Fairy Tale Voices with a Twist
by Rebecca Kai Dotlich and Jane Yolen
illustrated by Matt Mahurin
WordSong, 2013
ISBN 978-1590788677 (hardcover)

Ever wonder what those fairy-tale characters were really thinking? Poets Jane Yolen and Rebecca Kai Dotlich twist fifteen favorite fairy tales into “poem pairs” that feature wildly different voices and unexpected perspectives. The Gingerbread Boy sees the world as “one mouth,” while his parents wonder if he’d have been happier as a sugar cookie; the Princess claims those mattresses kept her awake (not a silly pea), while the Pea complains that the Princess snores. Yolen and Dotlich’s poems are astonishing and creative, filled with humor and magic, while Matt Mahurin’s artwork is stunning and packed with surprises as well. This lavish volume includes end notes, briefly describing the stories and their history, and an introduction, inviting readers to imagine their own poems from unusual perspectives and “make a little magic.”