The Poisoned Apple: A Fractured Fairy Tale

Merry, with a bit of zest.

This "Snow White" reboot by Lambelet (Maria the Matador) borrows a princess, some dwarfs, and a poisoned apple from the fairy tale universe to tell a cautionary tale about well-laid plans. In illustrations with stylized, angular contours and whorls of grainy texture, a green-faced witch readies a poisoned apple for a princess she thinks is "getting a little too sweet for her own good." The witch prepares the apple carefully ("she only had enough for a single apple-poisoning spell"), and the princess takes it--so far, so good. But then, as the witch looks on, the princess passes the fruit to one of the dwarfs for lunch, who in turn donates it to a hungry deer family, and so on. Before long, the witch is crawling up a tree in her hat and cape to reclaim the shiny orb before meeting an appropriately ghastly end. The story's laughs come from watching catastrophe befall the evildoer as the innocent victim observes serenely from a safe place. Repetition moves the tale briskly along, and a highlighted refrain in scary-looking letters anticipates readaloud choruses. Ages 4-8. Agent: Stephanie Fretwell-Hill, Red Fox Literary. (Oct.)