Book Review Blog Tour and Giveaway: Tale Spins by Michael Mullin

 

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Tale Spins

A trilogy of alternative fairytales and retellings. Discover the real Snow White story through the eyes of Creepy, the unknown 8th dwarf! Meet a teen princess who hires "The Frog Prince" witch to get revenge on a Mean Girl at school! And learn how the giant, boy thief and magic beans tale truly went down!  

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Praise for Tale Spins
      Not usually enamoured of either re-tellings or poetry I was totally taken aback by just how much I

relished this trilogy of alternative fairytales and re-tellings aimed at the Young Adult market. ~Tracy (Goodreads)
      TaleSpins was like walking into a vintage store and finding a true treasure. This book takes the fairytales we all grew up on and gives them an interesting and modernized version that I enjoyed. ~Rose (Goodreads)
  
My Thoughts:

This was a delightful book of three short fairy tales with a twist. Each one is told from a non-traditional point of view. You’ll laugh at the way these tales differ from the way you heard them growing up.

I particularly liked that the stories were told in rhyme rather than in prose. I thought it was a very creative addition to the stories. They were also told with some unexpected humour.

The Previously Untold Story of the Previously Unknown Eighth Dwarf: This was the retelling of Snow White. It was told from the point of view of Creepy, the eighth dwarf who was not well liked by the other seven dwarves. Poor Creepy does not have a very happy life and his recounting of the coming of Snow White gives you a very different look at Snow White’s character.

This tale was my favourite of the three and the humour in it had me laughing aloud.

The Plight and Plot of Princess Penny: Michael Mullin’s version of The Frog  Prince, updated and included elements of Three Billy Goats Gruff and Hansel and Gretel. This tale was not as easily recognizable as the fairy tale it was taken from, but it was engaging all the same.  Princess Penny and Darcy are rival schoolmates. Penny wants to get her revenge on Darcy, so she visits a witch to buy a potion. When she uses one she steals from the witch instead, and it doesn’t work as expected, Princess Penny ends up with more trouble than she bargains for.

I found myself a little confused as to why it was the retelling of The Frog Prince since there were no frogs to be kissed in the story.

Jack’d was an interesting story. I admit I had to read it twice before I fully understood what was going on. It was confusing at first as the poetry had two different rhythms and was almost written as a play, in that it was divided into Acts.

I thought it was brilliant that Mr. Mullins chose to tell the story from the Giant’s point of view as a rich man living in a penthouse apartment suite who had been robbed of a valuable artifact. Again, this fairy tale has been updated with modern elements in the story and puts Jack in a very different light from the traditional fairy tale.

I think that these fairy tales would be more suited to teens and young adults (if they are reading them to themselves) because of the readability level. Even with just listening, young children (younger than 9 years) might have a difficult time understanding some of the language. However, adults will be delighted with these tales as they will bring back memories of childhood when they read them with their middle-grade readers (age 9-12).

I thoroughly enjoyed these fun, alternative fairy tales. I gave them 4 stars out of 5.

Thank you to the author, Michael Mullin for providing an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair and honest review. A positive opinion was not required. All thoughts are my own.

Author Michael Mullin

Michael Mullin is a native New Englander living in Pasadena. He is the author of TaleSpins, a trilogy of alternative fairy tales and retellings for YA readers. TaleSpins stories (in the 1-book collection) are "8: The Previously Untold Story of the Previously Unknown 8th Dwarf"; "The Plight and Plot of Princess Penny"; and "Jack'd". Michael is also the co-author of the successful "Larry Gets Lost" children's book series. His screenplay "Zooing Time" was recognized by the WGA's Written By magazine. Before all this writing, he taught preschool and college, two positions he found disconcertingly similar.

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 $25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 1/21/14 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
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