Twelve Impossible Things Before Breakfast: Stories
Grade 5-7.  This solid collection of short stories is a good introduction to various types of fantasy. Three of the 12 pieces are new and the rest have been published in other compilations. There is something here for everyone?tales that are scary, gross, or fanciful. Some of the selections are reworkings of parts of children's classics, such as Alice in Wonderland (Alice learns how to be tough with the Jabberwock) and Peter Pan (Captain Hook is singing a new tune now that he is married to a modern-day feminist). "The Bridge's Complaint" puts a different spin on "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" by relating events from the bridge's point of view. The tales are set in different times?some in the past, some in the present, and some in the near or distant future. "Wilding" is a chilling futuristic look at New York City's Central Park, based on the gang violence that occurred there in the late 1980s. There's a story of a frightening sea monster, one about a fairy, and another about aliens; all will chill and delight the imagination.?Virginia Golodetz, St. Michael's College, Winooski, VTCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.