“A TALE DARK AND GRIMM,” by Adam Gidwitz, Dutton Juvenile, $16.99 (ages 9-12)

Once upon a time …

That’s how all the great fairy tales begin.

Once upon a time there was a brother and sister who became lost in the forest. After awhile of wandering the two come across a home made from sweets.

Having not eaten all day, they sate their hunger by munching on the home. But they are discovered by the home’s owner — a witch in disguise.

The woman takes them in and fattens them up. But she has a devious motive, planning to cook the siblings for her dinner. It turns out the pair is smarter than her and it’s the witch ends up in the oven instead of the siblings.

The End.

Or so you thought.

Turns out that’s only part of Hansel and Gretel’s story. In “A Tale Dark and Grimm,” the siblings wander into eight other Grimm-inspired tales. And these tales aren’t pretty. In fact, some of them are kind of gruesome.

But never fear, the narrator is here, tempering the mayhem with cautions about what’s to come, and commentary on what’s just past.

This description might turn readers away. But that would be the wrong conclusion. This tongue-in-cheek book is full of crafty wit and clever twists. What makes it even more fun, is the stories have come from real-life experience — that of author Adam Gidwitz. Gidwitz taught second- and fifth-graders, and that attention to detail shows.

“A Tale Dark and Grimm” is an enticing step out of the “Once upon a time” fairy tales and into a complex world of fun and imagination.

© 2010 – 2011, Cracking the Cover. All rights reserved.

“THE MEMORY BANK,” by Carolyn Coman and Rob Shepperson, Arthur A. Levine Books, $16.99 (ages 9-12)

Life hasn’t been easy for Hope Scroggins. In fact, the positive thing about it is her sister, Honey. The girls’ parents are awful. They’re so awful that one day, they just dump Honey on the side of the road.

“Forget Her,” Hope’s parents say as they drive away in a cloud of dust. But how do you forget the best thing in your life? Hope misses her sister so much she becomes depressed. All she does is sleep and dream. She sleeps so much that before long, her parents forget about her, too.

What Hope doesn’t know is that by sleeping all the time, she’s not making any memories

Memory-making is a serious business. Just ask the officials at the World Wide Memory Bank if you don’t believe me. Hope’s accounts are practically nonexistent, and they’ve come to the bank’s attention. Something must be done to fix the disparity and, Hope is whisked away to the land of memories.

The memory bank is full of wonders. There, dreams and memories are recorded, filed and kept safe. It’s a magical place, but there’s a group out to destroy the bank and everything it contains. It’s up to Hope to save the world’s memories and her sister.

“The Memory Bank” is a delightful book full of imagination. Told in a combination of text by Carolyn Coman and drawings by Rob Shepperson, it calls to mind work by Rhoald Dahl, particularly “Matilda.” There’s a buoyant rhythm and balance that plays throughout, making this a fun and energetic read.

© 2010 – 2011, Cracking the Cover. All rights reserved.