Saturday, March 21, 2015

The Rose and the Beast


Block, Francesca L. (2000). The Rose and the Beast: fairy tales retold. HarperCollins: NY.  At first glance this book looks like it will be Beauty and the Beast retold but surprisingly the author has many different versions of different fairy tales. Snow is a freak and Tiny turns the prince into a tiny person as well. I see this as a grown way to explore fractured fairy tales and reexamine what we consider happily ever after. Due to the innuendos, this book would be best for high school students.  I see it working as a jig saw assignment where each group takes on a fairy tale and compares Block’s work with Grimm’s and Disney’s versions. This is one of those books that catches you off guard. According to Donelson and Nilsen, reading for unconscious delight is the first stage to becoming a lifetime reader and this book does just that as it is unexpected and truley delightful after you consider how it could otherwise go. 

No comments:

Post a Comment