Leaping Beauty
(2004)And Other Animal Fairy Tales
A collection of stories by Chris Demarest and Gregory Maguire
From Booklist
The author of numerous books for children as well as Mirror, Mirror (2003) and other adult fairy-tale adaptations tries his hand at parodying for kids in this collection of eight animal tales. In the title story a cursed tadpole becomes, successively, Weeping Beauty, Sleeping Beauty, and finally, Leaping Beauty. Most tales involve slightly skewed but satisfying endings: Goldifox, an unemployed carpenter, moves in with three chickens so that he can make them some comfortable furniture in "Goldifox and the Three Chickens." But a few include references that may be beyond the target audience: the miller's daughter, a blond sheep fond of tight sweaters, changes her name from Norma Jean to Beauty in anticipation of a movie career. Demarest's comical line drawings add humor to the droll text and highlight the tales' absurdities. More upbeat than Vivian Vande Velde's Tales from the Brothers Grimm and the Sisters Weird (1995) and more complex than Jon Scieszka's The Stinky Cheese Man (2002), this is a delightful collection, sure to be popular with sophisticated readers. Kay Weisman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Genre: Children's Fiction
The author of numerous books for children as well as Mirror, Mirror (2003) and other adult fairy-tale adaptations tries his hand at parodying for kids in this collection of eight animal tales. In the title story a cursed tadpole becomes, successively, Weeping Beauty, Sleeping Beauty, and finally, Leaping Beauty. Most tales involve slightly skewed but satisfying endings: Goldifox, an unemployed carpenter, moves in with three chickens so that he can make them some comfortable furniture in "Goldifox and the Three Chickens." But a few include references that may be beyond the target audience: the miller's daughter, a blond sheep fond of tight sweaters, changes her name from Norma Jean to Beauty in anticipation of a movie career. Demarest's comical line drawings add humor to the droll text and highlight the tales' absurdities. More upbeat than Vivian Vande Velde's Tales from the Brothers Grimm and the Sisters Weird (1995) and more complex than Jon Scieszka's The Stinky Cheese Man (2002), this is a delightful collection, sure to be popular with sophisticated readers. Kay Weisman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Genre: Children's Fiction
Used availability for Gregory Maguire's Leaping Beauty
Hardback Editions
March 2006 : USA Library Binding
January 2004 : USA Library Binding
August 2004 : USA Hardback
August 2004 : USA Library Binding
Paperback Editions
February 2006 : USA Paperback
Audio Editions
November 2004 : USA Audio edition
November 2004 : Australia Audio edition
November 2004 : Canada Audio edition
November 2004 : UK Audio edition
August 2004 : USA Audio CD
Kindle Editions
April 2009 : USA, Canada, UK Kindle edition