'Brave Red, Smart Frog: A New Book of Old Tales' by Emily Jenkins with illustrations by Rohan Daniel Eason is a collection of familiar fairy tales retold.

Along with tales I was familiart with, like Snow White and The Frog Prince, are a few I was less familiar with like The Three Great Noodles and Toads and Pearls.

The seven stories in this collection are retold in a fresh way that I really enjoyed. In the Author's Note at the end, it's stated that the idea was not to change the meanings for modern sensibilities, but to tell them in a kind of oral tradition method. One that works well for this collection.

A curious collection of revisited and reimagined tales that honour well-known folklore whilst adding their own little bit of magic and mystery.

When I was a kid, my mom bought my sister and me a big book of fairytales we were supposed to share. Neither one of us liked the tales we read very much, and the book basically became a dust collector. So when my Kiddo came along, I told my mom "No. More. Fairytales. Please." But had Emily Jenkins' Brave Red, Smart Frog been around, I certainly would have encouraged her to give a copy of it to my Kiddo.

Here are seven classic fairytales that have been turned on their ear and are just wonderful. Yes, well-known favorites like the Brothers Grimm's Snow White and Hansel and Gretel are here. Jenkins has also included three by Charles Perrault, The Fairy is renamed Frog and Pearls and The Three Ridiculous Wishes has become simple The Three Wishes, and of course, there is Red Riding Hood. The Frog Prince is here, but not exactly the one originally by the Brothers Grimm; and you couldn't retell fairytales without including the story of The Three Great Noodles.

The fairytales that Jenkins chose are more or less faithful to the original versions we know, but not totally. Instead she has written them as she would want to tell them herself. Her justification: the organic nature of stories. Fairytales were originally told orally and with each telling, each teller made little changes. Even after they were written down, they continued to change bit by bit. Jenkins intention was to "bring out what's most meaningful to [her] in the stories" in the tradition of those earliest tellers of fairytales. The seven stories chosen for this volume are all familiar to you, but there is the delight of discovering what Jenkins has done to them.

And as you read, you will noticed that there are small ways in which the tales connect to each. Some of the characters live in "a frozen forest, cold as cold ever was." Nothing grows, the streams are always frozen over, even horses can not walk through this forest. Other characters live in a sunny, warm place on the outskirts of the frozen forest but almost all find themselves there for different reasons. A woodcutter who is granted three wishes lives there, a huntsman goes there to cut the heart out of a vain queen's beautiful stepdaughter, a young girl in red walks through this forest to meet her dying grandmother for the first time, and two children, taken to the forest by their father, discover a candy house after they are abandoned there. And sometimes one character passes through the story of another. I found that by connecting the stories through the setting made the characters feel less isolated and therefore, their stories felt less dangerous, and I could see the point of each one in a new way.

Each tale is introduced with a watercolor and ink illustration by Rohan Daniel Eason that really captures the cold, dangerous, haunting atmosphere of the forest and you can see, the cover reflects the interconnectedness of the stories placing Red Riding Hood and The Frog Prince in the same picture.

While there isn't really much new in these stories, Jenkins has managed to bring back some of their magic and charm by making what was old into something new.

Back matter includes an Author's Note, but there is not sourcing for the stories used. And you can find a useful Educator's Guide to download produced by the publisher, Candlewick Press HERE

This book is recommended for readers age 8+
This book was as EARC received from NetGalley

These retelling of (mostly) well-known fairy tales was a simple and enjoyable read. I liked how clean the stories were with the retelling - the updated language made them accessible to all readers but didn't change the story from their origins. Overall, this was a quick, fun read.

This delightful collection of familiar fairy tales is told with a fresh voice and enchanting writing!

Including new versions of Snow White, The Frog Prince, Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, and several others that are less well-known, this book provides a crisp new look at these old tales while still remaining true to the main stories.

While the basic plots remain the same, it's the sparkling dialogue and little inside jokes that make these fairy tales so enjoyable to read and reread.

I'm always happy to find a new collection of Fairy Tales, especially one at this reader level. The manner in which the stories are interwoven to form a bigger narrative contributes to its appeal. I was even exposed to some lesser tales with which I was less familiar. I would recommend this as part of any child's or adult's personal collection.

RATING: 2 STARS
(I received an ARC from the NETGALLEY)
(Review Not on Blog)

This is a retelling of fairytales. For me, it was nothing new or exciting, but I do like the classics.

I've always loved fairytales, including fractured fairytales and retellings. This book is a collection of seven tales, some very familiar (i.e. Red Riding Hood) and some you may not have heard of (i.e. The Three Great Noodles). The author stuck with the basic plot or premise of each tale, but added a few details that may have sent the story in a different direction. They also were not as dark as the originals. The other thing I liked is that even though each was a separate story, there was something to connect them, either the setting or a character. They were not very long and could easily be read as a bedtime story over a weekly period. The one thing I did not like was the fact that there was only one illustration per story and that was at the beginning of each. The style of the illustrations reminded me of an old fairytale book I had as a child. Overall, I could see this book becoming a staple in a family library. If you read the author's note at the back she mentions the art of oral storytelling. I could see a classroom teacher using this book as a mentor text when dealing with that theme.

Fairy tales reverently reimagined and woven into versions that are as stunning or quite possibly even better than the originals. Character development and the nuanced flow of these tales along the illustrations make this a book that will create a lasting impression.

Beautiful, captivating storytelling and re-imagining of classic and familiar tales. I knew from the very first story that this was going to be a splendid collection, and Ms. Jenkins did not disappoint. Loved it!

Emily Jenkins tells these familiar tales with her own slant-wise viewpoint: always original, always lyrically expressed, always with a true heart. The stories are, therefore, transformed but nevertheless retain the essential truths of their traditions. It is remarkable that Jenkins' renderings can simultaneously be both more brutal and gentler, harsher and more loving than anyone else's versions.

Brave Red, Smart Frog: A New Book of Old Tales is a middle grade book written by Emily Jenkins and illustrated by Rohan Daniel Eason. This is a collect of seven classic fairy tales told in the authors personal style.

There once was a frozen forest so cold, you could feel it through the soles of your boots. It was a strange place where some kisses broke enchantments and others began them. Many said witches lived there -- some with cold hearts, others with hot ovens and ugly appetites -- and also dwarves in tiny houses made of stones. In this icy wood, a stepmother might eat a girl's heart to restore her own beauty, while a woodcutter might become stupid with grief at the death of his donkey. Here a princess with too many dresses grows spiteful out of loneliness, while a mistreated girl who is kind to a crone finds pearls dropping from her mouth whenever she speaks.

Brave Red, Smart Frog: A New Book of Old Tales is a nice collection of classic tales, some more well known than others. I liked that Jenkins stuck to the fairy tale tradition of telling these stories with the same heart, but her own personal touch. The characters are not flat, which often happens with those that are considered known already, rather they are rich in personality and humor. I enjoyed the collection, and think that many others will enjoy the combination of humor and empathy that threads through the stories. The fun illustrations added an extra layer of enjoyment and whimsy- adding a special something to the reading experience as a whole.

For the most part, these stories hold true to the plots of the original versions. A few provide explanation for things that have always troubled me. Like why Little Red Riding Hood believes the wolf is her grandmother. So those bits were intriguing. Apart from that, though, this is mostly jsut a more modern language presentation of well known stories.

I'm familiar with the stories in this book, but like the update! Especially enjoyed the Three Great Noodles! I knew it as the 3 Sillies and only knew it as an oral tradition tale from a little old Italian grandma when I was a kid (not my own, by the way!) I think with the updates more kids will read the stories and appreciate them.

This lovely book retells 7 classic fairy tales in a slightly quirkier way than before. The stories included are: Snow White, The Frog Prince, Three Wishes, Toads and Pearls, Red Riding Hood, The Three Great Noodles, and Hansel And Gretel. I think that children in 2nd through 6th grade will enjoy reading the stories!

Succinct. My best word to describe this collection of fairy tales. There are so many fairy tale retellings, and elaborations, some quite loosely based on a fairy tale that the brevity here took me by surprise. But I liked it. Just the facts, ma'am, but written so clearly with wit and brilliance that the characters are incredibly well drawn with the fewest of pages. Great for those that have passing knowledge of fairy tales and excellent for those that want to get back to the true tale.

I truly enjoyed these lovingly retold fairy tales. Jenkins has taken some favorite, familiar tales and while not adding anything new, has made them into charming tales. We have Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, the Frog Prince, and Diamonds and Toads among others. While she keeps the traditional plots and characters. she gives some extra depth, like why the Frog Prince loved the princes or how Hansel and Gretel’s father could have let them be left in the woods. She asks why the step-mother was so cruel and how Red could have been tricked by the wolf. I also love how the cold, frosty wood figures into the tales. The tales have touches of humor and amusing dialogue, especially in Three Wishes and the Frog Prince. I appreciate how the tales are connected in ways that make the book fit together well, rather than just a random collection. For example, the same huntsman who doesn’t kill Snow White does kill the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood’s story.
Overall, while the stories here don’t offer anything unique, they are told well and I enjoyed them. Everyone gets a happy ending, well except the dead step-mothers and witch.

Using contemporary language and beautiful prose, Emily Jenkins breathes new life into several traditional folktales. This would make a wonderful and charming read-aloud for children of all ages.

Reading the author’s note gives you some more perspective as they are retuning back to their roots, before Perrault and the Grimm versions. Having done some work with fairy tales in my studies, I am aware of their evolution and the ways that Perrault and Grimm have influenced the older versions with their own special gleam or purpose for them. Not only that, but these are the tales that have become more widely known to us today. So in that similar vein, Jenkins indeed highlights certain aspects of the tales more than before.

While this is a charming collection in and of itself, perhaps if you’ve never heard of them, and it does have a great purpose – to bring them back to how they were before – I think that reading a version of the oral tale before would be more beneficial. You can find them online, with a little work. And I think the differences would be much more shocking. Would I discourage this entirely? No, I just wouldn’t add it to my permanent fairy tale collection.

Emily Jenkins has taken the language of old timey fairy tales and turned it upside down in this 21st century retelling of classics like Snow White and the Frog Prince. The bones of the stories remain, but each has new language, new cadence, and new sassiness in the characters, which is completely refreshing. As I read, I felt like these stories could easily turn up in an animated series on Nickelodeon. What a wonderful way to take beautiful but clunky old fairy tales and make them new again. Well done!