Anyone who's visited the library in a school group (especially as part of the third grade tour!) probably remembers me reading this book — it's one of my absolute favorites, both to read and to perform. I've gotten kids and teachers and even parents to play the parts with me, and it's always a blast!
In the story, two kids, a boy and a girl, can't agree on which fairy tale is their favorite, so they decide to write one together, and keep changing what happens. The story begins with the girl, who introduces us to a princess whose beloved horses are being stolen by a (nasty, smelly) giant. Then it's time for the boy to take over, and the cool motorcycle dude arrives!
The book is written by Kevin O'Malley, who also did the art featuring the boy and the girl narrating the story, but two other illustrators also did art — Carol Heyer, who illustrated the princess's story, and Scott Goto, who showed us just how cool that motorcycle dude really is. It's the perfect story for reading aloud, for performing with family and friends, and for a lot of laughs. Check it out!
Here's the book description from Goodreads:
"When their teacher gives a joint storytelling assignment, a boy and a girl have different ideas of how their fairy tale should evolve. Can they agree on who will live happily ever after? With a cool motorcycle dude and a beautiful princess the possibilities are endless!
Once upon a time there was ... a princess who loved all her beautiful ponies, a cool muscle dude who rode an awesome motorcycle. But a giant came and started stealing them! The dude came to fight the ugly, smelly giant with his mighty sword. She turned gold into thread while she cried for Buttercup, her favorite pony. And he took the princess's gold thread for payment The end!
Wait a minute! That's not how it ends!
Oh no?
Once upon a time there was a boy and a girl who had to tell a fairy tale to the class, but they couldn't agree on the story. Will everyone live happily ever after?"