Fractured Fairytales

Allen, Debbie. Brothers of the Knight.
Set in Harlem, this is a contemporary retelling of “The Twelve Dancing Princesses.”

Bloom, Becky. Wolf!
When “the big bad wolf” comes into the farmyard, the animals tell him to go away because they’re reading! Because he is a struggling reader, the wolf decides to go to the library to practice his reading skills.

Briggs, Raymond. Jim and the Beanstalk.
The giant is revisited years later by a very kind and helpful Jim.

Buehner, Caralyn. Fanny’s Dream.
Fanny meets and marries her “Prince Charming” all by herself without the help of her fairy godmother in this Cinderella tale.

Calmenson, Stephanie. The Principal’s New Clothes.
In this version of the Andersen tale the principal is persuaded by two tailors to purchase a suit that is so special that only those students and teachers who are intelligent and good at their jobs will be able to see it.

Compestine, Ying Chang. Runaway Rice Cake.
A cultural version of “The Gingerbread Boy,” told in celebration of Chinese New Year.

Davis, Aubrey. Bone Button Borscht.
A Jewish version of “Stone Soup.” In this edition a beggar teaches the whole town how to work together and get a delicious soup from a bone button.

Ernst, Lisa Campbell. Goldilocks Returns.
Fifty years after Goldilocks first entered the cottage of the three bears, she returns to apologize and make things right again.

Harris, Jim. Jack and the Giant: A story Full of Beans.
A southwestern version of “Jack and the Beanstalk” complete with a beanstalk, a singing banjo, and even a buffalo that leaves gold droppings.

Jackson, Alison. If the Shoe Fits.
Bursting at the seams, the old woman who lives in a shoe decides that it’s time to move! She searches through a few of Mother Goose’s rhymes but returns to that old comfortable shoe!

Johnston, Tony. The Cowboy and the Black-Eyed Pea.
In this western version of Andersen’s “The Princess and the Pea,” the wealthy rancher’s daughter finds her true love with a black-eyed pea.

Ketteman, Helen. Bubba the Cowboy Prince.
The prettiest rancher in Texas throws a ball hoping to find herself “a feller.” In this version of Cinderella, the pretty lady rancher searches the state of Texas for the cowboy who fits the missing cowboy boot.

Kimmel, Eric A. The Runaway Tortilla.
The tortilla jumps off of the griddle and rolls away in this southwestern version of “The Gingerbread Man.”

Lowell, Susan. The Bootmaker and the Elves.
A western retelling of “The Shoemaker and the Elves.”

Lowell, Susan. Dusty Locks and the Three Bears.
A western style retelling of the traditional “Tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.”

Lowell, Susan. Little Red Cowboy Hat.
A southwestern version of “Little Red Riding Hood” in which Little Red rides her pony, Buck, to Grandma’s ranch with a jar of cactus jelly in the saddlebag.

Lowell, Susan. The Three Little Javelinas.
A retelling of “The Three Little Pigs” with a southwestern twist.

Lowell, Susan. The Tortoise and the Jackrabbit.
A southwestern version of “The Tortoise and the Hare,” told with informative notes about the fragile desert environment.

Meddaugh, Susan. Cinderella’s Rat.
One of the rats who was turned into a coachman by Cinderella’s fairy godmother tells his version of the story.

Minters, Frances. Sleepless Beauty.
An urban retelling of “Sleeping Beauty” told in verse with a modern ending.

Scieszka, Jon. The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales.
A collection of humorous retellings of familiar folk and fairy tales.

Scieszka, Jon. The True Story of The 3 Little Pigs!
The wolf gives his perspective of what really happened to the “Three Little Pigs.”

Sturges, Philemon. The Little Red Hen (Makes a Pizza).
When the Little Red Hen finds a can of tomato sauce in her cupboard, she decides that it’s time to make a pizza. She enlists the help of her friends in a surprising twist to the original tale of “The Little Red Hen.”

Tolhurst, Marilyn. Somebody and the Three Blairs.
In a reversal of the Goldilocks story, a bear explores the home of the three Blairs.

Trivizas, Eugene. The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig.
A reversal of “The Three Little Pigs” in which the innocent little wolves barely escape the “Big Bad Pig.”

Vaes, Alain. The Princess and the Pea.
Opal is the only princess known to drive a pickup truck. She rescues Prince Ralph and spends a restless night in the palace after passing all the other test of a princess-to-be in this adaptation of Andersen’s classic tale.

Wattenberg, Jane. Henny-Penny.
“Shake, rattle and roll! The sky is falling!” is the refrain in this tale. Wacky color photographs portray the characters in this whimsical retelling of Henny Penny.