Prap (Why?
) starts with familiar characters and premises from fairy tales, then asks her audience to decide the outcome through a series of prompts along the bottom of each spread. A youngster following the Goldilocks story, for instance, is asked, "Would you like it better if the little girl was woken up by someone other than the bears?" If so, readers are instructed to turn to page 20, where the heroine is awakened by seven dwarves. Narratives can also be abandoned: a question on page two asks, "Would you be more interested in a different story? Would you like one about three little pigs?" The suggestions don't often result in sequential page-flipping—on page 19, those who wish to read "about a witch who lived in the forest," must turn back two pages. Prap's boldly graphic, thickly outlined illustrations often play with the idea of narratives converging—one spread shows the three pigs' Big Bad Wolf and the witch from Hansel and Gretel meeting the same end in the same fireplace. But despite some lively pictures and the potential for creating some truly fractured fairy tales, the results never quite feel as compelling as the linear originals. Some of this is due to the breathless, humorless storytelling, but much of the problem lies in the book's mechanics—which, of course, are its raison d'etre
. The spreads feel cramped and confusing, and non-readers will find little to hold their interest. Ages 4-8. (Mar.)
