Its Cute. I suspect kids of the 9-11 year old range would love this book. But, for an adult, the twists weren't all that twisty, and some are a bit predictable - the Hansel and Gretel tale was actually quite scary. ( )

An excellent book which is extremely humourous. Ignore the fact that this is a children's book and enjoy it as an adult! The only two stories I was not so keen on were 'Jack' as in Jack and the Beanstalk and 'Mattresses' as in The Princess and the Pea; although both of these were very well written and still funny.

If you liked the idea of what Roald Dahl did to nursery rhymes in 'Revolting Rhymes' you'll enjoy what Vivian Vande Velde has done to 13 fairy stories. Everything is turned upside down, for example Hansel and Gretal are very naughty children; little Red Riding Hood is simply awful Rumplestiltskin is lovely.

Great fun, a real treat. ( )

I do believe that I may wind up with a shelf full of Vivian Vande Velde books! This is our second from this author and we are positively smitten! I love this just as much as the Girl does! They are clever, sly, and just the right amount of twisted to honor the originals but provide the reader with something entirely different in the end (and just as satisfying)! As one reviewer noted, Vande Velde really does challenge our notion of how the character's are, turning good into bad and ugly into beautiful and more, you get little snippets (like ads and commercials built in, so that nearly every classic children's tale is addressed here in come fashion...and each with the Vande Velde twist). The best stories in the bunch are the Rumplestiltskin retelling (the best in the book) and the Jack and the Bean Stalk one! I enjoyed the truly hideous (and clearly sociopath) Hansel and Gretel retelling...nicely done!! I'll be adding this to my growing collection! I give it a B+, it's good, twisted reading...but some of the stories felt more like first drafts than full fledged retellings, but still well worth the read despite this! Kids 8-12 will LOVE this book! ( )