Fairy Tale Books for Boys

I've been gone travelling, so I've not posted for quite a while.  I didn't get as many new books read and I thought, but it was a good thing.  I finally got my boys into the Sisters Grimm series.  I made them listen to the first book in the car and they were hooked.

I've got a book I read a while ago and should have blogged about before this and a new book to blog about, too.

A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz

I had looked at this book when if first came out and dismissed it as a book that could be good, but I didn't want to read.  Quite a while ago, I needed and audio book for a trip, so I picked it up hoping my boys wouldn't complain.  Boy did they love it!

The main characters, Hansel and Gretel, are followed through their Grimm tale.  But then, they are also the characters in other Grimm tales.  It's like one long story but I could recognize some of the tales they were in.  It was a very clever idea and done very well.  This is a great book for boys.  The narrator warns you that the Grimm tales used in the book are not cuddly, Disney fairy tales.  They are the genuine gruesome Grimm fairly tales.  The narrator also pauses throughout the book to warn the reader that a very scary, or graphic, or bloody scene is coming up, so anyone with young siblings listening should make sure they leave the room.  My boys absolutely loved this.  I've written before about how much I think kids can benefit from fairy tale adventures, so I won't go on about that.  I'm thankful this book exists and gives boys (and girls, too) a great option for a fairy tale adventure.



The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy

I just finished this new book.  I loved it!!!!! The bards have entertained us all with the tales of Prince Charming and Cinderella, Prince Charming and Sleeping Beauty, Prince Charming and Rapunzel, and Prince Charming and Snow White. If you ask the Sisters Grimm {Buckley} they are all the same guy, but here, they are four different princes.  The bards didn't have the decency to include the princes' names in the stories!  We are introduced to each prince and his story (after the bard's story).  They are not the Charmings you may have thought they were, and the princesses may not be the ladies you thought they were.  Through magic luck, or coincidence, the four princes find themselves together and together try to save the kingdom from a witch who's also miffed about the inaccuracy of  a bard's tale.  This story is full of adventure, humor, and the meaning of friendship.  I kept trying to think how I could describe this book.  I think the best way I can do that is to say it's like The Princess Bride (movie at least).  It has real action and suspense, but it also have some really spoofy humor that fits right in with the story.  The book also contains wonderful illustrations most presented as Figure 1, Figure 2, etc. to help elucidate the handbook.  I really really enjoyed this book.  It ended with the opportunity for more to come, and I sure hope there is.  This is a book that should not be missed.