Author: Jon Scieszka
Illustrator: Lane Smith
Type: Picture
Grade Level: 2-4
Rating: 4 out of 5
These "fairly stupid tales" are the classic fairy tales with a whole lot of twists. Jack and the Bean Stalk, Cinderella, Princess and the Pea, and many more are all changed and combined to create these hilarious stories.
When we were younger, my sister and I had difficulty reading this book because of laughing so hard. The story plots, characters, and all sorts of literary devices of familiar fairy tales are mixed and matched and swirled around to create the assortment of silly tales that had us uncontrollably laughing. One problem I could see with this book is that it uses the word "stupid" in the title and throughout the book to describe the stories. I could see parents objecting on the book based on the use of that one word. In a time when name calling and bullying are in the news all the time using a book that advocates a word like "stupid" as a description can be seen as questionable. As a teacher you might want to be careful with this book. Maybe not read it aloud but rather just have it available in your classroom library.
If you were to use this book in your class you could pair it up with the original stories that it is based on. Show that stories are not always written the same and can be altered. They also do not need to be written in the "conventional" way we are so used to. Different styles spice up things and make students question norms and how they themselves choose to write.
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