Fractured Fairytales are…FUN!

When I was a kid one of my favorite Sunday cartoons was Fractured Fairytales on the Rocky and Bullwinkle show. They were twisty fun; you just never knew what they were going to come up with. That’s one reason I wrote THE HUFFY PUFFY DOG, a fractured fairytale comprised of The Three Little Pigs and Little Red Riding Hood. Of course I added original characters because I wanted to add even another layer of silliness. I hope this gets picked up by someone because it sure is fun.

But right now you can read two fractured fairytales that totally tickled my funny bone. Twisty, well-written, and just FUN.

It’s Not Jack and the Beanstalk written by Josh Funk and illustrated by Edwardian (I LOVE that name!) Taylor is an original take on the traditional Jack and the Beanstalk where the narrator is trying to be true to the traditional fairytale, but Jack and the Giant named Fred rebel. Neither one wants to die, so they go in business together. It is a hoot hearing how upset the narrator becomes when the characters go off script. I tend to love books that have unusual narration with atypical points of view. I have written a couple of those, too. (DWIRKLE’S DILEMMA and WHERE DO I GO AT THE END OF THIS BOOK?) Taylor’s illustrations are a perfect mate for this very funny tale.

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Another fractured fairytale I recommend is Little Red Gliding Hood written by Tara Lazar and illustrated by Troy Cummings. The alliterative skating lingo is descriptively delightful: “swizzled and twizzled”, “willowy waltz jumps”, “lopsided and loose”, and my favorite: “Oh slippery slush!” Many nursery rhyme and other fairytale characters are cleverly woven into the plot. The final line from the Not-So- Bad-Wolf “All the better to glide with you, my dear” is the final giggle.

I think another reason I love fractured fairytales is they usually are lighthearted and end happily ever after. Some of the traditional fairytales were …..shall we say…Grimm.

One of the perks of being a picture book author is I need to read as many books as possible. They help me with my craft but also add many smiles to my life. Check out these two for a chuckle or two!