Review Detail

Told from the perspective of Mr Binky, a detective/policefrog, this book features 5 classic fairy tales which get a reworking from the original. This book has a fun ‘voice,’ as I found myself reading it in my mind as if I were in a 40’s-black-and-white, detective-smoking-behind-the-desk-with-his-feet-up-and-a-fancy-broad-in-his-office type voice. Know what I mean? Just the thought of talking about what happened to Snow White, Humpty Dumpty, Goldilocks, Hansel and Gretel, and Jack (of beanstalk fame) in that way is enough to make me crack up. Mr. Binky gets to the bottom of every story and gets all of the culprits (minus two) where they belong—-in the slammer. Hee hee hee…

I wasn’t as big a fan of the illustrations, though they are the type that may be appealing to some. They are slightly more of the ‘grotesque’ style than I would like for my young children (ages 4 and 2). There are also a couple of images that could be frightening to some (Gretel kicking a witch into a fiery oven, for example), but I think this book should be fine for kids 7 and up.