These four fairy-tale retellings give traditional characters personality and agency. Rapunzel is a maker, always building and inventing. When she decides to free herself, she calls out to a young man and asks him to tie one end of her severed braid to a tree, turning it into a zip line she can ride down to freedom. Lucy, known as Little Red Riding Hood, is a naturalist and is lured off the path to Grandma’s house only by the promise of a rare flower. Her keen observation of the wolf that sends her off-track enables her to recognize him in Grandma’s bed and outsmart him. Cinderella’s kindness extends to animals, and she sells her one remaining glass slipper to start an animal sanctuary, where the prince eventually joins her. Thumbelina nurses a sick swallow to health and in return receives a ride to her true home. Each story consists of three to five chapters. Half- or full-page monochrome illustrations in mauve on each page fit the fairy-tale theme. McFarlane does a lovely job reimagining these female leads as active, clever characters, though some of the old tropes remain (the obsession with Rapunzel’s beauty, which is based on her blue eyes and golden tresses; the ball’s purpose is still for the prince to pick a bride). Rapunzel is White; Red Riding Hood is pictured with brown skin and long, wavy hair; Cinderella and her family are White while the godmother and prince are brown. (The illustrations for “Thumbelina” were not seen.) Not revolutionary, but a considerable improvement. (Fiction. 5-8)

– Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 2020

In McFarlane’s four amusingly reimagined fairy tales, hapless heroines are recast as resourceful young women. Rapunzel, an inveterate tinkerer, cuts off her heavy braid and turns it into a zipline to engineer her own escape from the tower: “Rapunzel thought. Rapunzel sketched. Rapunzel planned and pondered.” Little Red Riding Hood cleverly uses her grandmother’s herbal lore to knock out the wolf with a sedative tea. Cinderella thriftily sells her remaining glass slipper to establish an animal sanctuary, where she is joined by a prince who forswears hunting for mucking stables. And a dauntless Thumbelina puns her way (a happy rabbit is “A hoptimist!”) through setbacks to find her own people. Though each tale has a dedicated illustrator, the artwork, rendered throughout in a dull lilac hue, is united by a cartoony sensibility. A satisfying read for children seeking classic tales with a feminist bent. Final art not seen by PW. Publishing simultaneously: Bold Tales of Brave-Hearted Boys. Ages 5–9. (Oct.)

– Publishers Weekly, October 12, 2020

Four re-imagined fairy tales highlight the special gifts of their independent heroines and downplay the harsher elements of the original stories. No princes are blinded, no wolves cut open by woodcutters, and no tiny girls coerced into marrying moles. Ever cheerful and resourceful, Rapunzel builds a bed-making system, creates a skylight in her roof, and ultimately cuts off her long, heavy hair and crafts it into a zipline to escape the tower. Little Red Riding Hood is a collector of flowers, and while easily lured off the path to Grandma's house to seek the checkered drooping tulip, she is also knowledgeable enough to put a wolf to sleep with red poppy tea. Cinderella's mother has taught her to lovingly care for animals; so, after chiding the prince at the ball for his hunting proclivity, she sells her glass slipper and builds a refuge for injured animals. Irrepressible Thumbelina is known for her laughter and repays the creatures who help her reach her true family of little children by telling them jokes. Capably narrated in a light-hearted voice, these stories will appeal most to children already familiar with the original versions. The updated versions of Rapunzel and Little Red Riding Hood in particular have a freshness that makes them the more successful, while the remaining two tales can verge on the saccharine. Although four different artists provide the endearing grayscale illustrations that appear on nearly every page, the book's design is cohesive and attractive. An effort has been made to show heroines of different ethnicities.?Jan Aldrich Solow, Elementary School Librarian, Retired, Kingston, NY

Recommended

– School Library Connection, October 2020