Synopses & Reviews
This collection of deftly rearranged myths and fairy tales, including five original tales, rekindles the excitement of adored childhood tales. These witty, perceptive stories from an award-winning childrens author cleverly twist, turn, and veer off into unexpected, enchanting territory. Twice-told, the familiar narratives are newly revealed through the unusual perspectives of their supporting casts. Theres the giants wife who simply wants Jack to bugger off so she can continue collaborating on poetry with her sweetly oafish mate. A bratty, unrepentant Gingerbread Man sounds off on overprotective parents, meddlesome neighbors, and untrustworthy foxes.
Review
"{Cadnum]tangos with tart truths, waltzes with acerbic wit, and often and dances in the dark."
Fantasy Magazine
Concise writing cuts to the heart of the matter in this droll collection from National Book Awardfinalist Cadnum (The Book of the Lion), whether it be a certain gingerbread boys overbearing parents in the title story or a ghostly Ophelia bent on her own secret revenge in Or Be to Not. Even the most urbane bears can be brought low when entrapped by a crusading pro-human Goldilocks in Bear It Away, while a certain giants wife manages to create a happy ending after a young thief escapes by beanstalk in Mrs. Big. Medusa, Daphne, and Give Him the Eye offer stark insight into the behavior of Greek gods and goddesses as well as the brutal side of love. Meanwhile, elves, no matter how gifted, find little welcome when faced with human suspicions in Naked Little Men and Elf Trap, while Together Again gives the truth behind that old nursery rhyme about a lord named Humpty Dumpty. Both adult and YA readers will enjoy this quirky assemblage of 18 traditional tales with a modern edge.”
Publishers Weekly
Cant Catch Me and Other Twice-Told Tales by Michael Cadnum is an outstanding collection of interesting and insightful lore drawn from history and retold with a modernized and compelling philosophical perspective of contemporary wisdom and collective post-situation knowledge.”
Midwest Book Review
...turns the familiar on its head, from basilisk to gingerbread man, and makes you forget, for a few charmed moments, that these arent quite the tales you thought you knew.”
Patricia A. McKillip, author, Wonders of the Invisible World
Cadnum delves more into the psyche of the protagonist than fairy tales ever do.”
BookLoons
Synopsis
This collection of deftly rearranged myths and fairy tales, including six original stories, rekindles the excitement of adored childhood adventures. National Endowment for the Arts recipient Michael Cadnum creates twice-told narratives revealed through their supporting casts, from the protective giantess at the top of the beanstalk to an extremely bratty Gingerbread Man.
Synopsis
Rekindling the excitement of adored childhood stories, this award-winning author uses unexpected points of view to deftly twist the themes of classic folktales. From the unrepentent Gingerbread Man and his tirades against overprotective parents, meddlesome neighbors, and untrustworthy foxes, to the giant's wife who simply wants Jack out of the picture so that she and her mate may continue collaborating on poetry, these ironic tales introduce complex, emotional topics within a familiar context. This sophisticated collection of rearranged myths features six previously unpublished works.
About the Author
Michael Cadnum is the author of more than two dozen books for adults and young adults, including
The Book of the Lion, a National Book Award finalist, and
In a Dark Wood, a
Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist. A former fellow of the National Endowment for the Arts, he has also published several collections of poetry and picture books for children. He lives in Albany, California.