Doctor Fairytale
Catherine Jacob and Hoang Giang
Walker Books

This is a rhyming spin on favourite traditional tales wherein a young girl physician and her assistant spend a rainy day administering to popular fairytale characters. The first is Cinderella – poor thing, her feet are covered in large blisters and her toes red and raw; Goldilocks’ bum is full of splinters after breaking a wooden chair and her tongue scalded from porridge she consumed hastily.

The big bad wolf has some very nasty burns having tumbled down the three pigs’ chimney into a fire;

Snow White falls into a deep sleep after biting into a rosy apple but during the doctor’s visit it’s not the patient but the doctor who ends up feeling poorly.

After a hectic day the little physician gets caught in a heavy downpour and reaches home soaking wet and feeling really ill herself. She retires to bed and as she rests she gets a big surprise: all the patients who received her care during the day have come to pay her a visit, something she well deserves after giving each of them her kind consideration and tender care.

I love the playful treatment of the fairytales and the way Catherine Jacob cleverly adjusts some of their endings, something children will delight in I’m sure. Hoang Giang’s warm, slightly quirky illustrations range between double page layouts to vignettes and youngsters will enjoy all the playful details and spotting the additional fairy tale characters not mentioned in the text. A gem of a book to share with those who are already savvy with the original stories.