Mary Quattlebaum (Children's Literature)
A read-aloud treat that will have the whole family in stitches is Once Upon a Cool Motocycle Dude. A girl and a boy have to tell a fairy tale together for class but can’t agree on a version. The girl starts off by telling of Princess Tenderheart, whose lovely ponies are being stolen by a mean giant. The boy then interrupts with his tale of how a muscle dude rides up on his motorcycle to save the day. According to the girl, the princess then gets irritated with both her would-be rescuer and the giant, “goes to the gym and pumps iron … and becomes Princess Warrior.” And so it goes, until the story comes to a hilarious end with giant defeated and dude and princess happily married, says the young female narrator, and the proud parents of a baby girl. To which the boy narrator counters “boy.” Kids will love this clever, post-modern tale of the gender divide written and illustrated by Kevin O’Malley (who drew the kid narrators), with princess pictures by Carol Heyer and dude pictures by Scott Goto. 2005, Walker, $16.95. Ages 5 up.

Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz (Children's Literature)
A trio--author and illustrators--speculate on the results when a typical, or perhaps stereotypical, girl and boy have to work together to tell their favorite fairy tale for a library project. The girl begins her “once upon a time” with beautiful Princess Tenderheart and her eight beautiful ponies. A giant begins to steal her ponies, to her despair, until only her favorite is left. Here her co-author, who has been commenting all along with disdain, takes up the tale by introducing a “cool muscle dude” on a motorcycle. Since the princess can spin straw into gold, the dude will guard the pony for gold. The encounter of the dude and the giant is “huge.” The boy ends his part here with the dude winning. But the girl takes up the tale again. The princess becomes a warrior and fights the giant herself. The boy and girl then alternate conclusions up to the amusing finale. Each of the three illustrators uses a different style on the double pages for their strand of the story. O’Malley’s arguing pair are sketchily cartooned in pen and ink and digital color; Heyer’s princess and ponies are slickly realistic acrylics; Goto’s acrylic and oil paint muscular super-hero and giant are almost out of computer-game land. Each strand employs a typeface with qualities that complement the style of painting. The result is humorous both in the exaggerated narrative and in the juxtaposition of visual expressions. Lots of room for discussing stereotypes as well. 2005, Walker & Company, $16.95. Ages 6 to 10.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, March 15, 2005 (Vol. 73, No. 6))
Young readers who have ever been forcibly yoked to a rival for some class project will glory in this contentious oral report. Unable to agree on a folktale to tell their classmates, a lad and lass decide to make it up as they go. She starts, with Princess Tenderheart-rendered by Heyer in flowing silk gowns and blonde tresses-pining for her beloved ponies, which are being stolen one by one by a giant. Gagging, the storyteller's companion proceeds to add a huge dude who roars up on a chopper to provide protection, and to battle a giant that, in Goto's testosterone-soaked oils, is green but far from jolly. Meanwhile, instead of passively sitting by spinning straw into gold, the Princess starts pumping iron . . . and on the tale seesaws, to a more or less happily-ever-after. The unusual collaboration among illustrators works seamlessly, with O'Malley supplying the storytellers, and Heyer and Goto the characters on separate pages or spreads. This disarming, funny and not agenda-driven dig at the hot-button issue of gender differences is likely to excite plenty of giggles-and perhaps some discussion, too. 2005, Walker, 32p, $16.95. Category: Picture book. Ages 6 to 9. © 2005 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Brenda Dales (Library Media Connection, August/September 2005)
A girl and boy create a fantasy for their library report. The girl's character is a damsel-in-distress and the boy's character is a motorcycle-riding "cool muscle dude." When the boy narrates, the "muscle Dude" is rewarded with gold thread that the damsel spins, then the girl transforms her damsel into "Princess Warrior" who tells the muscle dude to make his own thread. While there is some attempt to dispel stereotypes, the message is confusing as only the Princess changes. The value of this story might be in discussion of plot development and choices writers make at various junctures in a narrative. Additional Selection. 2005, Walker & Company, 32pp., $16.95 hc.

Karen Coats (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, May 2005 (Vol. 58, No. 9))
It's tough to find a fairy tale that appeals to both boys and girls, so the boy and girl in this story decide to make one up for their library assignment. The girl contributes a princess who loves to play with her ponies and a giant who is stealing them, wreathing the princess in tears and dismay, and leaving her longing for a protector. The boy, done in by the cloying sweetness, calls in a muscle dude to guard the last pony, uglies up the giant, and adds some cosmic chaos to the mix while the princess sits around spinning straw into gold. This arouses the girl's feminist sensibilities, so she turns the princess into a strong warrior. Reluctant to abandon his muscle dude, the boy agrees to a compromise--sort of. This battle of the sexes, which recalls the similar urban legend about writing collaboration gone awry, is cleverly rendered by three illustrators with three different styles--the princess is a purple and pink fantasy-art creation, the muscle dude roars onto the scene amidst garish orange flames and lurid greens, and the kids themselves are rendered in a classic comics style, complete with stipple for stylized shading. The story does what fairy tales are supposed to do--the arguing kids project themselves into the arguing princess and muscle dude and work together to banish the evil assignment--er--giant. The result is canny as well as funny, and it offers inspiration for a clever, outside-the-box way to attack a pesky group project where the members of the group don't see eye to eye. Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2005, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2005, Walker, 32p, $17.85 and $16.95. Grades 2-4.