Kirkus Review

Four reimagined fairy tales each provide a different example of what it means to be brave. Gentle Jack the giant lives a peaceful life with his beloved mother until a diminutive thief, also named Jack, from another land breaks into his home. Puzzle-loving Hansel and his daring sister face the dangers of the dark woods together when their aunt and uncle abandon them. Christian, a former shepherd boy, risks his life to tell the truth when swindlers take advantage of the emperor's vanity. Despite doubts about his destiny, Prince Leo Charming battles an evil fairy to break a curse. As the verse preface suggests, each of the boy protagonists displays internal strengths unrelated to their size or physical prowess to overcome a trial. Every hero earns a happily-ever-after by learning an undisguised lesson. Some of the tales make an effort to challenge gender stereotypes by including girls with physical strength and athletic abilities, but they never expand beyond a binary depiction of gender. The last story, a new version of "Sleeping Beauty," removes the kiss between the prince and the princess. Instead, Aurora's mother models consent by asking Prince Leo if she may kiss him in thanks for saving their whole kingdom. Illustrations in a green palette accompany the text. Apart from in "The Emperor's New Clothes," in which the illustrations seem to depict an Asian setting, all of the characters seem to be White. Overwhelming sweetness with underwhelming diversity. (Fantasy. 6-10) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.