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Stop! That’s Not My Story!

Book Synopsis

A joyful, empowering call to be the hero of your OWN story!

A girl opens up a book looking for the story that’s perfect for HER and tumbles inside. But Goldilocks is not her story, and nor is Jack and the Beanstalk or Little Red Riding Hood… There’s only one thing for it: she’s going to have to write her own story – and this time, SHE will be the hero.

A celebration of the stories we ALL love and the stories we are yet to write, this vivid, irresistible picture book introduces the terrific new partnership of Smriti Halls (bestselling author of I’m Sticking with You illustrated by Steve Small and Rain Before Rainbows illustrated by David Litchfield) and Erika Meza (award-winning illustrator of My Two Border Towns written by David Bowles).

Our Review Panel says...

Have you ever read a fairy tale and thought… that’s not my story?

The latest treat from Smriti Halls and Erika Meza is a joyful celebration of stories that invites children to reimagine, rewrite and reinvent traditional tales to mirror themselves – and then to step into their personalised narrative.

The central character accidentally falls into four stories in turn – Goldilocks, Jack and the Beanstalk, Sleeping Beauty and Red Riding Hood, only to reject each one in favour of her own ideas. There’s a simple but sophisticated blend of language. When she is in the old-style story, the tale is narrated in a gently archaic idiom with knights on chargers and girls with locks of gold. Then the style becomes suddenly modern and animated as she tumble-tips down a beanstalk, races through tingle tangle trees or slip slides down a tower.

The expressive illustrations fit perfectly, with a similarly subtle mix of traditional and contemporary. Throughout, the rhymes and sound effects make it ideal for a vibrant read-aloud for Year 1, with lots of opportunity for joining in, as well as for giggling at the horror of being peered at by bears (Eek!) or kissed by a prince (Yuck!).

This absolutely brilliant story is one of my favourite books so far this year. It would be huge fun to share with children and would perfectly complement any work on traditional tales.