Friday, April 16, 2010

Fairy Tale Fridays: A New, Modern Tale

Special Thanks to my Personal Faery Friend for the Button Art: Ye Olde Faery Shoppe


This week's selection for Fairy Tale Friday was your choice of a modern version of a classic fairy tale.  I personally had a blast with this one, so you may see this type of selection show up again another time or two.  I chose to highlight two books this week because one is the sequel to the other.  Without further ado . . . 


Rapunzel's Revenge is a modern-day tale of a fairy tale classic in a graphic novel form.  It incorporates a multitude of tales beyond the title character, but Rapunzel is the true hero in this adventure.  


Shannon and Dean Hale spin their own tale of Rapunzel, even staying true to the character Gothel; however, they create a strong female character that you grow to love through her independence and determination.


In Part 2, we meet Jack, a witty gentlemen that I liked in an instant (and I believe Rapunzel did too).  Together they work together to rescue Rapunzel's real mother and bring justice to the region.


Beyond the story itself, Rapunzel's Revenge contains beautiful illustrations, resulting in an amazing story filled with love, adventure, and lots of humor.  I definitely recommend this one!


Shannon and Dean Hale continue their tale of Rapunzel and Jack in the recent release of Calamity Jack.  This time, the two enter Jack's world, discover more of his past, and learn what led him to meet Rapunzel in the first tale.


As Jack and Rapunzel reach Jack's hometown, they quickly discover that the city has been overrun by the ant people and his mother has been kidnapped by a giant.  And, this all began thanks to a beanstalk, a beanstalk that originated with Jack.


Calamity Jack is filled with more wit, more adventure, and more love.  I do not believe it was as strong as the first, but the two are a companionship I do not want to live without!  I would love to own my own copies someday because it is worth more than one re-read!


Which modern classic tales did you read this week?


UPCOMING TALES:

Friday, April 23rd:  The Butterfly by Hans Christian Andersen
Friday, April 30th:  One-Eye, Two-Eyes, and Three Eyes by Brothers Grimm
Friday, May 7th:  The Three Bears by Robert Southey
Friday, May 14th:  The Three Billy Goats Gruff (Traditional Tale)




4 comments:

  1. I kind of cheated a little this week.

    I loved Rapunzel's Revenge. My comments on it are at http://carolsnotebook.wordpress.com/2009/03/05/rapunzels-revenge/ , but remember I was still fairly new at blogging at the time. I haven't gotten around to Calamity Jack yet. I'm glad it's good though. It's definitely on my to-read list.

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  2. I thought the exact same thing you did about Calamity Jack. I'm new to the graphic novel scene, but I do have Shannon Hale to thank for starting back up again though! :)

    Thanks for your review!

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  3. Love the fairy tale remakes, so will have to check this one out. Thanks!

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  4. carolsnotebook . . . Just read your review and commented!! And, really don't see how you cheated! I loved that you focused on poetry! Didn't even think about that!

    mjmbecky . . . These were just too fun! I've heard that there are some other great graphic novels about fairy tales too! I think I may have to check them out!!

    Alexia561 . . . You're welcome! Any recommendations for me?? :)

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