The Sisters Grimm - The Fairy Tale Detectives
by Michael Buckley© 2005, 284 pages Level 4 (all about levels)Amazon Reviews
Two sisters find themselves launched into a strange new world following the seemingly inexplicable disappearance of their parents. After fleeing from a series of freaky foster families, Sabrina and Daphne are taken to their long, lost grandmother. This is confusing for the girls since their parents had told them their grandparents were all dead. So who is this weird old lady with strange habits? And what does she want to do with them? Just as the girls begin to think this is one more bizarre home to escape from, Granny and her friend Mr. Canis are captured by a giant. The girls come to learn about their Grimm heritage and realize they must rescue the only family they have left. And that's when The Sisters Grimm become Fairy Tale Detectives.
Fractured fairy tales certainly aren't scarce these days (I kept finding similarities to Shrek in particular), but it's hard not to be charmed by this book, which keeps you laughing while eagerly turning the pages to find out how the girls solve this case.
The occupations of the Everafters (as the fairy tale characters are called) are particularly amusing as they try to fit in to our world. Jack works at a Big and Tall Clothing store, the Three Little Pigs go into law enforcement and Prince Charming suffers a string of business failures such as a failed diamond mine partnership with the seven dwarfs and a wholesale carpet company poorly managed by his business partner, Ali Baba.
After the exciting climax, the book paves the way for future adventures in the Sisters Grimm series, as Sabrina and Daphne are given brand-new, cloth-bound journals to continue the family tradition of recording the events in the Everafters' lives.
"As your father and generations of Grimms before him did, it is your responsibility to put on paper what you see, so that future generations can know what you went through," Granny said. "We are Grimms. This is what we do."
I'd highly recommend checking out some of the original tales before you dive into this fun variation—more on that tomorrow!
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