Fat & Bones

Reviewed by: Sybil Shiland - MSAD#6, Standish, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: January 14, 2015

Review

Fat and Bones, both residents of Bald's farm, hate each other - no one is really sure why but they always have. Fat is not a Disney fairy,cute and mischievous, he is mean and vindictive. Bones,the son of the recently deceased farmer Bald, is also mean and vindictive and not very bright. The first tale in which Fat and Bones try to kill each other sets the grim mood for this series of loosely related short stories. Subsequent stories feature pigs who have their hoofs cut off one by one to make Pig Foot Stew, Leonard the clumsy spider who bravely saves an attractive lady spider and finds love, a song sung by maggots, and 3 others.

These dark fairy tales are appropriately accompanied by Adam Doyle's equally melancholy spattered ( is it blood?) illustrations. The stories are absurdist tales of hate, love, sacrifice and vengeance and perhaps require a particular sort of reader but could also spark some very interesting discussions if used as a read aloud.

Overall Book Score: good