Michael Buckley has written and developed shows for Nickelodeon, Disney, MTV Animation, the Sci-Fi Channel and VH1. His shows The Mole People and The New Sideshow can be seen regularly on the Discovery Channel. He lives in New York City.
Gr 4-6-Buckley has created a world in which humans and fairy-tale creatures live side-by-side in rural New York in an uneasy alliance. Brought here by Wilhelm Grimm in an attempt to save them, the Everafters are now kept in check by the man's descendants. Enter Sabrina and Daphne Grimm, two sisters seemingly abandoned by their parents, who have been brought to live with a grandmother whom they thought was dead. Heartbroken and wary, the girls are immediately swept up in a mystery that includes giants, pixies, fairies, and witches. Readers well grounded in their fairy tales will get the most pleasure from recognizing the characters-Prince Charming, Jack-the-Giant-Killer, the Three Pigs, the Magic Mirror, and more-but the fast pace, sly humor, and cleverly inserted vocabulary lessons will entertain even those who are meeting the characters for the first time. Softly rounded, black-and-white illustrations and old-fashioned silhouettes at the chapter headings complete the first-rate design of this madcap adventure.-Sharon Grover, Arlington County Department of Libraries, VA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Buckley's imaginative if meandering debut children's book launches the Sisters Grimm series, a contemporary tale starring two descendents of Jacob and Wilhelm. Sabrina, 11, and seven-year-old Daphne, whose parents have mysteriously disappeared, go to live with their grandmother Relda Grimm. This jolly, big-hearted woman resides in a small town on the Hudson River built by the "Everafters," characters from fairy tales who (thanks to a 200-year-old spell) are trapped in the town until the last Grimm dies. When a giant's footprint is found near a crushed farmhouse, Relda tells her granddaughters that whoever unleashed the giant must possess a magic bean (even though the woman "thought we had accounted for all of them"). While Relda and her companion, Mr. Canis, attempt to solve this mystery, the giant snatches them and holds them captive. During the siblings' quest to rescue the duo, they are either helped or hindered by a host of familiar characters, including Prince Charming, mayor of the town; Shakespeare's Puck; and Jack of beanstalk fame, who is determined to kill not only the giant but the sisters-to end the curse. Buckley fills his tale with ample comical flourishes and plot twists, and readers will enjoy identifying favorite characters. Yet the narrative sometimes moves at a sluggish pace. Still, the novel's good-natured inanity and eccentric personalities may well inspire kids to join the sisters in their next sleuthing mission, The Unusual Suspects (0-8109-5926-7). Ages 8-12. (Oct.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
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