Untold Tales - Hardcover

Brooke, William J.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060202718 ISBN 13: 9780060202712

Publisher: Harpercollins Childrens Books, 1992

Synopsis

Retells and continues the stories, from a contemporary perspective, of such classic tales as "The Frog Prince," "Snow White," "Beauty and the Beast," and "Sleeping Beauty"

About this title

From School Library Journal

Grade 7-9-- The author of A Telling of the Tales (HarperCollins, 1990) has written four more original renditions of fairy tales. The Frog Prince has become a workaholic king, leaving his queen to pine for the old days with her green, slimy playmate. Beauty is a sweet and homely girl, while the Beast is an uncommonly handsome young man with a cruelly cold personality. An aging Prince Charming arrives 25 years late to awaken Sleeping Beauty, now a 45-year-old widow. In the last story, which begins with the Prince and Aurora frozen with smiles on their faces wondering why they are still on stage, the author inserts himself into the tale, interacting with the characters in a surreal, Pirandello sort of way. He takes outrageous liberties with his plots, such as killing off the Prince with a falling meteor. Charming, in turn, finds his way into the inner workings of the author's computer to sabotage his further efforts. In a whirlwind ending, Brooke and characters elude one another until the Prince and Princess, turned into frogs, go together ``Between the Stories as their tale was untold.'' Full of witty word play, philosophical musings, and satirical comment, these tales may have difficulty finding their audience. Much of the humor is adult in perspective, and children will not have much patience with the philosophical introspection of ``A Beauty in the Beast.'' Older students who would appreciate the satire may be put off by the format and juvenile appearance of the cover. Still, these tales are exquisitely written and remarkably inventive so that a creative teacher or librarian could introduce them by reading aloud or use them to teach writing techniques. --Connie C. Rockman, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

In the manner of Brooke's A Telling of the Tales (1990, ALA Notable), four more sequels to, revisions of, and extrapolations from familiar stories. What if Beauty was named by a father who couldn't bear to look at her ugly face, while the Beast's curse was a visage of surpassing loveliness, plus magical wealth that corrupted everyone around him? Suppose the Frog Prince became a workaholic king, his lonely queen nostalgic for croaks and moist, green skin? And imagine that Prince Charming is looking--25 years late--for Sleeping Beauty: because there's been a general mix-up, and he thinks some princess-swapping is in order. In the fourth tale, the author and his word processor (including some independent bits and bytes) get into the act, struggling to manipulate the strong-minded characters they've created. Overall, these aren't quite as fresh or witty as the earlier stories; but Brooke's ebullient wordplay continues to be remarkable, while his imaginative logic leads him to wonderfully ironic and surprising outcomes. An irrepressibly clever book that will appeal to like- minded readers. (Fiction. 11+) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harpercollins Childrens Books
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 0060202718
• ISBN 13: 9780060202712
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 164