Editor: Donald Lemke
Illustrator: Jeffrey Stewart Timmons, Sarah Horne, Erik Valdez Y Alanis, Luke Feldman, M.A. Lamcreaux
Publisher: Capstone
Publication Date: August 1, 2011
Format: e-galley
Genre: Graphic Novel,
How I Got It: Free from NetGalley
Goodreads Summary:
Five of the world's greatest fairy tales are retold in the popular and attractive graphic novel format. Beautiful, bold illustrations give these timeless tales a modern edge. The stories include Beauty and the Beast, Rapunzel, Princess and the Pea, Snow White, and Thumbelina.
Review:
We do different types of fairy tale units in the library so I'm always looking at new ways to present old tales - be it a fractured fairy tale or the darker original. I was really interested in Secrets, Monsters, and Magic. It had a great title and a very attractive cover... unfortunately that's pretty much where it ended. Each story is retold and illustrated by a different person. Some authors did a great job, others not so much. The art was not what I expected. Some of it was fantastic others ranged from very childish to an almost amateurish computer graphic look. I've reviewed each fairytale individually.
Rapunzel
Timmons did a fantastic job illustrating this story (his Rapunzel is on the cover). His dark but whimsical drawings set a great mood that complimented an essentially dark story. There was the added bit of humor that all of the men had these silly mustaches and wore lederhosen. I was surprised that the story included the fact that Rapunzel has children, though it is never stated or implied how she got them. She just has them one day and the Prince (since blinded by his fall into the thorn bushes) is the father. While not as dark it does follow the original tale. Unfortunately the Rapunzel story lacks a lot of details and explanations so it comes across as a bit light on actual storytelling.
Timmons did a fantastic job illustrating this story (his Rapunzel is on the cover). His dark but whimsical drawings set a great mood that complimented an essentially dark story. There was the added bit of humor that all of the men had these silly mustaches and wore lederhosen. I was surprised that the story included the fact that Rapunzel has children, though it is never stated or implied how she got them. She just has them one day and the Prince (since blinded by his fall into the thorn bushes) is the father. While not as dark it does follow the original tale. Unfortunately the Rapunzel story lacks a lot of details and explanations so it comes across as a bit light on actual storytelling.
Thumbelina
The Thumbelina story moves along at a break neck speed. Thumbelina is born, immediately kidnapped by toads, rescued by a catfish and a butterfly, is blissfully free until the winter when she stumbles into Miss Mouse's home. Though several weeks have past the next page shows Miss Mouse strong arming Thumbelina into marrying Mr. Mole. While the story is true to the original Thumbelina, it just goes so fast. Despite the little text boxes that tell you several months or weeks have passed, a new danger is on every page - it was slightly ridiculous. I also wasn't a big fan of Horne's art - it was too much like the Ed, Ed, and Eddie cartoon for my taste.
The Thumbelina story moves along at a break neck speed. Thumbelina is born, immediately kidnapped by toads, rescued by a catfish and a butterfly, is blissfully free until the winter when she stumbles into Miss Mouse's home. Though several weeks have past the next page shows Miss Mouse strong arming Thumbelina into marrying Mr. Mole. While the story is true to the original Thumbelina, it just goes so fast. Despite the little text boxes that tell you several months or weeks have passed, a new danger is on every page - it was slightly ridiculous. I also wasn't a big fan of Horne's art - it was too much like the Ed, Ed, and Eddie cartoon for my taste.
Snow White
This was a version of the story that I was unfamiliar with. It starts with the adventurous and heroic Prince Marco who travelled the world being heroic. There was also a beautiful (and possibly evil) who may or may not have murdered her first husband. Now the queen decided she wanted a new husband and she asked Prince Marco to visit her. But Marco discovered her true nature - cruel and selfish. He refused to marry her and tried to leave. The Queen was angered that anyone would deny her so she cast a spell and trapped the prince in her prized mirror. With his spirit trapped in the mirror the Queen now had the ability to spy on her enemies. As time passed her enemies fell, her heart grew colder, and her palace fell into ruin. The only thing the Queen truly cared about was being the fairest woman in the world. She asked every day if she was the most beautiful and everyday the mirror said she was, until the day Snow White surpassed her in beauty. In her fury she breaks the mirror's glass and then goes off to begin her stalking of Snow White. First she sends a giant wolf to kill her, (Snow stops him by feeding him cake). She runs into the woods to hid and stumbles upon the dwarves. These dwarves looked like cute chibi versions of mole men and lived in a cave. The readily accept Snow because they had dreamed of her. When the queen poisons Snow with the apple the dwarves take revenge. They dig through the ground, into the castle where the breakthrough the floor and swarm the queen. They then burry her alive. Prince Marco appears (freed when the queen broke the mirror) and kisses Snow White, wakes her up, and it's all HEA after that. The story, while different, wasn't that bad, but the strange elven anime look of the illustrations were not that appealing. Plus, SNow White's eyes took up so much of her face that she kind of creeped me out.
This was a version of the story that I was unfamiliar with. It starts with the adventurous and heroic Prince Marco who travelled the world being heroic. There was also a beautiful (and possibly evil) who may or may not have murdered her first husband. Now the queen decided she wanted a new husband and she asked Prince Marco to visit her. But Marco discovered her true nature - cruel and selfish. He refused to marry her and tried to leave. The Queen was angered that anyone would deny her so she cast a spell and trapped the prince in her prized mirror. With his spirit trapped in the mirror the Queen now had the ability to spy on her enemies. As time passed her enemies fell, her heart grew colder, and her palace fell into ruin. The only thing the Queen truly cared about was being the fairest woman in the world. She asked every day if she was the most beautiful and everyday the mirror said she was, until the day Snow White surpassed her in beauty. In her fury she breaks the mirror's glass and then goes off to begin her stalking of Snow White. First she sends a giant wolf to kill her, (Snow stops him by feeding him cake). She runs into the woods to hid and stumbles upon the dwarves. These dwarves looked like cute chibi versions of mole men and lived in a cave. The readily accept Snow because they had dreamed of her. When the queen poisons Snow with the apple the dwarves take revenge. They dig through the ground, into the castle where the breakthrough the floor and swarm the queen. They then burry her alive. Prince Marco appears (freed when the queen broke the mirror) and kisses Snow White, wakes her up, and it's all HEA after that. The story, while different, wasn't that bad, but the strange elven anime look of the illustrations were not that appealing. Plus, SNow White's eyes took up so much of her face that she kind of creeped me out.
Beauty and the Beast
This story was well written but the illustrations were in a very childish style. The drawings looked more appropriate for pre-schooler's book than a late elementary/ middle grades graphic novel. It detracts from the story and I don't think target audience readers would appreciate illustrations more appropriate for a much younger audience.
This story was well written but the illustrations were in a very childish style. The drawings looked more appropriate for pre-schooler's book than a late elementary/ middle grades graphic novel. It detracts from the story and I don't think target audience readers would appreciate illustrations more appropriate for a much younger audience.
The Princess and the Pea
This one might have been my favorite. The writing and art came together to tell a funny story of a prince searching for love through a minefield of terrible princesses. When a young woman shows up at the door during a storm the queen is unimpressed (her confused sneer was awesome). The anime style pictures were a great compliment to the amusing story telling.
The book did include a very interesting short history or featured different international versions of each story. That was pretty cool.
This one might have been my favorite. The writing and art came together to tell a funny story of a prince searching for love through a minefield of terrible princesses. When a young woman shows up at the door during a storm the queen is unimpressed (her confused sneer was awesome). The anime style pictures were a great compliment to the amusing story telling.
The book did include a very interesting short history or featured different international versions of each story. That was pretty cool.
Verdict:
While some wonderful authors and illustrators worked on Secrets, Monsters, and Magic, this graphic novel just didn't work for me. A few stories were well written, some just sped by and the illustrations were hit and miss for me. I will say that I think the Secrets, Monsters, and Magic target audience will probably like all the different types of illustrations (with the exception of Beauty and the Beast). However I think they will have the same problem with the writing. It's almost like the some stories were written for a younger audience while others were spot on. This one is a definite library book, but I don't really I recommend picking it up.
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4 comments:
Did some of the stories feel dumbed-down? It always frustrates me when they're written as though the reader won't be able to comprehend what's happening if it's not clearly spelled out for us, even when the target audience is younger. Think I'll pass on this one!
August 18, 2011 at 8:14 AM@ Jenny - I do hate when they dumb books down, my elementary kids figure that out really quickly. In this case it was more that the stories seemed a bit rushed but some of the animation was very childish. Some stories my students would like and others they would roll their eyes out. (Granted that's always a danger when dealing with tweens/teens :) )
August 18, 2011 at 11:39 AMSounds like Snow White might have been channeling Lady Gaga from her Bad Romance video. Not everyone can pull off big eyes. LOL
August 18, 2011 at 2:56 PMShame that is collection didn't quite enchant like most fairy tales do, but I appreciate you sharing your honest thoughts. :)
@ Missie - The Lady Gaga comment was funny. I gotta say, the eyes were off-putting.
August 19, 2011 at 5:09 PMPost a Comment