Straw Into Gold: Fairy Tales Re-Spun

Ten familiar Western tales are buffed up, inventively recast, and infused with tenderness and warm good humor. Opening with the parochial (her sources, characters, and settings seem to be exclusively Eurocentric) but lovely observation that fairy tales “are our living heritage, true fairy gold, except these stories do not disappear at sunset,” McKay begins with a tale in which, intercut with flashbacks, an older Rapunzel teaches her twin children about patience when they bring home a songbird that fearfully clings to its cage. A heart-rending version of “Rumpelstiltskin” featuring a lowly “hob” who aches for a child to love follows. Snow White artfully uses her own experiences to wean her granddaughter Sophie away from the notion that being prettiest of all is all that counts; peas and mattresses come into play when a newborn Prince Charming pulls the Dust-Gray Fairy’s nose. “Red Riding Hood” is stripped of its stranger-danger overtones and ends with a joyful wedding; in a clever bit of literary legerdemain, Gretel tells her tale with perfect coherence but back to front in a school report; and for the closer, an atmospheric retelling of the Grimms’ “Six Swans” proposes an answer to the powerful riddle: “If I have seven boys and a sister for each of them, how many children have I?” With rare exceptions—notably Gretel’s class picture, which features a lineup diverse in dress and skin tone—Gibb sticks to traditional white figures and antique or country garb in her frequent silhouettes and delicately detailed painted scenes. Some dark doings, but far more charm and happy endings. (bibliography) (Fairy tales/short stories. 10-13)

Copyright 2018 Kirkus Reviews, LLC Used with permission.

Grades 3-6. McKay delivers bedtime-worthy old yarns respun with fresh perspectives. Many fairy tale retellings end up stretching stories into entire novels, and it's refreshing to see a short story collection along the same lines. Add to that the artful language and lovely illustrations sprinkled throughout—some in silhouettes, others with finer detail and soft shading—and this book is a real delight. Here, a "forest lapped all around, a green ocean of trees"; there, the aroma of roses "rolled down the hill over the little river and bathed the town in perfume." For discerning readers, there's even a reference to hobbits. Anyone who loves fairy tales would be hard-pressed to put this down as they hear the story of the Pied Piper from the perspective of the town's old mayor, or the story of Snow White from someone who lived it. Of course, there's the titular tale of Rumpelstiltskin, a favorite of the author's. A thought-provoking take on familiar, well-loved stories, ideal for anyone who can't get enough fairy tales.

Copyright 2019 Booklist, LLC Used with permission.

Stepping assuredly into fantasy, McKay (the Casson Family series) displays ingenuity and wit in these 10 cunningly reconfigured tales, illustrated with Gibb's stunning silhouette artwork. The inventive array of narrators includes classic fairy tale characters as adults (whose identities are initially ambiguous), sharing their stories with subsequent generations. The present-day adventures of Rapunzel's two children frame her tale; Snow White reaches into her past to tell her granddaughter the story of a girl who escapes from her wicked stepmother to live with dwarfs (and offers to take her to visit the seven, still living in the forest); and the eldest of 12 dancing princesses, while recounting her girlhood nocturnal escapades, reassures her skeptical daughter that there "was a lot more magic about" in bygone days. Abundantly magical, the anthology also features new characters, among them the prim Fraulein, who teaches Hansel and Gretel and their off-puttingly "sticky" schoolmates, including Jack of beanstalk fame. In her introduction, McKay notes, "If ever I wrote a book with love, it is this one!" That is wonderfully apparent, and kids will read it in kind. Ages 8-12. (Feb.)