The Alley duo spread the joy of There’s a Wolf at the Door (2009) into another oversized and overstuffed (with giggles, that is) volume. Within a graphic-novel format, the tales of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, the Frog Prince and the Princess and the Pea develop familial and hilarious interconnections while retaining the stories’ traditional structures. The humor is decidedly contemporary: Cinderella’s fairy godmother sends her off with, “Have fun! Make good decisions!” and Princess Dawn (Cinderella’s daughter, Sleeping Beauty) whines about being bored. A pair of mice who appear in each tale and in many frames kibitz vigorously, commenting, punning and making allusions that are funny even if readers do not entirely understand them. The colors are bright, the line vivacious and the typefaces dance and sing. The Dwarfs in Snow White (Les, Lew, Sam, Hank, Nat, Myron--and Bethanne) each sport a different old-guy hat (or kerchief), the princes are all handsome and supportive and Joan the disgruntled fairy finds a new calling in real estate. Smartly hysterical. (Graphic fairy tales. 7-10)
