This whimsical book rewrites fairy tales and rhymes with quirky, new endings or interesting twists. See Cinderella as a fashion magazine junkie who wants to copy Anne Hathway’s Oscar look for the ball and a Miss Muffet who likes the spider beside her. With more than 50 writers and artists contributing, there is a retold fable for everyone, from the most snarky and cynical to those who still want that fairy tale happy ending. This does mean that not every tale will be every reader’s cup of tea, but the short stories make it easy to skip anything that strikes the wrong note. However, the humor of even the snarkiest tale should draw in most tweens and teens.
The art styles vary by story and artist which keeps each tale fresh and interesting to look at. I really enjoy how the stories and dialogue seemed to fit the artwork, telling more details of the story or helping to move the story along. I love the manga look of Little Red Riding Hood and the elegant underwater landscape of the Little Mermaid. Other stories have a more cartoon-y feel, and one’s digital graphics reminds me a little of The Sims. The entire book is a treasure trove of illustrations to fit every taste.
Aimed at middle grade readers, this book could be also be enjoyed by teens and adults. It’s a more sophisticated Stinky Cheese Man with fantastic artwork to go along with it. Readable in bite size chunks or consumed in one sitting, Fractured Fables is full of laughs, sass, and fun.
Fractured Fables
edited by Jim Valentino and Kristen K. Simon
ISBN: 978-1-60706-2
Silverline Books/Image Comics, Inc. , 2010
Publisher Age Rating: 9-12
