Fairy Tale Comics:  Classics Told By Extraordinary Cartoonists 

Edited by Chris Duffy.  Ages 6 – 12. (My three-year-old son is ENTHRALLED by this book.) First Second.  September 2013. 128 pages.  ISBN:  978-1596438231 Fiction.

At a Glance:

Some of my favorite comic book creators have joined together to create a collection of brilliantly illustrated fairy tales.  Some are standard fairy tales (12 Dancing Princesses, Hansel and Gretel, Puss in Boots, Little Red Riding Hood, etc.) and some I’ve never heard of (The Prince and the Tortoise, The Boy Who Drew Cats, Give Me the Shudders).

Fairy Tale Comics is published by First Second, which also published Nursery Rhyme Comics — one of my family’s absolute favorite books. (You can read my review of it here.)

Fairy Tale Comics is an incredible collection of fairy tales told in a new and engaging way.  I highly, highly, highly recommend it.  

How the Three-Year-Old in Residence Responded to this Book:

My son has only wanted to read this book for the past three days.  He has recently started to actually read on his own and desperately tries to sound out the words in this book when I or his father can’t sit down and read to him.  (Pretty cool hearing your kid sound out Rapunzel and Goldilocks — and the urgency and fervor which he does it is fantastic.)  This book is a compulsive read for him.  70% of the questions he has asked me over the past three days have been related to this book.  I’ve never seen him respond to a book like this.  He declared, “Mama!  I LOVE this book!”

Five Reasons to Read this Book:

1. Awesome illustrations with some great new interpretations (Puss presents a live rabbit that the King cuddles in Puss in Boots vs. the typical dead rabbit in other versions, the lumberjack/woodsman in Little Red Riding Hood is a woman,  Rapunzel uses her hair as a bungee cord to save the prince when he’s pushed out of the tower by the witch, etc.)
2. A balanced variety of familiar and not-so-familiar fairy tales — and all of them interesting.  The Boy Who Drew Cats is such a cool story and new to us.
3. A lot of the lettering in the stories are ALL IN CAPS (which is common for comic books).  This is a plus for little ones learning to read. (For example, my son is solid on capital letters, but less so on lower case letters.)
4. Considering it is the ONLY book we’ve read the past three days (and we’ve read it several times each day) — it holds up well and doesn’t get old.  Sometimes I cringe when I have to read the same book to my son over and over again — but not this one.  It’s a lot of fun.  I’m happy to read this book to him as many times as he wants.
5. This is a great book for children to grow into.  It’s fun for a child, but the format makes it great for older children, teenagers, and even adults.  It starts off as a picture book when children are young, but grows into a comic book for when they’re older.)

Probably Not the Best Fit for You If…

1. Fairy tales disturb you or your child.  These are fairy tales told fairly true to the original versions.  Some children are very sensitive and might find some of the stories a little creepy.  Baba Yaga is well done, but boy is it disturbing.  The Boy Who Drew Cats is my son’s favorite of the tales — but the blood on the mouths of the cats at the end of the story isn’t exactly comforting.  That said, my son is three and both my husband and I think this book is great for him.  While there are some disturbing parts, the overall book is very mild.

Publisher Website:

•  http://www.firstsecondbooks.com/books/new-book-fairy-tale-comics/

Other Reviews of this Book:

• http://us.macmillan.com/fairytalecomics/VariousAuthors
• http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=user_review&id=6507
• http://inbedwithbooks.blogspot.com/2013/10/review-fairy-tale-comics.html
• http://www.stackedbooks.org/2013/09/dual-review-fairy-tale-comics-edited-by.html
• http://charlotteslibrary.blogspot.com/2013/09/fairy-tale-comics-edited-by-chris-duggy.html
• http://blogs.slj.com/goodcomicsforkids/2013/08/15/review-fairy-tale-comics/

Where Obtained:   Checked out from the library.  Reviewing this book solely because my son and I love it and I think you and your children will enjoy it, too.