About This Book
Reach for this book when your child is starting to question the logic of traditional stories or when you need to inject some anarchic fun into your reading routine. It is a brilliant remedy for a child who finds standard fairy tales too sugary or predictable. Roald Dahl reimagines six classic tales through darkly comedic verse, where heroines are empowered and villains meet inventive, often gruesome ends. While the humor is wicked and irreverent, the underlying message is one of agency: characters like Red Riding Hood and Snow White take control of their own destinies rather than waiting for a prince. It is a masterclass in wordplay and subversion, perfect for ages seven and up, though parents should be prepared for Dahl's signature 'revolting' brand of physical comedy and cartoonish violence.
What Parents Should Know
Sensitive Topics
DISTRESS: The violence is stylized and cartoonish, but it is explicit. Red Riding Hood shoots the wolf with a pistol hidden in her knickers. The Wolf eats grandmothers and pigs. Cinderella's sisters have their heads chopped off at the Prince's command. For sensitive children, these descriptions, combined with Quentin Blake's visceral illustrations, might feel slightly intense before bed. CONVERSATION: Be ready to discuss the concept of satire and subversion. Why did Dahl change the ending? How does our view of the characters change when they act 'un-heroic'?
Ideal Reader
An 8-year-old with a sharp sense of humor who loves to say 'ew!' or 'I can't believe he said that!' and is ready to move beyond the traditional 'happily ever after.'
Parent Prep
Read ahead to gauge your child's reaction to the casual use of firearms and the fate of the third pig. A child complaining that their bedtime stories are 'too babyish' or 'boring.'
Age Experience
Seven-year-olds will love the rhymes and the 'naughty' factor of the violence. Eleven-year-olds will better appreciate the structural parody and the sharp social commentary on greed and vanity.
What Makes It Special
Unlike other fairy tale retellings, Dahl uses the rigidity of rhyming couplets to deliver shocking plot twists, creating a unique tension between the 'nursery' format and the 'revolting' content.
Read plot summary
This collection features six rhyming parodies of classic fairy tales: Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, and The Three Little Pigs. In Dahl's versions, Cinderella rejects the Prince, Snow White works for a gambling syndicate of dwarfs, and Red Riding Hood becomes a wolf-skin-clad hero.
This overview was generated by AI based on the book's content and reviews, and may not capture every nuance.
Discussion Prompts
1
In Cinderella, why do you think Cindy decided she didn't want to marry the Prince after all? What did she value more?
2
Roald Dahl's Little Red Riding Hood is very different from the original. How does she show she can take care of herself?
3
Why do you think the author chose to write these stories in rhyme? How does the rhyming make the 'revolting' parts feel different?
4
In Jack and the Beanstalk, Jack's mother is quite mean to him. How does Jack's luck change when he chooses to bathe before climbing the beanstalk?
5
If you could change the ending of any other fairy tale to make it 'revolting,' which one would you pick and what would happen?
