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The Poisoned Apple: A Fractured Fairy Tale

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Written and Illustrated by Anne Lambelet 
Salem, MA: Page Street Kids, 2020. Picture Book. 

Are you in the mood for a funny, darkly humorous fairy tale? Then this is your picture book. 

A witch has slaved away creating the perfect poisoned apple for a sweet princess. The witch sets her evil plot into motion by giving the apple to the princess and watches from the woods for the princess to take a bite. But what's this?! The kindhearted princess has given away the perfect poisoned apple to a dwarf! From there, the witch's evil scheme spirals out of control. She must get the poisoned apple back! Will she be able to snatch it back to secure her happily ever after? Or will the princess and the forest animals unwittingly win the day?  

In this hilarious story, we learn that what goes around comes around. I love the illustrations and the spidery, drippy text the author uses for the words "the poisoned apple." I can just imagine reading this book aloud and doing a creepy voice whenever those words show up in the story. All in all, this is just a fantastically fun fairy tale with lots of funny twists and turns. And a witch who just can't seem to have things go her way.

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