The first thing you notice are the wonderful illustrations throughout the book that Freya Hartas has so lovingly created (please remember to lift the flaps on both covers to reveal even more art work).
And then you begin reading and The Librarian draws you in with his knowledge of all sorts of books, and this begins to give you a taster of what's to come when you hear about what happens to old, unread and unloved books - they go bad, which is what has happened here, and we discover that the tale we know as Cinderella has actually become ZOMBIERELLA! But we are warned that as the librarian began to read this version, he began to change! It is then that the story of ZOMBIERELLA begins to unfold on the pages.
Told in verse, the tale closely follows the original Cinderella tale but with some oh so deliciously creepy and frighteningly funny twists! As we are swept along with the tale, we encounter an old abandoned mansion, a prince who isn't quite what he may seem, the three FAKE sisters and a FAKE mother, not to mention Death in many different guises (I won't spoil things for you!) and, of course, we find out just exactly how Cinderella becomes ZOMBIERELLA!
This is the sort of book that I think so many children will relish and devour for many, many reasons. The darkness of the plot and the creepiness of the tale is something that children love to dive into. They're familiar with the traditional tale but this is a new twist that will capture their imaginations and get them thinking about so many other tales that could receive the same 'gone bad' treatment (teacher hat on here: I can see some wonderful discussions and creative writing being inspired by this book!).
It would be incredibly remiss of me not to mention the vocabulary and the description that has been woven into every part of this book (again, my teacher hat is firmly on here!). There is a richness that oozes out of the pages from the vocabulary as well as the figurative language, and it is just a joy to read. It most definitely gives the story an extra quality and allows your imagination to devour the story in a way it may not otherwise be able to. It's a story that I will definitely be reading in school, both as a reading for pleasure book as well as a book that I can use in various lessons.
ZOMBIERELLA is a feast for the senses in a plethora of ways: the visual aspect is a joy to behold on its own; the story is a new and welcome twist on a tale that I have always loved; the language oozes out of the pages and the deliciously dark and gory nature is a frighteningly pleasurable experience that I want to revisit again and again!
I know, through Tiwtter, that Joseph is already writing the next Fairy Tale Gone Bad and I can't wait to get my hands on it!
Zombierella is perfect for this time of year, as the evenings draw in, the curtains are being closed once again, the lights are turned on; there's a chill in the air and Halloween is just around the corner and I urge you to go out and buy a copy - you won't be disappointed!
No comments:
Post a Comment