Fairy Tales With a Twist!

If read-aloud time is getting a bit dull, consider checking out these “twists” on classic fairy tales.  I especially love the one that take stories that are normally pretty girly and spice them up so that boys can enjoy them too.  Perfect if you’re reading to a princess and a prince!

Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude and Once Upon a Royal Superbaby 
by Kevin O’Malley and Carol Heyer

These stories have two narrators – one girl and one boy – and they work together to tell the stories.  They each have some elements of fairy tales, and some elements that are just made up fun.  My nieces think Queen Tenderheart is oh so beautiful and my sons think the Royal Superbaby is hysterical (they said dirty diapers!).  Everybody wins!

The Other Side of the Story series

We’ve read Seriously, Cinderella is So Annoying (as told by the Wicked Stepmother) and Seriously, Snow White is So Forgetful (as told by the Seven Dwarves), but there a whole bunch more in the series.  The stories stick pretty close to the originals, but have this kind of funny sarcasm throughout so they don’t feel the same when you read them.  My nieces liked seeing some of their favorite princesses, and my sons thought it was so funny that the dwarves wrote “do not open the door” all over everything that they almost didn’t mind it when the prince kissed Snow White.

Goldilocks and Just One Bear
by Leigh Hodgkinson

In this twist on Goldilocks and the three bears, a solitary bear becomes lost in the city and takes refuge in the apartment of a grown up Goldilocks.

Little Red Riding Hood, a Newfangled Prairie Tale 
by Lisa Ernst

What if Red Riding Hood rode a bike and her grandmother was not at all weak or frail?  Well then you would have this fun story.

The True Story of the Three Little Pigs and The Stinky Cheese Man 
by Jon Scieszka

You’re probably heard of these classics of the messed-up fairy tale genre (Is that a thing? I guess it is now).  Will your child believe the wolf’s tale of woe?  What will happen to the Stinky Cheese Man, Jack the narrator, and Henny Penny (who may or may not be squished by the table of contents).

The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig 
by Eugene Trivzas

I haven’t read this one, but it looks like a cute version of the traditional tale.  As the wolves’ houses grow stronger, so do the pig’s attacks.  Is there a way they could all get along?


The Three Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot
by Margaret McNamara and Mark Fearing

In this retelling, the mother of the three little aliens sends them out into space with a warning to stick together and watch out for the big bad robot.  As the pass the planets in our solar system, the aliens separate as they find homes that interest them.  When the big bad robot attacks (with funny rhymes to replace the “I’ll blow your house down”), can the little aliens survive?


The Three Billy Goats Fluff
by Rachael Mortimer

Mother knows best when her three billy goats are threatened by the big bad troll who lives under the bridge.  Why is that troll so grumpy anyway?  Turns out he has sleep deprivation.  Now that’s something all parents can relate to!

Belinda the Ballerina
by Amy Young

I know, I know, this isn’t a fairy tale.  I just included it on my list because it takes a topic that is one that girls may be more naturally drawn to, but then tells the story in a way that boys find entertaining too.  Really, a ballerina with enormous feet is pretty funny to anyone.