Once upon a time, fairy tales were grim.
Cinderella’s stepsisters got their eyes pecked out by birds.
Rumpelstiltskin ripped himself in half.
And in a tale called “The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage,” a mouse, a bird, and a sausage all talk to each other. Yes, the sausage talks. (Okay, I guess that one’s not that grim…)
Those are the real fairy tales.
But they have nothing on the story I’m about to tell.
This is the darkest fairy tale of all. Also, it is the weirdest. And the bloodiest.
It is the grimmest tale I have ever heard.
And I am sharing it with you.
Two children venture through forests, flee kingdoms, face ogres and demons and monsters, and, ultimately, find their way home. Oh yes, and they may die. Just once or twice.
That’s right. Fairy tales
Are
Awesome.
Accolades for A Tale Dark & Grimm:
• New York Times bestseller
• Selection on the Today Show’s Al’s Book Club for Kids
• NCTE Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts Selection
• An E. B. White Read Aloud Honor Book
• New York Times Editors’ Choice pick
• Publishers Weekly Flying Start
• School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
• ALA Notable Book
“Unlike any children’s book I’ve ever read . . . [it] holds up to multiple re-readings, like the classic I think it will turn out to be.”—New York Times Book Review
“A marvelous reworking of old stories that manages to be fresh, frightening, funny, and humane.”—Wall Street Journal
Accolades for In a Glass Grimmly:
• New York Times bestseller
• A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2012
• A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2012
• A School Librry Journal Best Book of 2012
“Gidwitz is back with a second book that, if possible, outshines A Tale Dark & Grimm.”—School Library Journal, starred review
“Compulsively readable.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“Gory, hilarious, touching, and lyrical all at once, with tons of kid appeal.”—The Horn Book
“Adam Gidwitz leads us into creepy forests, gruesome deeds, terrible monsters, and—far worse—the dark places of the human heart. It’s horrible . . . and I LOVED it!”—Tom Angleberger, author of The Strange Case of Origami
