My Wonderful Fairy Tales and Other Stories

Condensed retellings of eight classic stories pair with delicate paper-cut collages, which come to subtle three-dimensional life with every turn of the page. Pioli’s pop-up images are given ornate framings that suggest the proscenium arch of a theater, as though readers are watching a performance of each story. The abridgements of longer tales like Pinocchio and Alice in Wonderland can make them feel rushed, but all in all the retellings are accessible and avoid the darker moments in the stories (Cinderella’s stepsisters “did all they could” to make the glass slipper fit their feet), instead keeping the focus on a string of happily-ever-after endings. Ages 5–12. (Nov.)