All young readers like fairytales. Here a new twist, for child and adult to share. Read-able narrative is mixed with interesting pictures to reveal the truth. Well know fairytales are given the scientific once over to see if they would actually hold up in the real world. What do you think? Make your guess, read the book and see if you have what it takes to be the professor of fairytale science. Thank you to BloomsburyPublishing PLC (Uk and ANZ) and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

In a Nutshell: This book and I were a match made in book heaven! 🤩 Loved the approach that combines humour and logic to debunk the sillier elements of some fairy tales. Strongly recommended!

I enjoy fairy tales. I love scientific thinking. I adore logic. I relish humour. Seeing all four of these together in a single work was almost a “bookgasmic” moment for me! 😆

Had the book not delivered on any of these factors, I might still have been happy reading it. But the content not only reaches but also surpasses the promise made by the title and cover.

All of us know that there are several logically impossible elements in fairy tales. In childhood, we might have oohed and awwwed at the stories without overthinking the practicalities. In adulthood, we might have cringed at the gender bias, wealth bias, and the lack of consent that is so rampant in this genre. But how many times have we ever wondered about the scientific accuracy of fairy tales? Here comes the Big Bad Wolf to huff and puff the myths out of the way. (That sentence itself is scientifically inaccurate – I now know! Sorry, Mr. Wolf!)

Having the Big Bad Wolf as the narrator is a brilliant move. The opening note by him sets the right tone for the content. His character is upset by the unfairness of his depiction in such stories, and hence he is on the mission to debunk the myths and set the facts straight. I bet you won’t look at him with distrustful eyes once you read his investigation of the fairy tales.

The wolf has chosen six distinct fairy tales for the purpose of this book, covering princesses and pigs, balls and forests, peas and beanstalks. This keeps each analysis fresh.. He first presents a short recap-style version of the fairy tale, written in comic-style panels, and completed within a single page. This is an effective method of providing a refresher of the story in concern, just in case the reader is unaware of it. On the next page, the scientific analysis of the tale begins, with the wolf probing some key points from the story that are inaccurate in reality. This section doesn’t just stop at exposing fairy tale exaggerations but also provides interesting facts from the real world that are connected to some part of the tale. So we get a reality check as well as fun trivia for each of the six stories. Awesome!

The entire presentation is informative without being tedious. Every page is full of humour, as the wolf takes sly digs at the absurdity of the stories. His tongue-in-cheek presentation works so much better than a dry scientific analysis! I loved this light-hearted, partly satirical approach. There is a special section at the end, which will tickle the funny bone of every reader even further.

It won’t take a scientific investigation to understand that I adored this book! It hit the bull’s eye in terms of intent as well as execution. The illustration style, which is so reminiscent of children’s storybooks, is also perfect for this kind of content.

Heartily recommended to every little reader! This illustrated book will not make them detest fairy tales but see them with a new perspective. It will also boost scientific thinking and encourage an investigative mindset as a substitute to blind acceptance of the written word – so very important in today’s world of fake news and filtered content.

The book will be a great addition to homes as well as classroom libraries. Given the content and language level, it would be perfect for little readers aged 5-8 years. I am sure it will offer value even to children older than this range.

5 sparkly, scientifically accurate stars.

Dear author/publisher, could we please turn this concept into a series?

My thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK & ANZ) and NetGalley for the DRC of “Big Bad Wolf Investigates Fairy Tales”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Thanks to @netgalley and @bloomsburychildrens for an Earc.
What a brilliant book giving fairy tales a new twist! The Big-Not-Quite-As-Bad Wolf takes us on a tour of popular stories while deconstructing them logically and scientifically!
The Wolf goes through each tale with a fine tooth comb, showing us that some of them may not be as authentic as we may have originally thought!
I loved the science and wit behind all of the well known fairy tales. It gets the reader to think about questions they may not have thought about when they read the tales initially. Very funny throughout and the illustrations are brilliant.
Great for KS1 readers, and adults will enjoy reading it as well with their small humans!

Do you have children with inquisitive minds? We are surrounded by them and we think it is a characteristic that should be encouraged as it leads to the scientists of the future. You can’t beat being held accountable by a six year old and it’s a shame that world leaders aren’t subjected to their questioning daily! But what of fairy tales? Who questions those? Big Bad Wolf, that’s who. He takes us on a whistle stop tour of a selection of popular stories and ‘scientifically, logically, mathematically’ deconstructs them in his Big-Not-Quite-As-Bad-As-You-Thought-Wolfish Way!

For each fairytale, a summary of the plot is given with witty outtakes throughout which made us laugh out loud at Wolfy’s audacity. He then goes through the major points of the plot and applies logic and science to disprove their authenticity. In doing so, he highlights some great facts and encourages our Book Clubbers age 5-7 to think for themselves, rewrite stories and question what is possible, probable and impossible.

We read this book with children age 5-7 and they absolutely loved it and we all (grown ups too) found it hilarious.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Childrens for sending us this eBook for review consideration. All opinions are our own.

Loved this! So much fairy tale brilliance paired with some incredible science makes for a very happy primary school teacher! Can’t wait to get a copy to share in school!

What a genius twist on the ever-popular fairy tale genre! This would be a fantastic book for adults and children to share together. Adults get to revisit childhood favourites but then explore some of the questions around the stories themselves that we never dared ask. I found myself chuckling out loud to some of the questions and answers provided by 'The Big Not-Quite-As-Bad-As-You-Thought Wolf'. I loved the Hansel and Gretel debunked and will absolutely be trying the gingerbread house experiment myself.
I can't wait to buy my own copy to share with my class who I'm certain will love it as much as I did.

Thanks NetGalley & Bloomsbury for this ARC

This was so fun! I like the recaps of the fairy stories (I admit at 30 years old I'd forgotten some of them!) and then turning the page to read the science debunking. The illustrations were really eye catching, and helped this book to make learning fun!

I loved this book. Such a fun venture into the science of dairy tales with interesting facts and great illustrations.
I think this would be really popular in the classroom and even included some good ideas for experiments.
Will definitely be purchasing this book!

Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing Plc for this eCopy to review

Big Bad Wolf Investigates Fairy Tales is super funny with a dollop of facts to tell us once and for all if the fairy tale could actually happen. The illustrations are fantastic and the wolf as narrator is great, he is very funny as he investigates whether he is to blame in a number of fairy tales. I loved the ending where we find out the "happy ever afters."

I loved the illustrations in the book, they are really great and lovely to look at.

I thought that the story was good and it was one my 6 year old daughter really enjoyed too.

We read the book together and then she read it to me the next night and has asked for it again tonight – you can’t really give greater praise to a children’s book than that with the number of books that there are available and it was great timing for this one as we went to watch a Little Red Riding Hood pantomime between Christmas and New Year too.

It is 5 stars from me for this one, I loved the myth busting approach as a mum too and that the book was fun and informative – very highly recommended!