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Fairy Tales for Angry Little Girls
The girls are back and angrier than ever! The fourth book in the successful Angry Little Girls series features the hilarious return of this beloved cast of characters, this time recast as fairy-tale heroines. Kim, the angry little Asian girl, stars in "Snow Yellow and the Seven Short Men"; Wanda, the fresh soul sistah, stars in "RapPunsWell"; Xyla, the gloomy girl, stars in "Little Miss Wears a Hood"; and the other girls star in furiously fractured versions of "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Princess and the Pea."
Filled with Lela Lee's culturally charged humor, this clever collection of new comics proves that there's an angry little girl inside of everyone.
Filled with Lela Lee's culturally charged humor, this clever collection of new comics proves that there's an angry little girl inside of everyone.
168 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2011
2 people are currently reading
130 people want to read
About the author
Lela Lee
18 books24 followersLela Lee is a cartoonist, actress and writer. Her "Angry Little Girls" weekly comic strip and six anthology comic books is syndicated by Universal Press and published by Abrams and Perseus books respectively. “Angry Little Girls” is the umbrella name for her main character, the “Angry Little Asian Girl” which Lee created in 1994 while she was a sophomore at UC Berkeley.
In addition to the weekly comic strip, Lela also acts and writes. She is currently working on a pilot script and book. As an actress, she was series regular Jodi Chang in the SyFy show “Tremors,” and recurred as Bonnie, a surgical intern on “Scrubs." She has also guest starred on “Shameless," “Grey’s Anatomy,” and "Better Call Saul.”
Lela earned a bachelor's degree in Rhetoric from UC Berkeley. She is married and has two sons.
In addition to the weekly comic strip, Lela also acts and writes. She is currently working on a pilot script and book. As an actress, she was series regular Jodi Chang in the SyFy show “Tremors,” and recurred as Bonnie, a surgical intern on “Scrubs." She has also guest starred on “Shameless," “Grey’s Anatomy,” and "Better Call Saul.”
Lela earned a bachelor's degree in Rhetoric from UC Berkeley. She is married and has two sons.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
July 22, 2015
SO CLOSE to being really great - these are snarky, modern takes on fairy tales with a girl-positive spin. But why all the racial stereotypes? Snow White played by an Asian girl becomes "Snow Yellow," and the Black girl stars as a rapping Rapunzel. Don't get me started on the character of "Maria the Crazy Little Latina" !!!! It all just left me feeling kind of icky.
March 9, 2013
Not appropriate for actually angry little girls. Alright for teens and older.
May 12, 2017
I bought this at Big Bad Wolf Indonesia 2017 and I'm not entirely sure about this book being read by little girls. I'm pretty sure this should be rated PG or even PG-13. There are mentions of mild violence and the language is definitely not suitable for little girls.
However I really love this book! It's super fun and short read with a view of rich culture in fairy tale setting.
I would recommend this for quirky, good humored middle-grade girls or above :)
However I really love this book! It's super fun and short read with a view of rich culture in fairy tale setting.
I would recommend this for quirky, good humored middle-grade girls or above :)
October 23, 2011
The Angry Little Girls are here to give their own spin to some of our favorite fairy tales. The 5 tales and their heroines are:
- Snow Yellow and the Seven Short Men, Kim the "Angry Little Asian Girl"
- The Princess Got the Third Degree, Deborah the "Disenchanted Princess
- He's No Beauty in the Least, Maria the "Crazy Little Latina"
- RapPunsWell, Wanda the "Fresh Little Soul Sistah"
- Little Miss Wears-a-Hood, Xyla the "Gloomy Girl"
Each of the stories presents a funny, fractured fairy tale featuring one of the Angry Little Girls. I liked the Snow White and Princess and the Pea (Third Degree) stories the best. I also really liked the Beauty and the Beast version EXCEPT that Maria went from being a crazy, deluded chick to a naive, innocent girl without explanation.
If you enjoy comics and adult fractured fairy tales, I recommend giving this a try. High school students might like this book (definitely not for the kiddie set!) but really, it will appeal most to young women that have experienced the ups and downs of dating.
This is my first Angry Little Girls book and I found it to be a hilarious, fun read.
- Snow Yellow and the Seven Short Men, Kim the "Angry Little Asian Girl"
- The Princess Got the Third Degree, Deborah the "Disenchanted Princess
- He's No Beauty in the Least, Maria the "Crazy Little Latina"
- RapPunsWell, Wanda the "Fresh Little Soul Sistah"
- Little Miss Wears-a-Hood, Xyla the "Gloomy Girl"
Each of the stories presents a funny, fractured fairy tale featuring one of the Angry Little Girls. I liked the Snow White and Princess and the Pea (Third Degree) stories the best. I also really liked the Beauty and the Beast version EXCEPT that Maria went from being a crazy, deluded chick to a naive, innocent girl without explanation.
If you enjoy comics and adult fractured fairy tales, I recommend giving this a try. High school students might like this book (definitely not for the kiddie set!) but really, it will appeal most to young women that have experienced the ups and downs of dating.
This is my first Angry Little Girls book and I found it to be a hilarious, fun read.
May 25, 2019
For more reviews, check out my blog: Craft-Cycle
I recently read about Lela Lee in Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women's Anger and was intrigued by the Angry Little Girls series. Sadly, this was the only book my library had by her. But I did really enjoy this one.
Hilarious, adorable, and creative, this book retells a few well-known fairy tales staring sarcastic, funny, and above all angry little girls. While the characters are based off racial stereotypes, I felt it was more a calling out of these stereotypes as justification for the girls' anger. They are all undoubtedly themselves and rage against the unrealistic and overgeneralized ideas of their sex, gender, and racial identity. The book itself and its characters felt like an exploration of these stereotypes rather than an adherence to them.
I really enjoyed this book and the girls' anger at some of the ridiculous scenes in these fairy tales was hilarious and enlightened. Great quick read. Not really a good match for actual little girls (some cursing, rudeness, and more adult themes), but a fun introduction to gender and emotions for teens and young adults.
I recently read about Lela Lee in Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women's Anger and was intrigued by the Angry Little Girls series. Sadly, this was the only book my library had by her. But I did really enjoy this one.
Hilarious, adorable, and creative, this book retells a few well-known fairy tales staring sarcastic, funny, and above all angry little girls. While the characters are based off racial stereotypes, I felt it was more a calling out of these stereotypes as justification for the girls' anger. They are all undoubtedly themselves and rage against the unrealistic and overgeneralized ideas of their sex, gender, and racial identity. The book itself and its characters felt like an exploration of these stereotypes rather than an adherence to them.
I really enjoyed this book and the girls' anger at some of the ridiculous scenes in these fairy tales was hilarious and enlightened. Great quick read. Not really a good match for actual little girls (some cursing, rudeness, and more adult themes), but a fun introduction to gender and emotions for teens and young adults.
December 4, 2021
It’s cute, it’s funny
3.5 stars. While I suspect the cultural stereotypes are deliberate, it’s not really done with enough thought or finesse to not still be grating. The rapping soul sistah,the angry Latina? While there definitely is comedy to be mined there, Lee doesn’t seem either able or interested in fully pushing the stereotype into it’s fullest potential for mockery which would have really raised the level of the book. Picking the angry black girl for Rapunzel and pushing the rap part but not even commenting on the hair issue is an - interesting take.
Which brings us to the issue of who the book is for. I’m not really sure I’d read it to my kids, but I don’t have kids, so there’s that. As a book for adults, I don’t think the anger goes deep enough. It feels kind of like a college thesis project from the 90’s which is basically what it is so on that level it’s probably pretty good. I’m thinking it almost could have gotten an MTV/HBO/Viacom deal if Daria didn’t already exist, but they’d have low-balled Lee and stripped her creative rights, so she’s probably lucky that never happened. I’d say read it. It’s fun and it won’t take that long anyway.
3.5 stars. While I suspect the cultural stereotypes are deliberate, it’s not really done with enough thought or finesse to not still be grating. The rapping soul sistah,the angry Latina? While there definitely is comedy to be mined there, Lee doesn’t seem either able or interested in fully pushing the stereotype into it’s fullest potential for mockery which would have really raised the level of the book. Picking the angry black girl for Rapunzel and pushing the rap part but not even commenting on the hair issue is an - interesting take.
Which brings us to the issue of who the book is for. I’m not really sure I’d read it to my kids, but I don’t have kids, so there’s that. As a book for adults, I don’t think the anger goes deep enough. It feels kind of like a college thesis project from the 90’s which is basically what it is so on that level it’s probably pretty good. I’m thinking it almost could have gotten an MTV/HBO/Viacom deal if Daria didn’t already exist, but they’d have low-balled Lee and stripped her creative rights, so she’s probably lucky that never happened. I’d say read it. It’s fun and it won’t take that long anyway.
August 21, 2017
Buku ini masih satu seri dengan buku sebelumnya oleh Lela Lee. Pada awalnya, karena saya hanya melihat ada dua buku di BBW 2017, saya kira buku Lela Lee seri ini memang hanya berjumlah dua. Barulah setelah membaca saya sadar, wah ternyata buku ini justru buku keempat. Ada 2 buku yang belum saya miliki (dan setelah saya melihat harganya di BookDepository wah lumayan juga ya, sedang saya membeli dua buku ini dengan harga masing2 85.000 kalau tidak salah). Buku ini lebih mudah untuk dipahami oleh anak-anak saya kira. Bercerita mirip dengan cerita-cerita dongeng yang terkenal lagi fenomenal, seperti snow white yang diplesetkan menjadi snow yellow, beauty & the beast, dan cerita-cerita lain (yang saya lupa judulnya hahaha) tetapi dengan akhir cerita yang berbeda dengan biasanya. Lucu. Sejujurnya saya banyak tertawa ketika membaca ending yang 'jayuzzzzzzz' hahaha. Buku yang menarik, buku yang lagi-lagi membuat kita tertawa.
February 5, 2018
Came across this at the library. It’s a collection done in a comic book style of fairy tales with a modern edge. Apparently the characters are part of a comic book series, and perhaps if I was familiar with the comics, I would have liked this more. But as it is, there’s not enough of a twist from the original fairy tales to make these distinct and therefore engaging, as a stand-alone collection. There are also a lot of racial stereotypes. The author notes she wrote these in 1999 while working the counter at her mother’s dry cleaner business. I remember humor around then often seemed often to rely on those stereotypes, but today, it’s vaguely offensive. Or at least underwhelming.
June 21, 2017
This is a cute idea for a book, and having never read one of these before, I'm perhaps missing something. But I was a little put off by calling the black angry little girl a "soul sistah." Also, "Snow Yellow?" Really? Some of the jokes were cute, and the illustrations are fantastic, but the racial stuff is a little uncomfortable. It's entirely possible that I'm missing something here, as I'm clearly not the intended audience, but that's just how it came across.
August 22, 2021
The art is cute and the stories are just as cute. They're all twists of well-known fairy tales:
Snow Yellow and the Seven Short Men (Snow White and the Seven Dwarves)
The Princess Got the Third Degree (The Princess and the Pea)
He's No Beauty in the Least (Beauty and the Beast)
RapPunsWell (Rapunzel)
Little Miss Wears-a-Hood (Little Red Riding Hood)
I love that they're so colourful.
Snow Yellow and the Seven Short Men (Snow White and the Seven Dwarves)
The Princess Got the Third Degree (The Princess and the Pea)
He's No Beauty in the Least (Beauty and the Beast)
RapPunsWell (Rapunzel)
Little Miss Wears-a-Hood (Little Red Riding Hood)
I love that they're so colourful.
October 11, 2022
I think I would've enjoyed this more had I read the preceding stories with the Angry Little Girls, it seems like there might've been some in-jokes that flew over my head.
Still, a fun "turn the fairy tales on edge" set of stories, including a retelling of The Princess and the Pea and Red Riding Hood, among others.
Still, a fun "turn the fairy tales on edge" set of stories, including a retelling of The Princess and the Pea and Red Riding Hood, among others.
December 15, 2018
I love it. If I had a kid, I would definitely read this to her.
March 6, 2021
I don't know where to begin! I love it. No one wants to show the other side of these princesses. I can relate to Xyla, the Gloomy Girl. That's me. Love it. ❤️😁
April 11, 2021
Olipas virkistäviä versioita vanhoista saduista!
March 5, 2017
Cute idea and artwork, but nothing much was added to the stories in general. I was hoping for a bit more sarcasm/anger.
October 21, 2018
I love how Lela twists the stories. Very refreshing and funny.
September 29, 2013
This fairy-tale remake was epic, so funny and quirky. The drawings were simple and cute and fitted perfectly.
Snow Yellow and the Seven Short Men, Kim the "Angry Little Asian Girl"
Oh the end, the end! That had me laughing cos it was so true. Just think what really happens in the saga.
The Princess Got the Third Degree, Deborah the "Disenchanted Princess
This is the princess and the pea. That poor girl, just let the sleep. And what a mama's boy the prince is.
He's No Beauty in the Least, Maria the "Crazy Little Latina"
Maria was crazy , or was she just really positive. Though not so much when her father gave her to an ugly man.
RapPunsWell, Wanda the "Fresh Little Soul Sistah"
Wanda was rapping and disrepecting her mother who put her in the tower.
Little Miss Wears-a-Hood, Xyla the "Gloomy Girl
Oh Xyla, negative much?
They were all funny and I liked how Lela subtle changed things and made everything clearer somehow. You should totally read it
Snow Yellow and the Seven Short Men, Kim the "Angry Little Asian Girl"
Oh the end, the end! That had me laughing cos it was so true. Just think what really happens in the saga.
The Princess Got the Third Degree, Deborah the "Disenchanted Princess
This is the princess and the pea. That poor girl, just let the sleep. And what a mama's boy the prince is.
He's No Beauty in the Least, Maria the "Crazy Little Latina"
Maria was crazy , or was she just really positive. Though not so much when her father gave her to an ugly man.
RapPunsWell, Wanda the "Fresh Little Soul Sistah"
Wanda was rapping and disrepecting her mother who put her in the tower.
Little Miss Wears-a-Hood, Xyla the "Gloomy Girl
Oh Xyla, negative much?
They were all funny and I liked how Lela subtle changed things and made everything clearer somehow. You should totally read it
January 9, 2014
I picked this up on a whim at the library, I’m always looking for things I can read with my kids. (That’s my excuse for reading a lot of YA dystopias, though we all know I read them anyway!)
Apparently this is a fairly known comic strip, though this was my first exposure. The characters are a multicultural cauldron of little girls, reacting with all the coolness and sarcasm so perfected by the average preteen.
Perhaps were I more familiar with the strip I would have got more out of it. But honestly I didn’t think much was added to the fairy tales, except a bunch of the same attitude I already see way too much of in a house full of teenagers. Meh.
Apparently this is a fairly known comic strip, though this was my first exposure. The characters are a multicultural cauldron of little girls, reacting with all the coolness and sarcasm so perfected by the average preteen.
Perhaps were I more familiar with the strip I would have got more out of it. But honestly I didn’t think much was added to the fairy tales, except a bunch of the same attitude I already see way too much of in a house full of teenagers. Meh.
June 16, 2016
I've heard of these girls but I've never read any of of their books. But I love fairy tales and all its various retellings. The drawings are adorable and tell the story well enough but I feel the different personalities of the girls are not really portrayed. I don't get the craziness of Maria, the soulness of Wanda or the gloominess of Xyla. But the book is still a fun one and the illustrations are charming.
June 12, 2012
The quirky comebacks from the feisty female characters in these retellings will leave you laughing. An angry mother-in-law to an unconvinced princess the author has deftly woven some cherished childhood stories into painful, yet funny, reflections of adulthood. Not for children, but highly recommended for college age and over.
February 2, 2015
These are pretty nice adaptations of the fairy tales for the modern times. Since they are made for kids is an easy reading for an adult. I finish the book in around half hour, I really enjoyed and I hope there are more, Now I want to read the other tales that Lela Lee wrote.... Really like the adaptations I want to se how are her own works. Also the illustrations are pretty nice done
August 12, 2012
A graphic novel of familiar fairy tales ripe with cynicism, sarcasm and humor perfect for teens. Each fairy tale stars one of the Angry Little Girls and stays true to the original story but doesn't have the fluff that so many fairy tale books can have.
April 20, 2012
Apparently she sounds like me...
January 8, 2013
Cute, angry version of classic fairy tales.
March 15, 2013
Pretty funny.
October 6, 2013
The previous books in the series were better :/
April 1, 2014
Fun. Totally want to check out more by the same artist.
November 25, 2014
Adorable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
March 3, 2015
It was fine, but not good enough to want to read any of the other angry little girl books.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews