A beautifully illustrated and thoroughly modern fairy-tale anthology.
Twenty stories from the Brothers Grimm receive boldly inclusive updates.
The collection balances familiar favorites like “Sleeping Beauty” and “Puss in Boots” with lesser-known gems such as “Jorinda and Joringel” and “Mother Holle.” Dieckmann makes changes to incorporate contemporary values around gender and sexuality; she often refers to babies as them, while same-sex couples appear dancing front and center at Cinderella’s ball. The work sometimes departs from the original plotlines in surprising ways—“Rapunzel,” for instance, introduces protective animals that don’t appear in the Grimm version. Unlike many modern children’s adaptations, the tales don’t shy away from the hardships, dangers, and consequences that give these stories their emotional impact, retaining elements such as beheadings and infidelity. The illustrations are the volume’s greatest strength. Dieckmann’s use of rich, saturated colors creates an enchanting atmosphere—deep forest greens, cool night blues, and warm golden yellows bring the scenes to life. Her decorative borders are particularly thoughtful, reflecting and enhancing each story’s setting, such as the intricate flowers, mushrooms, and small woodland creatures that frame “Cinderella” and the moody blue and white nighttime foliage surrounding Hansel and Gretel’s forest journey. Characters are diverse in terms of skin tone, hair color, and body type.
A beautifully illustrated and thoroughly modern fairy-tale anthology. (afterword) (Anthology. 4-9)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9781536236491
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
Charming.
An assortment of unusual characters form friendships and help each other become their best selves.
Mr. and Mrs. Tupper, who live at Number 3 Ramshorn Drive, are antiquarians. Their daughter, Jillian, loves and cares for a plant named Ivy, who has “three speckles on each leaf and three letters in her name.” Toasty, the grumpy goldfish, lives in an octagonal tank and wishes he were Jillian’s favorite; when Arthur the spider arrives inside an antique desk, he brings wisdom and insight. Ollie the violet plant, Louise the bee, and Sunny the canary each arrive with their own quirks and problems to solve. Each character has a distinct personality and perspective; sometimes they clash, but more often they learn to empathize, see each other’s points of view, and work to help one another. They also help the Tupper family with bills and a burglar. The Fan brothers’ soft-edged, old-fashioned, black-and-white illustrations depict Toasty and Arthur with tiny hats; Ivy and Ollie have facial expressions on their plant pots. The Tuppers have paper-white skin and dark hair. The story comes together like a recipe: Simple ingredients combine, transform, and rise into something wonderful. In its matter-of-fact wisdom, rich vocabulary (often defined within the text), hint of magic, and empathetic nonhuman characters who solve problems in creative ways, this delightful work is reminiscent of Ferris by Kate DiCamillo, Our Friend Hedgehog by Lauren Castillo, and Ivy Lost and Found by Cynthia Lord and Stephanie Graegin.
Charming. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: May 27, 2025
ISBN: 9781665942485
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre.
Ice princess Lina must navigate family and school in this early chapter read.
The family picnic is today. This is not a typical gathering, since Lina’s maternal relatives are a royal family of Windtamers who have power over the weather and live in castles floating on clouds. Lina herself is mixed race, with black hair and a tan complexion like her Asian-presenting mother’s; her Groundling father appears to be a white human. While making a grand entrance at the castle of her grandfather, the North Wind, she fails to successfully ride a gust of wind and crashes in front of her entire family. This prompts her stern grandfather to ask that Lina move in with him so he can teach her to control her powers. Desperate to avoid this, Lina and her friend Claudia, who is black, get Lina accepted at the Hilltop Science and Arts Academy. Lina’s parents allow her to go as long as she does lessons with grandpa on Saturdays. However, fitting in at a Groundling school is rough, especially when your powers start freak winter storms! With the story unfurling in diary format, bright-pink–highlighted grayscale illustrations help move the plot along. There are slight gaps in the storytelling and the pacing is occasionally uneven, but Lina is full of spunk and promotes self-acceptance.
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre. (Fantasy. 5-8)Pub Date: June 25, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-35393-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
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