Though I've never read Lucy Cousins's most well-known books starring a mouse named Maisy, I was intrigued by the title of her book of retold fairy tales. Yummy is an appropriate title for a book of fairy tales where something--or someone--is eaten in every story.
This collection features enduring classics like "Little Red Riding Hood" and "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" as well as a couple that I didn't know as well like "The Enormous Turnip" and "The Musicians of Bremen." I was surprised when the first two pigs of "The Three Little Pigs" were simply eaten by the wolf, but the bluntness of Cousins's language made me laugh at the gruesomeness that always accompanies fairy tales that are true to the original.
My favorite lines in the book were from "The Three Billy Goats Gruff":
"Who's that stomping over my bridge?" roared the troll.
"It's me," said Big Billy Goat Gruff in his great big voice.
"I'm going to gobble you up," said the troll.
"Then I'll bash you to bits," said Big Billy Goat Gruff.
I loved the simple lines and bright colors of the illustrations, as well as the boldness and simplicity of the language in the retelling of these classic fairy tales. I would buy this book for myself, but am happy to have a daughter so I have an excuse to buy it and read it over and over again. With hundreds of collections of fairy tales to choose from, this one tops my list. Check it out for yourself--whether you have children or not.
Yummy: Eight Favorite Fairy Tales
by Lucy Cousins
Candlewick Press, 2009
$18.99
That sounds like a really good book. Maybe Elijah will have to get it for his birthday next month. I took a child development class and it said that children are not disturbed by those old fairy tales, they make more sense to them than the newer versions because the new ones don't really resolve.
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