The Fairy Tale Fan Club: Legendary Letters Collected by C.C. Cecily
by Richard Ayoade (Author) David Roberts (Illustrator)
What if you could send fan mail to your fairy tale idols? And what if they wrote back? "Happily ever after" takes on a new meaning in this book from actor-comedian-author Richard Ayoade and best-selling illustrator David Roberts.
It's once upon a time . . . as only the irreverently witty Richard Ayoade can tell it. In this series of letters organized by C. C. Cecily, Senior Secretary of the Fairy Tale Fan Club, the fairest of them all (and a few bitter foes) correspond with curious--and opinionated--fans. So if you've ever wondered how a less-than-genius (and less-than-clothed) emperor fell for a certain con, how the Big Bad Wolf is handling meatless Mondays, or whether Rapunzel recommends going for the big chop, no need to look far, far away.
Multihyphenate Richard Ayoade, author of The Book That No One Wanted to Read, hilariously imagines what questions modern children would have for characters such as Sleeping Beauty, Prince Charming, and Little Red Riding Hood--and what they might have to say in return. Complete with clever, spoof-gothic illustrations from David Roberts, this wry storybook may have even the Brothers Grimm cackling in their graves.
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Publishers Weekly
In a comical introduction, C.C. Cecily, Senior Secretary of the Fairy Tale Fan Club, describes at length fielding "Where are they now?"-type queries from curious humans to fairy tale icons ("If necessary, I add my own comments," Cecily notes). But the fan letters printed throughout this work reveal much about the so-called fans, many of whom write in distinctively British snark. To the emperor of "new clothes" fame, one notes: "Gutted, mate! You must feel like a proper plank!" Another asks Sleeping Beauty, "You seem to have no personality. I mean--who are you?" The fairy tale protagonists, in turn, seem more tetchy than enchanted in their responses: Humpty Dumpty complains of being "unfairly anthropomorphized and labeled," while the Little Mermaid replies, "No, my best friend is not a tropical fish. I'm from Denmark." Though the fairy folks' correspondences do occasionally go on, Ayoade's clever phrasing and epistolary structure prove both sturdy and irresistible, and pen illustrations by Roberts, rendered in precise, fine lines and intricate cross-hatching, provide wry visual asides throughout. Characters are portrayed on the book's cover with various skin tones. Ages 8-12. (Oct.)
Copyright 2024 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.
Kirkus
Droll sketches, rendered in pencil with bits of digital color, perfectly complement the text.
ALA/Booklist
That’s an important lesson to absorb, though only one of several in this indispensable collection.
Review quotes
"A wonderful, funny book of fairy tales with a twist, with equally fabulous illustrations by the brilliant David Roberts." —Liz Pichon, author of the Tom Gates series
JUV051000 - Juvenile Fiction | Imagination & Play
JUV037000 - Juvenile Fiction | Fantasy & Magic
JUV012040 - Juvenile Fiction | Fairy Tales & Folklore | Adaptations
