title: Grumbles from the Forest: Fairy-Tale Voices with a Twist
author: Jane Yolen
description: Gr 3-5-Mining the world of standard fairy tales, these poems are presented in the voices of the various characters. The pea relates his tale of woe upon being smashed by the princess. The giant's wife from "Jack and the Beanstalk" takes pity on the boy and facilitates his escape. A wounded Cinderella regrets her choice of shoes, and an introspective Beauty wonders if she chose the right spouse. A table of contents as well as summaries of the original tales augment the text. Stunning painterly illustrations may compensate for a few less-than-thrilling twists on the familiar tales. Stellar depictions of Rumplestiltskin and The Frog Prince richly enhance the text. Some poems are thoughtful and others merely silly but the illustrations are consistently eye-catching. The concept is fresh, and most of the poems are enjoyable if a few feel more contrived than creative. Still, this unique offering will find a home in language-arts classes, and the art begs to be shared one-on-one.-Carol Connor, Cincinnati Public Schools, OH(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
zlib_text: Praise for The Midnight Circus
  “Jane Yolen is, simply, a legend. The powerful fairy godmother of every writer working in mythic
  fantasy today. In these dark and wonderful stories, that legend proves itself true over and over
  again.”
  —Catherynne M. Valente, author of the Fairyland series
  “Look this way, look that; blazing her consummate imagina�on against the shadows of human
  sorrow, Jane Yolen has done it again. The Midnight Circus delights.”
  —Gregory Maguire, author of Wicked
  “Jane Yolen’s stories are pure magic! They draw you in, beguile your senses, and paint the world in
  richer hues than you’ve ever seen. Her tales will haunt you in the very best way. I loved every
  word!”
  —Sarah Beth Durst, author of Race the Sands
  “Nebula Award winner Yolen follows How to Fracture a Fairy Tale with another, slightly more
  sinister collec�on of deligh�ully dark fairy tales. Each of the 16 stories is coupled with a
  companion poem and fascina�ng story notes that allow readers to delve into Yolen’s mag