Two things I do: review children's books and work in early childhood education.  When I wrote my original review for Children's Lit  (which is posted below and will eventually appear on the Barnes & Noble Web site), I suggested that it would be a good option for story time and reading aloud to groups because the illustrations are so BIG.  On my Website, I indicate it's a good selection for preschoolers.

Then, this week I attended a training on the Infant and Toddler Environmental Rating Scale (Revised) taught by one of the authors.  To say she is an expert in early childhood education is an understatement.  She said, quoting someone else I think, that there are three things all children in America will be exposed to: violence, junk food, and prejudice.  She advocates keeping fairy tales out of children's diets until they are able to distinguish fantasy from reality, which is *not* in preschool.  I asked her how we should explain that to the local kindergarten teachers and school administrators, who want all children to come to kindergarten knowing nursery rhymes and fairy tales.  The Expert responded: "Whose fairy tales?  Japanese?  Native American?  Or just Western European?  It's a long-range issue you'll have to tackle with the school district."  I understand her arguments, however . . .

I'm conflicted.  I think this is a great book.  I think that most kids have watched enough television, cartoons, movies, and Disney versions of the fairy tales to know they aren't real.  I mean, aren't the talking animals a dead give-away? Could fairy tales, even as simply worded as the ones in this collection, scare small children?  Yes, and perhaps the age range shouldn't be 3-7.  Parent reviews on different Web sites are mixed -- some of their kids love it and some were horrified by Granny disappearing down the wolf's open mouth.  I see  these stories as the most basic introduction to classic themes, and what is any story without conflict?  (This argument is likely the reason for the slew of "huggy kissy I love you sweetums" picture books on the market these days.)

So I ask you, especially those of you who are parents, what do you think?

Yummy: Eight Favorite Fairy Tales

Lucy Cousins

     Clever animals, daring adventures, and gruesome ends for the bad guys pop off the pages of Lucy Cousins’ collection of eight beloved fairy tales with the common element of food. The popular author-illustrator applies her characteristic bold art style to retellings of the classics: Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, The Enormous Turnip, Henny Penny, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Little Red Hen, The Three Little Pigs, and The Musicians of Bremen. Though Cousins uses simple language to tell the stories to a younger audience, she manages to convey the wit and wonder of these tales with an admirable economy of language. Her illustrations fill the page with strong lines, vivid colors, and significant events that bring the story to spine-tingling life: the big bad wolf’s head sails across the spread when the heroic hunter rescues Little Red Riding Hood and  her grandmother, the hairy troll with his big warty nose as he encounters Big Billy Goat Gruff, a little pig with his pot full of wolf for supper. Though some parents may be squeamish about sharing the unvarnished versions of these fairy tales with youngsters, children will relish the rollicking good time they’ll have as good triumphs over evil, teamwork is rewarded, and humans are outwitted by animals. The book’s large format makes this an ideal read-aloud for story time, and large text occasionally sprawled across the spread will engage curiosity in early literacy experiences.

BIBLIO: 2009, Candlewick Press, Ages 3 to 7, $18.99.

REVIEWER: Keri Collins Lewis

FORMAT: Picture Book

ISBN: 978-0-7636-4474-1