Newfangled Fairy Tales
by Bruce Lansky
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Book Summary Information
Author: Bruce LanskyEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1998-01-01
ISBN: 0671577042
Number of pages: 120
Publisher: Meadowbrook
Book Reviews of Newfangled Fairy Tales
Book Review: Cute, but somewhat tasteless
Summary: 2 Stars
I'd like to clarify that I've read many so-called "children's" books before, including retold fairytales. The reading levels of such books are almost always deceptive: ages 5-8, for example, almost always just means that kids from five to eight can comprehend the text, not that only people of such ages will enjoy the book. With this little volume, however, I'd draw the line pretty early in the reader's life.
Most of the stories here are almost embarassingly silly or immature, with simplistic dialogue and little or no real point. I can't even recall the tale of Little Red Riding Hood without cringing, and the one tale I was truly looking forward to, Sleeping Beauty, did not at all match the description I was given of it. Beware faulted reviews: the one on this page describing Sleeping Beauty as a story in which she wakes up and tours the world is not accurate; rather, we have a tale about a spoiled brat who was put to sleep to cool her temper. Mildly funny, but not compelling or attention-grabbing.
One of these stories, "Jill and the Beanstalk", is actually disturbing and repulsive, a definite change from the others. The author of this story, Denise Vega, claims that she never liked Jack of the Beanstalk because he was dishonest and a thief. You may think that this is an original idea, but I can assure you it's not; making Jack a bad character seems to be the hip new approach to retelling fairy-tales (right up there with giving Sleeping Beauty a personality) and I've personally never understood it. Yes, Jack stole several valuable things.. from an evil giant! A giant who ate children! He stole from the bloodthirsty rich to feed the poor and could basically be considered an adolescent Robin Hood; sounds like a good role model to me! Vega's reasoning (and that of several other authors) seems to be a bit off. In this case, the only thing more off-putting than Vega's anti-Jack attitude was her apparent idea of what a better story would be.
Vega's solution to a thieving male hero? Turn him into a smart-aleck female. Her alternative to stealing from a vicious giant? Befriend him and act like his habit of eating children is no big deal. Vega does address the issue of the giant eating kids as a problem, but that's about it; I'd call it a catastrophe. Both the giants in this re-telling are presented like cozy, cuddly-wuddly megoliths who just have that little problem of slaughtering small boys. When Jill is first told by the giant's wife that her husband eats children, she is properly alarmed, but once she meets the giant and hears him whine about how he can't help it "because they taste so good", she decides he's just a big teddy who needs some help getting over his habit. And that's all the concern that's ever shown about the giant's grisly and cruel practice. The story ends with Jill breaking him of the habit and making his castle a tourist attraction (?)
Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't killing small children make someone evil?? Author Vega makes it sound like no big deal, nothing that can stop a vicious giant from becoming a lovable, gallumphy hero. Well, call me bloodthirsty, but I find it to be a very big deal punishable by death. Jill's friendship with the giant in this tale was nothing short of ridiculous and tasteless! What's next, baking brownies for Bluebeard?
What's truly revolting about this tale is that Vega, while treating the killing and consuming of children as no big deal, doesn't mind going into graphic details of it. The story ends by telling us that the giant took a liking to tacos, "because the shell reminded him of crunching bones and the cheesy meat reminded him of a little boy's cooked insides". My, what a lovely tale. And did I mention that this author's a bit of a feminazi? When the giant first meets Jill, she's afraid he'll eat her too, but she's quickly assured that he doesn't like eating girls because "they have too much brains and they get stuck between his teeth". Wow, a disgusting description and an insult to boys at the same time. Indeed, Miss Vega doesn't seem to value boys at all; killing them isn't considered the action of a villain in her tale and she even elaborates that they're the preferred dish because they don't have enough brains. Basically, this story's not only tastless but completely inappropriate for kids (unless you'd like to raise weaklings and male-haters). Give me the thieving, giant-killing male hero any day.
The only tales I liked were "The Prince and the Pea" (inventive and cute), "The Frog Princess" (short and sweet), and "Goldilocks" (cutesy, but sweet and with a great environmental message.) If you think the price of this book is worth three good stories, the choice is yours.
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