"Once upon a time, fairy tales were awesome." And so begins the "fractured" fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel in A Tale Dark & Grimm by Adam Gidwitz (Dutton, 2010) The author takes two of the most famous characters from the Grimm fairy tales and puts them into other well-known fairy tales written by the Grimm brothers. An example of a meta-fiction book, Gidwitz writes as a narrator that tries to stop the reader from reading something that may be too gruesome. This is somewhat reminiscent of the Lemony Snicket, Unfortunate Events series. Gidwitz suggests that parents are afraid to share the real Grimm tales because there is too much blood and gore. I think this book is perfect for the middle grade readers. This book could be used while discussing other fairy tales and I would highly recommend sharing the original stories with students as well. It would not be necessary to read the original fairy tales first but students will be intrigued.
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