Leaping Beauty: And Other Animal Fairy Tales (2006) - Plot & Excerpts
The premise is that Maguire (he of Wicked fame) took common fairy tales and retold them with twists, and animals at the main characters. For example, Goldilocks becomes “Goldiefox and the three chickens.” Hansel and Gretel becomes “Hamster and Gerbil.” I love it for that premise alone. Oh, but it gets better.In the story, “Leaping Beauty,” instead of the princess being destined to prick her finger on a spinning wheel, the frog princess is destined to “bite down on a stray explosive from some stupid human engineering project, and you shall blow yourself to smithereens!”“Hamster and Gerbil” opens with the following paragraph:“Once there was a happy family who lived in a beaver dam. Not surprisingly, they were beavers. That is, the father and the mother were beavers. The children were adopted. There was a boy named Hamster and a girl named Gerbil. Not surprisingly, they were a hamster and a gerbil. Hamster was the hamster, and Gerbil was the gerbil.”Finally, “The Three Little Penguins and the Big Bad Walrus”:“Once there were three little penguins who lived in an igloo with their mother. The oldest penguin liked to eat fish. The middle penguin liked to eat fish. The youngest penguin liked to get dressed up in a ballet costume and put on a show. This was not usual for penguins, and it worried old Mama Penguin a lot.”If these things do not convince you of the joy that is this book, I am not sure what will.Rating: 5 out of 5 bedazzles
I read the version of Rumplestiltskin in this book. It was an altered version in which the miller's daughter is a sheep, named Beauty, who wants to be an actress. She is asked to spin gold in order for the king stag to make money to produce movies. Rumpelstiltskin appears as a snake and although he can't spin gold from straw, he can use some of her fleece. She agrees in order to star in the movie herself. Rumplestiltskin also falls in love with her, but she doesn't return his feelings. When her beautifully gold fleece has all been sheared, the king has no use for her. Beauty returns to her life, marrys a wild boar, has children and leads a happy quiet life until the king comes back for more money. By this time her fleece has grown back, but it is not the same pretty color. She leaves her family anyway, in hopes of returning to the movies and becoming a star. I won't give all the details of the ending except to say that it has a "Beauty and the Beast" feeling to it, and it ends happily for both Beauty and Rumplestiltskin.This version would not be a good choice to use with children under grade 5. It is written with a sarcastic feel and references many other stories, therefore it may be confusing for younger children. ther would need to be too many explanations for children who had not experienced the stories referenced. It was very funny,though!I also read the Snow White version, called So What and the Seven Giraffes. It had the same sarcastic feel.
What do You think about Leaping Beauty: And Other Animal Fairy Tales (2006)?
Had to skip one of the stories because it just went on and on, getting weirder and weirder. Puts me in mind of the South Park episode when they describe how the 'writers' write for Family Guy: manatees choose 'idea balls' at random and Fox makes them into a story. This is how Gregory Maguire writes, I think. But it's so heavily "TONGUE IN CHEEK" that it's not funny. I don't need to be hit over the head. I just can't get into this author's work. Had the same trouble with Wicked and the Horrible Hairdos.
—Lara
Copyright: 2009Genre: Fairy Tale/Traditional LiteratureThis is a fantastic volume of short fairy tales for children! I love Maguire's writing style. I think that this volume can be especially helpful for boys who are looking to read traditional literature. So many fairy tales are about "save the princess" that boy have a hard time idenifitying with characters. In these stories, the important aspects of the fairy tale are still present, it is just told with an animal instead; not always a girl animal either.
—Erin
Another collection of Gregory Maguire's short stories centered around nursery rhymes and stories. A delightful, fun, quick read. Most of the stories are only a few pages long, with silly pictures added throughout. A refreshing trip back into the memory of child hood stories and how things might have been if told in an untraditional manner. It is hard to pick a favorite, each story has it's own special fun moment. The line up consists of a twist to sleeping beauty, the three little pigs, Goldie locks, Hansel and Gretel (this one was cool), Snow White (my least favorite but still good), Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella and Rumplestilskin. recommend for a truly light, fluffy read. B+
—Rebecca Hill
