No One Asked Me!

If there was ever a library so large people could literally get lost in there for hours or maybe even days, it would be wise to head to one section and one section only.  Hopeful of finding the nonfiction books and then carefully following the numerical order on the spines, you should seek the 398.2 titles.  Within folklore, fairy tales specifically, we can usually find our way home.  Those stories entertain and educate us, as well as guide us to where happily ever after is possible.

Each variant on those original narratives enlarges our thinking about alternate and creative paths leading to the same ending.  It's Not Jack And The Beanstalk (Two Lions, September 19, 2017) written by Josh Funk with illustrations by Edwardian Taylor takes an entirely new approach.  What if the characters rebel against the status quo?






Once upon a time, Jack lived in a tiny cottage in a dreary village.  He always dreamed that someday he would find his fortune.

Psst!  Jack!  Wake up!

No-o-o-o.
I'm dreaming...

And put on some pants!

As the well-known events continue Jack needs to sell the cow, his only possession.  Since this is no ordinary fairy tale, Jack objects.  Bessie Cowpoke McPinwheel just happens to be Jack's BFF.  He's even more upset to find out she's only worth five beans.  Five beans!?

When their so-called magical qualities fail to function, he tosses them out the window after he's told he can't even eat one.  (The poor lad is operating on an empty stomach.)  Every time the unseen narrator moves forward in the action, Jack fails to comply without a grumble and a gripe.  The next morning he is elated he did not eat a bean considering what grew overnight.  He is also flabbergasted he has to climb it.  (Who wrote this story anyway?)

With every phrase uttered by the narrator, Jack is increasingly belligerent.  He's not tired from scaling the stalk plus he spies Cinderella's castle on his way up.  An invitation is issued but the now equally frustrated voice reading the story urges him in no uncertain terms to keep going.  Upon his arrival at the giant's home, an imminent clash ensues.

It's a blend of traditional and (cue Getting To Know You sung by Julie Andrews) exceedingly friendly conversation between a captured Jack and the giant.  A rip roaring argument escalates between Jack and the giant (Fred) and the reader.  If you can manage to stop laughing the conclusions, all of them, are exactly as they should be.  The End.  Maybe.


With every sentence read silently or aloud written by Josh Funk, you feel the urge to share this book.  The snappy asides by the reader/narrator as part of the story text and Jack's comments provide an abundance of humor.  As the story and alternate story unfold you can't help but wonder why more characters have not objected before Jack and Fred, the giant.

Another technique adding to the comedic effect is the use of modern phrases,

You're joking, right?
SERIOUSLY?       
Spoiler alert.

The flow between the known narrative, the reader's statements, and Jack's and the giant's observations is seamless on the individual pages and as it resumes on the following pages.  There is not a skipped beat in the cadence.  Here is a sample passage.

Everything inside the house was tremendously large.

Spoiler alert:
A giant lives here. Can I go home now?

Suddenly, Jack heard a booming voice---

FEE-FI-FO-FUM,
I SMELL THE
BLOOD OF AN
ENGLISHMAN.

Umm, that 
doesn't even 
rhyme.  How about:
Fee-fi-fo-fum,
I can see the 
giant's bum?


Upon opening the exuberant, colorful dust jacket readers are treated to two views of the skyward climb up the beanstalk.  Although our focus is drawn to the main character in each image, the two blend together nicely across the spine.  The title text carved into a sign reflects the old world quality of the tale but the two painted words make it clear this will be no normal rendition of the story.  To the left, on the back, framed in stalks and leaves, the giant's harp is singing out a fun challenge for readers.  Two birds are watching her from above as ladybugs rest on a leaf.  Bean blossoms are seen throughout the illustrations. (I am working from an F & G so I don't know if the book case is the same.)

On the opening and closing endpapers is a pattern featuring leaves, beans, Jack's backpack, his rope and ax, the magic beans, the magic bean bag, a compass, tiny blue gloves, boots, a framed picture of Bessie, tortilla chips and Jack's hat.  These items are placed on a crisp white background.  Across the verso and title pages a night scene with Jack and Bessie out and about amid fireflies is full of cheer and friendship.

Rendered digitally by Edwardian Taylor the pictures vary in size from two page spans to single page illustrations and to smaller images set in larger ones.  His shifting perspectives enhance the hilarity of this variation.  His exaggerated facial expressions with the wide-eyed looks leave no doubt as to the current emotional state of the characters.

Careful readers will note familiar individuals even without reading the invitation on the back of the dust jacket.  This draws attention to the details Edwardian Taylor includes in each picture.  You pause to look because you don't want to miss any nuance he places in his pictures.

One of my many favorite illustrations is spread across two pages. The giant's face covers nearly every bit of space, edge to edge.  His nose is meticulously aligned in the gutter.  His mouth is open in anger.  His fingertips grip the table edge.  To the left of the picture a small human Jack, standing on the table with his arm, hand and finger raised to make a point, eyes closed, is stating a couple of facts, seemingly unconcerned with the trouble he is facing.


As soon as you begin It's Not Jack And The Beanstalk written by Josh Funk with illustrations by Edwardian Taylor you can already hear the laughter of readers and listeners.  The very idea of characters objecting to the story line is funny enough but the chosen words and energetic pictures created by these two collaborators elevate the hilarity.  You will most definitely want to place this title on your 398.2 professional shelves and add it to your personal fairy tale collections at home.

To discover more about Josh Funk and Edwardian Taylor and their other work please visit their websites by following the links attached to their names.  Edwardian Taylor also has a Tumblr account.  The cover was revealed on Mile High Reading hosted by Dylan Teut, the director of Plum Creek Children's Literacy Festival.  Today at the Nerdy Book Club Josh revealed the book trailer.  

A Courageous Climb--Mighty Jack And The Goblin King Blog Tour

We've all experienced those moments when the end result of a situation is in question.  A ball is pitched, the batter swings and hits.  The ball soars, seemingly suspended in the air.  Everyone in those few seconds wonders if it is a home run.  Dark clouds swiftly move across the sky, wind whips weeds, leaves and branches, thunder rumbles and there is a flash of lightning.  With a pounding heart you wonder if you will reach shelter in time.  These and numerous other circumstances happen every single day.  And usually we don't have to stand by for long to get an answer.

In works of fiction these cliffhanger scenarios can be particularly tense because readers may have to wait until a sequel or companion title is published.  You are so caught up in the action you don't realize you have come to the last page until astonished you stare at the final words.  You simply can't believe it!  This is exactly what happens in Mighty Jack (First Second, September 6, 2016) written and illustrated by Ben Hatke.  This wild variation on Jack and the Beanstalk leaves you wanting more as soon as possible.  Let me tell you, the second title, Mighty Jack And The Goblin King (First Second, September 5, 2017), is an equally rip-roaring ride in the unexpected.  It is worth every second of the wait.

RMPH!
Climb!
I'm trying!
Use my shoulder
to--That's it, now--
HRRGH!
OW!
GASP!
HUFF!
I wonder-
HUP!
I wonder where we are?
Let's find out. 

Jack and his friend Lilly are in pursuit of the ogre who captured Jack's little sister Maddy.  They have been climbing a beanstalk but where it goes is out of this world...literally.  This beanstalk acts as a bridge between worlds suspended in space.

Before they can even catch up with the ogre, a mischief of evil rats causes the separation of Lilly and Jack.  Against all instincts, Jack has to leave Lilly, injured and lying hundreds of feet beneath him.  Saved and healed by goblins ousted from their castle by giants and those rats, Lilly realizes the goblins expect her to marry their king.

Finding a way into the castle with assistance from ones he saves, Jack is horrified by the fate in store for his sister.  Her blood and bones will serve to help the giants maintain control of the castle, a nexus point between worlds.  If the device being heated is not feed a human when it is ready, it will explode.  Even Phelix, a dragon friend whose appearance is timely and uncanny, can't help Jack save Maddy.

Beneath the castle, in the sewers, a battle wages, with a spectacular and surprising result.  Laws governing goblins are strange and wonderful. Within the castle, Jack faces seemingly insurmountable obstacles.  A din grows and a machine growls.

There are battles, physical, mental and emotional, choices and sacrifices.  Nothing will ever be exactly normal for the trio again.  Adventure is there waiting...and needing their presence.


There is nary a doubt about the heart of Ben Hatke.  With each beat his gift as a storyteller is made visible through his words (and his art).  His characters reside in worlds conducive to the events in which they find themselves.  It is the very definition of high adventure.

In this volume we see Jack and Lilly as comrades with a common goal even though for a significant part of the narrative they are engaged in separate secondary tales.  These story lines allow them to mature emotionally as tough choices are presented to both of them.  When Hatke brings them together again, they are a stronger team.

What readers will appreciate is the sense of humor which surfaces throughout this story.  Not only are the conversations in which it appears funny but they contribute to the exquisite pacing.  As the story is told another treat for readers is the marvelous manner in which Hatke answers previous questions weaving every thread together to fashion a fantastical fabric.


 When you look at the front of the jacket and case of this title, you know Jack, his sister Maddy and Lilly will be in a fight for their lives.  You wonder about the glowing-eyed creatures and the rats.  Are they friend or foe?  What kind of place contains all those pipes?  A page turn reveals Jack and Lilly standing on the enormous beanstalk, now no longer going up but across.  A wordless, two page spread opens the story with a single, gloved hand reaching through vines and rocky cliffs.

The art for this book was drawn on laser printer paper with Sakura Pigma Micron pens (sizes 005, 01, 05, and 08) over lightly colored pencil.  Colors were accomplished digitally using Photoshop.

Most of the panels are framed in a wider white border but their sizes and shapes vary to keep our eyes moving at the same cadence as the story.  Sometimes Hatke has images with no words to emphasize a point.  He may place one or more smaller illustrations over a large two-page picture.

I have many favorite images but I can't tell you about some of them without spoiling the story, which I would never do.  In one of the scenes in which you find yourself cheering, we seen a group of goblins in a chamber with Lilly.  They are garbed in cloaks, tunics, helmets and armor and some have swords.  Lilly has just adjusted her wedding attire.  Her stance is determined as is her expression.  She says

Bring me a sword.


To date I have read Mighty Jack And The Goblin King written and illustrated by Ben Hatke twice.  There are specific sections which I have read over and over and over again.  Hatke never fails to entertain and surprise us.  His characters, with their strengths and weaknesses, are inspirational to the core.  This title as well as Mighty Jack is going to be very popular.  I would have multiple copies available.  I am already acquiring some for my Halloween giveaway.

If you desire to learn more about Ben Hatke and his other work please visit his website and Tumblr pages by following the links attached to his names.  At the publisher's website you can view several interior illustrations.  You will enjoy watching this video in which Ben Hatke talks about this work.

To visit other blogs participating in this tour follow this link to First Second to get a full list.

Of Monarchs, Magic And Maliciousness

Many of us have listened to or read fairy tales for most of our lives.  We hear the words "once upon a time" and open our hearts and minds to familiar settings unlike our own, characters who cause terrible troubles and others who overcome great obstacles, and magic making an appearance when we least expect it or thankfully when we long for it.  Most people regardless of their age will be familiar with the young woman who has lost one or both of her parents and is under the control of a wicked stepmother and her two daughters.  They feel a kinship with her every hardship and cheer with a sense of justice and relief at the outcome.

Most will not know the original Cinderella is believed to have come from China more than one thousand years ago.  Since that time stories with the same motif have come from countries around the world each with a specific set of elements; each a mirror of the culture and people. Variants have been told and written with their own particular twist but keeping the essence of the original narrative.  The Rat Prince (Margaret Ferguson Books, Farrar Straus Giroux, August 23, 2016) a debut novel written by Bridget Hodder puts a wondrous spin on the tale, taking seeds from the story and growing it into something entirely her own.

Prologue
When you hear the tale of Cinderella, do you ever wonder about the rats who were turned into coachmen by her fairy godmother?
No?
Then do take a moment to consider.

Prince Char begins speaking to us about his observations as a royal rodent at Lancastyr Manor where generations of rats have been bound to the human occupants.  Rose de Lancastyr is the beautiful daughter of the late Lady Jane and the current Lord Lancastyr.  Due to her father's declining mental health, a stepmother and her two daughters now occupy the residence with her.  Prince Char and his royal councillor and best friend, Swiss, initially believe her to be kind but a total lackwit.  An encounter in the kitchen with her stepmother Lady Wilhemina, completely changes this assessment.

Of the two stepsisters, Eustacia and Jessamyn, nine-year-old Jessamyn is the more compassionate.  Rose, Cinderella, is her best friend.  We and Jessamyn discover at the same time of the unusual relationship between Cinderella and two rats who she has named Blackie (Prince Char) and Frump-Bum (Swiss).  Cinderella discloses to her stepsister of the generosity of the rats in bringing her food when Lady Wilhemina refuses her dinner.  Blackie has surprisingly enough given her, during a night of great sadness, a large sapphire ring.  Etched in the face is the Lancastyr seal.  Blackie comes close enough to Cinderella for her to pet him.

On the morning of the great ball Prince Char and a group of trusted companions leave their Northern Rat Realm, venturing into the Southern Rat Realm, ruled by Princess Mozzarella, to enter Castle Wendyn, home of Prince Geoffrey.  They have to see if he will make a proper ruler and husband for Cinderella. Even the Rat Prince's mother, Lady Apricot, sees the wisdom in this move, although rats rarely involve themselves in the affairs of humans outside Lancastyr Manor.  In their way of thinking if Cinderella is queen, Lady Wilhemina will be removed.  With her absence goes the rat poison which has killed many.

 It seems Cinderella will be allowed to go to the ball until the truth strikes her like a blow. What will she wear? When she arrives in her room, a pitiful place in the attic, several surprises await her.  Of these I will only say one offers her an opportunity and the other offers her an explanation.

On the day of the ball the Lancastyr household is a frantic flurry of activity with Rose doing most of the work wondering how every desire will be satisfied.  On the day of the ball the Rat Prince and Swiss observe an absolute horror at Castle Wendyn.  On the evening of the ball an equally horrifying series of events happen at Lancastyr Manor triggering an ancient invitation.  It's a big chaotic swirl of characters and a single wish.

Two individuals need to accomplish their goals; saving what is loved most.  Words need to be said but cannot be uttered.  As the clock ticks toward midnight the action is twisting and turning in all directions.  Readers will wonder what awaits each and every character.  The characters scarcely breathe themselves as each minute reveals one shocking bit of news after another.  As the twelfth stroke echoes, the past collides with the present.  It is indeed memorable.


To have imagined and written this novel of Cinderella, author Bridget Hodder is clearly a scholar of fairy tales, reading them and enjoying them with true affection.  Page by page as her version unfolds readers can see items from other known stories of Cinderella making an appearance, not necessarily as we expect them to but in a much grander perspective.  She takes what we know enhancing it; enlarging the narrative with wholly, beautifully believable stories within a story.  An example of this is the two stepsisters.  To have chosen one of the sisters to be younger and kinder figures more than once at critical points in the plot.

Another storytelling technique employed by Hodder is to have this portrayal spoken not be an unseen narrator but in first person (rat) voices in alternating chapters.  We start and end with wise Prince Char, taking turns with a determined and resilient Cinderella.  Whether they are in the same setting or a different place in the kingdom of Angland, each chapter flows flawlessly into the next.  We easily bond with the thoughts of the young woman and the rat.  We are able to ascertain the personalities of each character, primary and secondary, (usually) by the conversations throughout the story.  There is not a wasted moment as we speed toward the conclusion in classic page-turner style.  Here are some selected passages.

It has a carving on it," my stepsister breathed in awe.
"The seal of Lancastyrs," I said.
Together, on the same impulse, Jessamyn and I raised our eyes to look over at the rats.
They were nearer now.
Blackie's dark gaze on me was so intent, I would almost swear he understood what I'd said.
"But where could the rat have gotten such a thing?" Jessamyn demanded. "Wait.  You're merely teasing me, aren't you?  Oh, Rose, how could you?"
"I'm not teasing!  Blackie gave me the ring.  And every time I feel discouraged or tired or hungry, I touch it, and somehow it gives me the strength to carry on."
"Don't let my mother see it," Jessamyn said, in her wise little voice.
She was right, of course.  I tucked it away again, out of sight.

I wanted to nudge Rose's arm and tell her not to fear---if her stepmother were ever to steal the ring, I would get it back.  Believe me when I say there is nowhere a rat cannot go, and there is certainly nowhere Lady Wilhemina could have hidden the ring where I wouldn't have found it.  We rats had cherished the shiny golden thing for more than a century, ever since Prince Gravy, a most canny rat-ruler, nicked it from the bedside table of a slipshod Lancastyr ancestor, Vern the Vapid.

Swiss was looking at me with reproach in his eyes.  "You have yet to explain why you gave our greatest treasure to a human."


The Rat Prince written by Bridget Hodder is a Cinderella variant which I gladly devoured in a single sitting the first time and savored passage by passage the second time.  The tale is told with such excellence you can readily regard it as the true version.  This book is most definitely one to be read by those who crave fairy tales.  It is so much deeper and broader; I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves a great story.

To learn more about Bridget Hodder please follow the link attached to her name to access her website.  To read an excerpt, the first chapter, please follow this link to the publisher's website.  Bridget Hodder has been interviewed at Literary Rambles.

How Does The Garden Grow?

As any horticulturalist, farmer or gardener will tell you it's a combination of factors which contribute to the growth of plants.  Soil, moisture, nutrients, light and heat play critical parts in its health.   Depending on the hardiness of the plant even the slightest variance can cause a change.  The one constant is a specific seed will produce a particular plant.

Several hundred years ago a tale was told of a young man who traded the last item of wealth he and his widowed mother owned for a few beans.  In an extraordinary twist on the expected within the magic found in fairy tales, the beans when planted grew into a gigantic stalk twisting skyward to vanish in the clouds.  Depending on the selected version of Jack and the Beanstalk adventurous quests follow, eventually leading the lad back to his home.  Mighty Jack (First Second, September 6, 2016) written and illustrated by Ben Hatke is the first in a new series of graphic novels about a modern day Jack, his younger sister Maddy and their friend Lilly.  It's a heart pounding variation with page turns which will leave you gasping and then grinning.

Summer vacation has started but for Jack it won't be typical.  To begin he will be getting up early to take care of his non-speaking sister Maddy to help his mom who is now working two jobs to make ends meet. On their way to a flea market he notices a new girl in their neighborhood practicing with a sword and shield in her front yard.

Distracted at a booth selling books, Jack loses sight of Maddy only to find her at the stall of a clever, wily stranger.  He knows Jack's name, claiming Maddy told him. Several odd things happen here involving a less-than-ordinary gizmo, the man's female companion and the stranger's insistence Jack trade his mother's car keys for a box filled with seed packets.  Against all reason, Jack makes the trade.  After all...Maddy told him to do it.

Fortunately hours later the car is recovered far from the family's home.  In the morning Maddy insists they overturn dirt in the back yard and plant the seeds.  The next morning they continue work in the garden. The seeds have started to grow. The results are weird. An introductory visit from Lilly, the sword-wielding girl, does not end well when some of the plants start scooping up mud and throwing it.  Only Maddy witnesses this.

The next morning everything in Jack's and Maddy's world gets turned upside down and inside out.  The garden is enormous and it's growing things which move, fight and like to chew on humans; doll like onion people, giant melons with even larger mouths and jagged teeth, and pods with power...jumping power.  Just when you think it could not get more fantastic, it does.  Maddy walks into Jack's room late at night several days later with an announcement.

A midnight rendezvous provides answers and questions.  A misadventure the following day ends up with a visit to the hospital.  Lilly has a secret.  Maddy has a secret.  One will be needed to vanquish the other.  Everyone changes.  A hero is needed.  A hero needs a companion.  Mighty Jack is born.


When Ben Hatke begins this narrative with a nightmare, you can already feel the tension start to build.  As smooth as silk he introduces the acquisition of not a few beans but a box full of seed packets, one of the packets containing something dark and dangerous. Each incident and conversation between the characters is a series of pieces fitting into a larger puzzle. (You could, and probably will, read the conversations between the characters over and over again.  They are as real as the wind and rain outside my home for the past three days.)  This is done with the flair of a master storyteller; you sense something growing, something more than the plants in the garden.

Each of the primary characters, Jack, Maddy, Lilly, Jack's and Maddy's mom, are presented with their strengths and flaws.  We feel deeply connected to them.  There is great affection between Jack, Maddy and their mother.  The appearance of Lilly, skilled through her older brothers' love of Renaissance reenactments, is timely, making her a perfect partner.  We have questions about their neighbor Mr. Gooseworth and his talk of Confederate gold.  We have even larger questions about the stranger and his companion at the flea market.


According to the information provided the illustrations

were drawn on laser printer paper with Sakura Pigma Micron pens (sizes 005, 01, 05, and 08) over light colored pencil. Colors were accomplished digitally using Photoshop.

The image on the front cover crosses the spine to the left, the back, the growth of plants dividing the page in half diagonally with six other Hatke titles shown at the top. The introduction to the three main characters is an exciting glimpse into the story but is truly only a brief look at the marvelous adventures contained within this book.  The dedication and acknowledgements give us inside knowledge as to how this story will unfold. They let us see inside the heart of the book's creator.

The panels on each page vary in size supplying readers with pacing.  Each panel is usually framed with an equal amount of white space.  Hatke does include many panels without text.  For maximum impact he shifts perspective and uses light and shading to excellent effect.  His two page spreads and larger images with smaller ones placed on top of them generate a "wow' factor.

I have so many favorite illustrations it is impossible to select only one but the wordless two page picture after Jack, Maddy and Lilly have consumed the pods is magic with a capital M.  The expressions on their faces are sheer bliss.  The body postures allow their personalities to shine. I would be willing to bet lots of readers will want to join them.


Mighty Jack written and illustrated by Ben Hatke is a spectacular series opener.  It's loaded with great dialogue, the right amount of mystery, edge-of-your-seat action and page turns which will take your breath away.  You simply can't read it once. It demands you read it repeatedly. I would plan on multiple copies of this title.

To discover more about Ben Hatke and his other work please visit his website and Tumblr pages by following the links attached to his name.  To view some of the interior images please follow this link to the publisher's website.  I believe you'll enjoy reading this recent interview of Ben at mcnallyrobinson.com.

As part of this blog tour we were asked to name some of our favorite adaptations of fairy tales.  I created a blog post on February 23, 2016, Celebrate National Tell A Fairy Tale Day 2016. In it I name twenty-four of my favorite titles.  Fairy tales are those stories which have been a part of my reading life the longest.  You can always find me hanging out in the 398.2 section of any library.  Please take a few moments to visit the other sites on this tour.  

Miss Print, 9/26

Teen Lit Rocks, 9/27

Charlotte's Library, 9/28

Kid Lit Frenzy, 9/29

Librarian's Quest, 9/30

YA Bibliophine,10/3

Ex Libris Kate, 10/4

The Book Rat, 10/5

Love Is Not a Triangle, 10/6

The Reading Nook, 10/7

Rogues At Rest

At an early age they enter the world of stories stored in our memories.  The huffer-puffer of homes, a granny imitator, the baker of gingerbread houses, a mirror watcher, the spell caster of long sleeps, a spinner of straw, a fee-fi-fo-fum guy liking Englishmen, and a guarder of bridges all play a part.  It's a part that fills the hearts of others with fear.

At the stories' end, is it really the end?  When you open the book, there they are again.  Good Night, Baddies (Beach Lane Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division, May 17, 2016) written by Deborah Underwood with illustrations by Juli Kangas follows these doers of dastardly deeds.

Sun slips down; the day has gone.
Witches, wolves, and giants yawn.
Queen and dragon, troll and gnome:
tired baddies head for home

Well, this is without question an unexpected turn of events.  These baddies dwell one and all in a formidable fortress.  Once inside it's easy to see by night these folk are downright friendly.

A meal is shared before bedtime preparations commence.  Snow White's nemesis dons her nightie.  A muddy monster cleans up his act.  The girl in the hood and porkers numbering three rest easy as their foes floss.

Books are read and tales are told as nighttime rituals unfold.  The largest of the residents, teddy bear in hand, is afraid of royalty that might be hiding beneath his bed.  Eyelids droop and dwellers doze.

When cuddled under comforters, a howling song drifts through the starry night air.  Baddies bid the day adieu.  Their dreams are...


Deborah Underwood peels back a layer we believe to be true giving us a different view.  Lilting lyrical four-line verses rhyme; the first and second, then the third and fourth.  It's a fracturing of many fairy tales blended together as one.  Here is another passage.

Wolves, today was not so good.
You didn't catch Red Riding Hood.
You huffed and puffed without success.
But brush your fangs, please, nonetheless.


A single illustration spans the matching dust jacket and book case.  We are shown a gathering of fairy tale foes but they appear as friends.  Rumpelstiltskin reads aloud as a dragon, witch and wolf listen.  From the left a pajama-clad troll, carrying a lacy pillow, joins the group.  Don't you just love that the wolf has a pig stuffed toy?  The pillows, braided rug, glowing lamp, books on the sill, a pitcher of milk and a glass nearby complete the cozy image.  Stars and a crescent moon are framed by an arched window.

The opening and closing endpapers ask us to pause first noting all the baddies doing their deeds during the day and second to watch them sleep at the end.  Oval shapes framed by intricate vines hold the twelve different portraits.  There might be spiders and webs and a few bats too.  These are done in two hues of brown.

Thirteen double-page pictures in a full color palette rendered in watercolor with oil washes over the top by Juli Kangas begin with the title page and continue with the verso and dedication pages.  With each page turn you will feel compelled to stop, enjoying all the details included by Kangas.  A house mouse and a black cat are shown in most of the visuals.  The dragon and wolf are passing a tossed salad to each other at dinner. Vegetarians?  The face in the queen's mirror is sleeping.  You will appreciate the framed pictures on the giant's bedroom wall.

One of my favorite images shows the area outside the bathroom door as well as inside the bathroom.  We get a glimpse of the queen wearing slippers with crowns coming down the stairs.  A waiting witch is reading the Bad News as the cat cleans its paws.  Rumpelstiltskin is wondering when he gets to bathe.  He did remember to bring his rubber ducky.  The troll is soaking in a bubble bath, bunny slippers next to the tub.  Guess who is scampering by a bridge seen through the window?  The details in this picture are seen throughout the book.


You are most certainly going to want to add Good Night, Baddies written by Deborah Underwood with illustrations by Juli Kangas to your bedtime story collections at home and at school.  With a cheerful cadence it asks us to consider the familiar in an unfamiliar way.  It will prompt discussions about other fairy tale characters and how they might be seen differently.

To learn more about Deborah Underwood and her other books please follow the link attached to her name to access her website.  Deborah has a song on the page dedicated to this title which you can download.  She beautifully sings the story to us.  At the publisher's website you can view additional interior illustrations.  Please spend a few minutes at Scholastic's Ambassador of School Libraries John Schumacher's blog, Watch. Connect. Read. as he chats with Deborah Underwood about this book, school libraries and some of her other books.  Deborah Underwood writes a guest post at author Tara Lazar's Writing for Kids (While Raising Them).  Educator Dylan Teut chats with Deborah Underwood at Mile High Reading.  Enjoy the book trailer.



UPDATE:  There is a Story Hour Kit!