The Sisters Grimm: The Fairy-Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley

Character List:

Sabrina Grimm = 11 years old, blonde hair, lost her parents, and questions Grandmother Grimm’s stories

Daphne Grimm = 7 years old, always hungry, believes Grandmother Grimm’s stories

Minerva Smirt = Daphne and Sabrina’s case worker

Grandmother Relda Grimm = woman claiming to the Sabrina & Daphne’s grandma, a detective of sorts, lives in Ferryport Landing

Mr. Canis = helps Grandmother Grimm, an Everafter (Big Bad Wolf)

Elvis = Great Dane that protects Sabrina & Daphne, lives with Grandma Grimm

Everafter = what fairy-tale creatures call themselves

Mr. Seven = driver for Mayor Charming

William Charming = Mayor of Ferryport Landing, an everafter (Prince Charming)

The Three = a coven of witches (1) Glinda the Good Witch of the North (2) Morgan Le Fay & (3) Gingerbread house witch, Frau Pfefferkuchenhaus

Wilma Faye = reporter for Action Four News

Wilhelm Grimm = Sabrina & Daphne’s great-great-great-great-grandfather

Baba Yaga = most powerful witch in Ferryport Landing

Thomas Applebee = farmer whose house was crushed

Debra Applebee = Thomas’s wife, was in New York City when the house was crushed

Mr. Englishman = the man Debra Applebee said was trying to rent the Applebee’s farm for a few days

Tony, Steve, & Bobby = 3 thugs hired to scare the Grimms

Edwin & Matilda = Sabrina & Daphne’s uncle & aunt who tricked all the giants up a beanstalk

Sheriff Ernest Hamstead = Ferryport Landing Special Forces, an everafter (one of the 3 pigs)

Officers Swineheart & Boarman = police, everafters (other two of the 3 pigs)

Puck “Prince of the Fairies” aka Robin Goodfellow = an everafter, an elf from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”

Jack the Giant Killer = everafter, works at Harold’s House of Big and Tall, claims he will help Sabrina and Daphne

Ichabod Crane = everafter, police officer

Snow White = everafter, teacher

Everafters at Charming’s Fundraisers:  (1) Beauty & Beast (2) White Rabbit (3) 3 Blind Mice (4) Briar Rose “Sleeping Beauty” (5) Cinderella  & fairy godmother (6) Mad Hatter (7) Mowgli & Baloo (8) Gepetto (9) Ali Baba (10) Rapunzel (11) Queen of Hearts (12) King Arthur, and (13) Shere Khan

Book Summary/Review:

Sabrina and Daphne’s parents disappeared and they have escaped foster homes ever since.  Now a woman comes forward claiming to be their grandmother. After all the escapes Daphne wants to stay, because she is nice, but Sabrina still wants to run.  Grandma Grimm has some strange rules about her house and all the windows are nailed shut.  It seems strange at first, but halfway into the book you will understand why.

The first day there is a mystery involving the Everafters. Sabrina does not believe there are such creatures but Daphne believes right away.  The girls argue with each other and with Grandma Grimm.  Mayor Charming tries to stop them, Mr Canis shows he is not the fragile old man that he appears to be.  Clearly, the girls really are her granddaughters and Ferryport Landing has a cast of Everafters living among humans.  As the girls realize this and come to care for Grandma Grimm one of the Giants starts causing problems and the girls must figure out what to do to save Grandma Grimm and Mr. Canis.  Puck reluctantly offers to help, but keeps reminding people he is a “villain” Jack agrees to help if the girls break him out of jail.

In the end Charming and the girls create an alliance for a short time to help save Grandma Grimm and Mr. Canis.  The Girls find out that the Scarlet Hand has kidnapped their parents and put them under a sleeping spell.  The Girls and Grandma Grimm will start on their next adventure and try and rescue their parents with Puck at their side.

This book is a great book for young readers, especially girls, who want a strong female lead and/or mystery to solve.  I read this book with a 3rd grade student of mine, and realize why she was so eager to read the series.  For adults who love fairy-tales, legends, myths, and famous literature this is a great short story that references many of them.  For younger readers this is a great chapter book on stories that they will learn about later in life (Shakespeare) or already know about (fairy-tales).  Overall, I recommend this to anyone with a child in their life and wants to encourage reading.

Other Books in the series:

The Unusual Suspects – Book 2

The Problem Child – Book 3

Once Upon a Crime – Book 4

Magic and Other Misdemeanors – Book 5

Tales from the Hood – Book 6

The Everafter War – Book 7

The Inside Story – Book 8

Council of Mirrors – Book 9