David Roberts' Delightfully Different Fairytales

Fairy tales have always been a favorite to many young readers. They are fun, scary, clever and always filled with excitement and even bravery. But how would you feel about a fairy tale in an era of art deco, the groovy 70’s or even mid century?The story of Cinderella has been reimagined in an art deco style which depicts the style of the 1920’s and ‘30’s. The story is the same with a bit of a twist at the end. The story of Rapunzel can be found within these pages. But rather than her being alone in a tower she was allowed to play records, watch television and read magazines. Her shining knight in armor was just a dude named Roger who played in a band and wore bell-bottoms and stacked shoes. Raised by two aunts, Sleeping Beauty in this new version, has plenty of twists and turns and robots too. Sleeping Beauty, after 1000 years, was not saved by a handsome prince but rather a young woman.These clever tales are fun and a reimagined blast from the past right into the future. The illustrations are indicative of the times with a modern twist. Parents and teachers will find these stories to be quirky and hilrarious. The inclusivity and multiculturalism is makes these stories an inviting read for anyone and everyone.

I adore David Roberts illustrations, but I had hoped that “delightfully different” meant the stories had been modernized or feminized. There were changes to the stories, but not in any particularly meaningful way. They are overly simplified and ultimately kind of boring. Rapunzel’s story left me with a lot of questions (why is this woman keeping Rapunzel locked in an apartment, for instance? And why is she so mean? These are things that one sort of brushes off in a fairy tale set long ago in a land far away, but beg for explanation against and urban, 1970s setting.) Sleeping Beauty’s plot had just as many holes. I love the idea of changing the settings, but they seemed poorly thought-through.Most egregiously, though, was the fat shaming in Rapunzel. A “much-needed fitness class”?! Seriously?? If I didn’t love the illustrations so much I’d be returning it. Instead we’ll just take a sharpie to the “much-needed,” which is what the editor should have done.

I should let you know I am an adult who collects artwork and stories from illustrators I love. So if your intent is to buy this for a child, I cant help you with that haha.I really loved this concept, I've followed David Roberts on instagram for a while, I kept seeing him post work from this book and I was fascinated by the idea of having famous fray tales set in different time periods! It has wonderful notes rom the illustrator on his ideas and his process. I just love it!Fun and interesting concepts, beautiful illustrations!

Wonderful and creative reimaginings of familiar stories with beautiful illustrations that are full of character and detail. We have the full set of paperbacks for my kids, and this is a lovely hardback version that brings together three in a volume to be treasured.

Fabulous stories and pictures!