The Sisters Grimm: The Fairy-Tale Detectives

Buckley, Michael (2005). The Sisters Grimm, book one: Fairy-Tale Detectives. New York, NY: Amulet Books.

Plot summary: Twelve year old Sabrina Grimm and her seven year old sister, Daphne, are shuffled from one foster home to another in New York City since their parents have gone missing. The police have found no leads and it seems as if they have just vanished into thin air. The girls have been sent to one awful foster home after another by their caseworker Ms. Smirt. Ms. Smirt seems to despise children and just loves to pinch the girls. Finally, a grandmother they never knew and that they thought was dead takes responsibility for the girls and brings them to live with her in the town of Ferry Landing, NY. Sabrina is suspicious at first and doesn’t believe that this woman is truly their grandmother. It just doesn’t make sense. Mrs. Grimm’s house is odd and she serves food that is weird. Why would her father tell them his mother was dead? What reasons would he have from keeping them away from their grandmother, if that is who she is? Sabrina decides that she and Daphne are going to run away from this place, just as they ran away from the foster homes.

Their plan to run away doesn’t exactly go as planned and the girls find themselves back in their “Granny’s” house. There are so many odd things going on there-locked rooms, strange voices behind closed doors, and the fact that her so-called grandmother talked to the house. When their first outing turns out to be a visit to a crime scene, they realize that there is something unusual about their granny. Sabrina and Daphne learn that Ferryport Landing is the home of the “Everafters”-which is what the fairy-tale creatures call themselves. Years earlier, when regular people started moving into Ferry port Landing, the Everafters felt threatened and problems arose. In order to keep peace, a very powerful witch put a spell on the town preventing the Everafters from ever leaving, and the spell would remain in place for as long as there is a living descendant of the Grimm brothers.

It is then that Sabrina and Daphne find out that they are the direct descendants of the Brothers Grimm and that they come from a long line of fairy tale detectives. They are expected to continue this tradition, and this investigation is only the beginning of Sabrina and Daphne's journey into the world of fairy tales. When their Granny Relda is taken by a giant, it is up to the girls to save her.

Genre: Mystery

Suggested age range: 8 to 12Annotation: This is the first in an excellent mystery series by this author. Fairy tale fans will love exploring this series with all of its interesting characters rewritten into modern roles.

Subjects/themes: Fairy tale characters, Magic, Orphans, Brothers Grimm.

Awards:

• 2007 Beehive Children's Fictional Book Award (nominated)
• 2008 Wyoming Indian Paintbrush Book Award (nominated)
• 2009 Grand Canyon Reader Award (nominated)

Reviews:

• Booklist (November 15, 2005)
• Horn Book Guide
• Library Media Connection
• School Library Journal (January 1, 2006)
• Voice of Youth Advocates (December 1, 2005)

Character list:

• Sabrina - Since she is the older sister, Sabrina feels that she must protect Daphne. Sabrina is determined to run away from their grandmother’s house and is angry about her parents’ disappearance.
• Daphne - She looks up to her older sister and wants to please her, yet Daphne can’t help but welcome the love and kindness that Relda Grimm is showing them.
• Henry and Veronica Grimm - These are the missing parents of Sabrina and Daphne. They simply never came home one day. The police investigation didn’t turn up much and eventually the police hit a dead end.
• Ms. Smirt - She is the miserable caseworker that sends the girls to various foster homes where they are treated badly and are unhappy.
• Relda Grimm - She is the grandmother of Sabrina and Daphne. She is also known as Granny Relda to her granddaughters.
• Mr. Canis - He is the mysterious butler and driver to Relda Grimm. Mr. Canis locks himself in his room each night. Sabrina and Daphne hear strange growling and grunting noises coming from his room and aren’t sure what is going on.
• Mirror - He is the man who lives within the magic mirror from the Snow White story. His mirror contains many locked rooms and hallways that contain magical items that belong to Relda Grimm. It would take days to walk through all of the hallways. Mirror is the keeper of these items and he must grant you permission to enter the mirror.
• Prince Charming - He is the Mayor of Ferryport Landing and is not popular with the residents of the town. He is dating Snow White.
• Puck - This mischievous tween moves in to Granny Relda’s house when Relda is captured by the giant. He likes to play pranks (especially on Sabrina). Puck is very difficult and obnoxious.
• Mr. Seven - He is one of the seven dwarfs, specifically number seven. He is a butler and driver to Prince Charming.

Series information: To date, there are eight books in all:

• Book Two: The Unusual Suspects (2006)
• Book Three: The Problem Child (2006)
• Book Four: Once Upon a Crime (2007)
• Book Five: Magic and Other Misdemeanors (2007)
• Book Six: Tales from the Hood (2008)
• Book Seven: The Eve rafter War (2009)
• Book Eight: The Inside Story (2010)