells her his name and disappears taking back everything he ever knitted.

The illustrations of the devil are fantastic. This may not be appropriate for a young child.

Interest Level: grade K-3
Reading Level: Grade 5