Grumbles from the Forest...And Some Other Thoughts About Fairy Tales

I grabbed Grumbles from the Forest by Jane Yolen and Rebecca Kai Dotlich from the library because it reminded me of all the different versions of fairy tales that were read in my classroom this year.  I had quite a group of kids that read all of The Sister's Grimm books by Michael Buckley.  A few of us went to Cover to Cover bookstore to hear him speak and have him sign our books.   A lot of kids also read The Grimm Legacy by Polly Schulman (a companion book to this one called The Wells Bequest just came out this month...it's definitely on my to-read pile).  I also read Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu as a read aloud.  So, I thought it was fitting to review this collection of fairy tale poetry.

I liked this book because the authors chose 15 fairy tales and each of them wrote a poem based on that tale.  The authors chose to write from different perspectives.  Instead of hearing from Jack in "Jack and the Beanstalk", we heard from the giant's wife.  In the poems about the "Three Billy Goat's Gruff", the troll under the bridge tells how he will eat them.  There are also poetry versions of "Snow White", "Rumplestiltskin", "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" (I loved this one), and "The Princess and the Pea".

If you are a fairy tale lover, here are some more books you might want to try:

Rump by Liesl Shurtliff

The Real Boy by Anne Ursu (This is the author of Breadcrumbs...it doesn't come out until September but put it on your to-read list...I've already ordered it!)

The Wells Bequest by Polly Schulman

Jinx by Sage Blackwood

The Hero's Guide to Saving your Kingdom by Christopher Healy (I'm reading this one now...look for a review soon!)

Do you have any favorite books based on fairy tales?  Let me know in the comments!