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Summary
Summary
Get to know the softer side of your favorite fairy tale baddies as they return home from a full day of scheming to enjoy a yummy dinner together and help one another get ready for bed.
Wolves, today was not so good.
You didn't catch Red Riding Hood.
You huffed and puffed without success.
But brush your fangs, please, nonetheless.
Wicked witches. Evil queens. And big, bad wolves. By day they're such baddies! But cozy at night at home among friends? Why, they couldn't be nicer! Inspired by the mischief-makers from classic folk and fairy tales, this picture book shows that even the baddest baddies can have big hearts.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-It is easy to determine what monsters and villains in typical fairy tales are up to during the day. But what do they do at night? Do they get a chance to relax? This tale describes what witches, dragons, and trolls do when it is time to get ready for bed. The text and the lush illustrations show monsters, dragons, and even Rumpelstiltskin getting ready for bed and reading bedtime stories. There is even a giant checking under his bed for princesses. (They are so scary, you know!) This work is a subtle reminder that in life, we are all more alike than we are different. Kids will get a lot of giggles from seeing some familiar monsters in a more humanized way. Underwood's verse and Kangas's charming, expressive watercolor with oil wash artwork set just the right tone. "Underneath a starry sky,/sing a baddie lullaby./Day will bring more evil schemes./Good night, baddies.../sour dreams!" This title is a terrific way to introduce fairy tales and can be used to talk about the importance of reading. VERDICT A thoroughly enjoyable offering that teachers and parents will have fun reading with children, especially at bedtime.-Shannan Hicks, J.S. Clark Elementary School Library, LA © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
From the title page, where the Big Bad Wolf shows all of his sharp teeth in an enormous yawn outside of the Three Little Pigs house, we see that this is clearly a different perspective on some of the meanest characters around. A very fatigued-looking giant lumbers after Jack, and witches, wolves, and others make their way to a bat-bedecked castle at sunset: "Queen and dragon, troll and gnome: / tired baddies head for home." We see them sitting companionably around a dinner table passing food to one another and looking happy to be together. Then its time to get ready for bed: while a wolf in striped pajamas squeezes toothpaste onto his toothbrush, the text says: "Wolves, today was not so good. / You didnt catch Red Riding Hood. / You huffed and puffed without success. / But brush your fangs, please, nonetheless." Underwoods rhyming text keeps extending the story in creative ways, describing a giant whos scared that a princess may be hiding under his bed, for example, and a dragon and wolf who "sing a baddie lullaby." With illustrations filling each large page, Kangas uses an unusual technique of watercolors with oil washes to create vibrant colors with a lot of depth. The baddie castle looks like a cozy place, especially with such caring friends, and the story may give children a new perspective on viewing others. susan dove lempke (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Fairy tales and fractured fairy tales always focus on the good guys (or reform the bad guys). Finally, here's a sweet bedtime story featuring the baddies. There is not a hint of menace in either Underwood's gently rhyming verse or Kangas' beautifully detailed watercolor-and-oil wash illustrations. "Sun dips down; the day has gone. / Witches, wolves, and giants yawn. / Queen and dragon, troll and gnome: / tired baddies head for home." Home is a stone castle, where they catch up on news, share a meal together (using good mannerseven baddies need a break from being bad), undress and unwind from the day, and tuck one another in. It is both refreshing and comforting to know that baddies, no matter how vile they may be during the day, are human (-ish) at heart and have the same needs, wants, and fears as readers (sometimes literallyGiant is afraid a princess might lurk under his bed). (All the humanoid characters are white.) From striped and flowered pajamas to troll's bubble bath and the books so many of the baddies are clearly enjoying, this is familiar and sweet, unlike baddies' usual reputations, and children will delight in picking out familiar props and characters from beloved tales. Great for sharing with parents' own baddies and fairy-tale lovers alike. (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
They might be baddies by day, but by evening, all the familiar villains (witches, wolves, giants, dragons, trolls, and so on) who make fairy tales so exciting shed their evil ways: All day long they must be vile; / now, at night, they chat and smile. They politely share dinner, take turns in soothing bubble baths, tell gentle stories by firelight, check under their beds, read a book or two, and soon enough drift off to a baddie lullaby with the next day's evil schemes but a dream away. For young readers, the lightly lilting, humorous four-line verses on each double-page spread should be a gentle beacon toward slumber land, too. Underwood and Kangas are a delightfully subversive team, proving even the meanest baddies need time to relax and recharge. Showing the cooperative, thoughtful side of the most mythic meanies is also a clever reminder even to jaded adults to look well beyond others' exteriors and reputations, and discover the nice guys waiting underneath.--Hong, Terry Copyright 2016 Booklist