Mixed Up Fairy Tales

4 stars out of 54 stars out of 54 stars out of 54 stars out of 54 stars out of 5
Hilary Robinson, ill. Nick Sharratt
Published by Hodder
26pp, 0 340 87558 5, £6.99 novelty pbk
cover of Mixed Up Fairy Tales

This is an interactive split page book which enables the young reader to create new wacky fairy tales from classic stories and characters. Children love mixing up stories and this book is the perfect vehicle for exploring narrative construction but more importantly it’s just good fun.

Each page is split into four sections. The top section introduces a character (Goldilocks, Little Red Riding Hood, Aladdin etc). The next contains a clause telling us a little more about the main character (was bossed around by two horrid stepsisters, had a jealous stepmother with a talking mirror, liked to nibble grass). The last two sections develop the story and link it to another character (and was put in a cooking pot to be turned into…/and climbed a huge beanstalk at the top of which was… a troll/a genie).

Robinson’s text is brought to life by the colourful drawings of award-winning illustrator Nick Sharratt, most famous for his teamwork with Jacqueline Wilson but who has also illustrated another split page book, A Cheese and Tomato Spider. As with all split page books, care needs to be taken over handling. Eager little hands could easily rip the fragile pages. AK

Reviewed in BfK No. 156 (January 2006) by Andrew Kidd (AK)
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