Overall, Secrets, Monsters and Magic Mirrors is a pretty nice retelling of fairy tales. What really kept me from falling for this compilation though was the choice in the tales themselves. In order to keep things simple, it was decided to pick the most watered down version of each of the fairy tales that are featured. No embellishments, no excitement, just the bare bones story.

Now I'm not saying that I wanted something overly stylized. Nothing Disney-esque. Quite the opposite actually! The original Grimm's fairy tales are fantastic all on their own. I would have liked to see some of the intrigue, and the darkness from those brought over into this compilation. After all, what is a fairy tale without a little magic thrown in now and then?

What saved this for me, and made me swoon, was the illustrations. I loved the fact that each story had it's own set of illustrators. From the highly colored, vivid and downright adorable graphics in Snow White, to the more anime flavored graphics in Princess and the Pea, each story had it's own life to it. I think for the most part they all fit perfectly! Each illustrator brought their own voice to the story that they were bringing to life.

Final verdict? I'd say this is definitely a graphic novel to borrow at the library. I also think it would be a fantastic way to share fairy tales with beginning readers. There isn't really anything overly gory, sexual or inappropriate in the illustrations. This could be a way to bring the fairy tales they already know and love to life. ( )

"SECRETS, MONSTERS, AND MAGIC MIRRORS" BY STEPHANIE TRUE PETERS

This book takes you on a journey through the history of some of the most popular fairytales. Using beautiful, artistic illustrations, you learn how all these stories came to be as well as seeing other depictions by other authors through the years.

This book is written much like a graphic novel and suitable for ages 6 & up. A definite must read!

Kitty Bullard / Great Minds Think Aloud Literary Community ( )

My final graphic novel for Capstone (at this time) and it was a doozy. Secrets, Monsters and Magic Mirrors was the retelling of five popular fairy tales by five different teams of authors and illustrators.
The stories told were Rapunzel, Thumbelina, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast and Princess and the Pea. I loved that they were each adapted by different people. It gave the stories an element of surprise because the illustrations were so varied. All, but Snow White, followed the popular telling of each story.
I recommend this book for any reader. I can see it appealing to girls more than boys but the style of the various stories might catch a male eye. They definitely would be a great replacement for your average fairy tale picture book.
One feature I loved the most was at the end of each story was its history. A single page detailing who published the first copy of the story and some of its evolution. To me, that made the book jump over my favorite list.
There's something fascinating with the history of a story and learning exactly how it's changed over the years.
I should make a note of the illustration styles for those who need to do the hard pitch.
Rapunzal was a rather basic design, lots of grays with accents of color. The style almost reminds me of Charles Addams or Roald Dahl's books. The witch is a series of circles against sharp scenery. The characters had a German flair. When Rapunzel is free of the witch, the grays turn yellow.
The illustrations for Thumbelina are bright and more cheerful. They remind me of Nickelodeon, specifically The Wild Thornberries. I'm sure other readers can connect it to other cartoons.
Snow White has a "true" comic book feel to it. I could easily see it sitting amongst stacks of Superman, Elf Quest and others. It's darker than the rest in this book.
Beauty and the Beast is lighter and more colorful. The work is digital resulting in sharp contrasts and less round edges. It feels more like a picture book than a graphic novel.
Princess and the Pea completely reminded me of Japanese graphics or manga. The characters have sharp features and huge eyes. Everything is much lighter and muted.
I can not wait to get my hands on more of this series. Start the hunt for Capstone books and enjoy. ( )

A gorgeous collection of fairy tales with European-style illustration. Previously published as stand-alone titles, this bound edition is a must-have for updating the library's traditional literature collection. (156) ( )

I got an advanced reading copy of this book through NetGalley.com. I love graphic novels and fairy tale retellings, so I was excited to give this book a read. It ended up being okay, but didn't add anything special to fairy tales I know and love.

Five fairy tales are retold in graphic novel form: Rapunzel, Thumbelina, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, and The Princess and the Pea. Each story is retold by different authors and illustrated by different artists.

I really enjoyed how each story in the book starts with a cast of characters and ends with a brief history of the fairy tale. The history of each fairy tale was, in most cases, more interesting than the retelling of the fairy tale itself.

In general these retellings were pretty boring and bland. The only one that was really exceptional was the Princess and the Pea; this was retold in a humorous way that totally matched the beautiful anime-like artwork; I really enjoyed this one.

It seems like the writers were trying to retell the most general version of each fairy tale and that left the retellings sounding stale and stiff. Some of the artwork is very beautiful; the art in Snow White is beautiful digital work, while the Thumbelina the artwork is cartoony, modern, and fun; The Princess and the Pea is done in soft colors with an anime-flare. All of the stories have very different artwork from each other.

I have summarized each story below. Overall this is an okay collection of fairy tales retold with beautiful art; the stories themselves are pretty bland (excepting the Princess and the Pea which was fantastic) but the artwork is nice to look at. Definitely aimed at a middle grade or younger age group; older readers will be bored. While I applaud the idea of retelling fairy tales in graphic novel form I would recommend middle grade readers really interested in retold fairy tales check out books by Jessica Day George, Robin McKinley, Cameron Dokey, or Alex Flinn. These books have fun and thoughtful fairy tale retellings. Adults should definitely check out the Fables series of graphic novels; these have been wonderful, are well drawn, and creative.

Rapunzel - Very dry and simple rendition of this story, the artwork was cartoony and artsy. Very pretty and folk-art-like if a bit stiff. (3/5)

Thumbelina - The illustration is fun, bright, and cartoony with a modern flare. The dialogue was a bit simple and awkward. Not my favorite rendition of the story of thumbelina. (3/5)

Snow White - Beautiful digital full color illustrations. The retelling of snow white is pretty well done, a little dry but better than the first two stories. (4/5)

Beauty and the Beast- The art is cartoony, blocky, and bright...very stylized. The rendition of the tale is again very simple and dry. (3/5)

The Princess and the Pea - My favorite story of the bunch. The artwork is done in a anime sort of style with beautiful soft colors. The tale of the prince and his search for the perfect princes is told with the perfect amount of humor, I really enjoyed it. (5/5) ( )