Curly Tales: short stories with a twist

Bill Condon (text), Dave Atze (illus.),  Curly Tales: short stories with a twist,  Big Sky Publishing, 1 Sept 2017,  100pp.,  $12.99 (pbk),  ISBN: 9781925520590 Curly Tales includes fourteen very short stories for children eight years plus, ranging in length from a few pages to around twelve pages. Each story features an animal as its central protagonist, and concludes with a twist on a well-known proverb. For example, a story about a famous tv personality who happens to be a pig, and who fatefully changes his life based on the advice of the artist Van Geek, concludes with ‘Beware of Geeks bearing gifts’. The proper proverbs are included at the end of the book, along with an explanation of their meaning. The characters in the stories are creatures great and small – worms, elephants, gorillas, fleas and more. They find themselves in some crazy situations, often because of their wish to escape the confines of their usual life: Gertrude the worm gets to fly, Wally the wolf plays dress ups and Fifi discovers what is so great about being a flea. Some of the stories don’t end well for the protagonists – they meet their ends eaten by a lion, flushed down a bath plug or set in concrete. For others the outcome is far better, and often they learn valuable life lessons. Simple line drawings feature regularly, bringing the stories to life with a lot of humour and action. The print is large and broken up by occasional changes of font as well as a front page for each story, so reluctant readers will find it easy to move forward through the text.  The stories themselves often veer into unexpected territory, featuring funny characters and situations that will raise a giggle. It’s a shame that the gender balance is so uneven – nine stories feature male characters, whilst only three have a female at their centre, although these are clever, adventurous females. The remaining two stories feature a wife/husband couple, and the females at least are a masterful chef and a trapeze artist. Overall these are fun stories and would be a great way to introduce the idea of proverbs. Reviewed by Rachel Le Rossignol The post Curly Tales: short stories with a twist appeared first on Reading Time.

Curly Tales: Short Stories with a Twist

Curly Tales: Short Stories with a Twist by Bill Condon, illustrated by Dave Atze (Big Sky Publishing) PB RRP $12.99 ISBN 9781925520590

Reviewed by Sandy Fussell

A wonderful array of crazy, oddball characters fill the pages of this book. Meet Professor Julius Brigg, a brilliant pig with ‘a mind like a steel trap wrapped in bacon’.  Meet Big Charley, a mangy cat, so mean he doesn’t use kitty litter. And Doddie Q Moo, a cow who likes two read signs. “Go back, you are going the wrong way” makes her heart flutter.

Each of the thirteen stories is based on a proverb with a twist such as ‘curiosity chilled/killed the cat’ (poor Big Charley) and ‘every Doddie/everybody makes mistakes’ (you can’t force your family to join a sign reading club). Short explanations of the proverbs are included at the back of the book. The illustrations are as humorous as the text. Imagine an anaconda trying to squeeze an armour-plated armadillo (you can’t squeeze/please everyone) or a father and daughter flea fun day out (the best things in life are flea/free). 

The generous illustrations, large print and use of different fonts will appeal to young, independent readers. This book is humorous and clever, for those who like short stories, a good laugh and lashings of quirky wordplay. It will suit readers aged 6 to 11 years. 

Curly Tales: Short Stories with a Twist

Curly Tales: Short Stories with a Twist by Bill Condon, illustrated by Dave Atze (Big Sky Publishing) PB RRP 12.99 ISBN 9781925520590

Reviewed by Kate Simpson

Curly Tales: Short Stories with a Twist is a collection of 14 short stories for the early reader crowd by prolific children’s author Bill Condon. Tender-hearted animal lovers beware: things do not always end well for our furry, scaly and squirmy friends in this zany collection. However, kids who like a giggle and dads who aren’t afraid of an outrageous pun are likely to find this right up their alley.

Each story is Condon’s humorous take on a different proverb: ‘curiosity killed the cat’, ‘you can’t please everyone’ and ‘old habits die hard’, among others. In the stories themselves, Condon takes substantial liberties with the proverbs (enter the outrageous puns), but he takes the opportunity to explain the traditional meaning of each at the back of the book – perfect for teachers and parents who love a bit of education mixed in with the kids’ entertainment.

The book is liberally peppered with comic illustrations by Dave Atze, which nicely break up the text to make it less daunting for emerging readers. With the longest story covering 11 large-type pages, and the shortest just four, these curly tales are a great choice for readers aged 6-8 years to cut their teeth on.