Mirror Mirror by Marilyn Singer
Singer, M., & Masse, J. (2010). Mirror Mirror. New York, New York: Dutton Children's Books.
In this beautifully illustrated picture book, Marilyn Singer proves that there is definitely two sides to every story. She takes classic fairy tales and literally flips them upside down presenting an alternate point of view to all those stories we loved as children. Isn't life unfair? Cinderella certainly thinks so as she's left at home cleaning while her stepsisters are out waiting for a chance to dance with the prince. It turns out the stepsisters are just as equally disappointed as they are stuck in the corner watching Cinderella and the prince dance the night away. From Sleeping Beauty, to Goldilocks and the Three Bears to Rumpelstiltskin, these poems and their reversos, which make surprisingly perfect sense, beg to be read out loud.
Visual Elements: Composition
Josée Masse brings together the elements of line, shape, color and texture to beautifully bring these poems and their reversos to life. While each illustration is divided in half to equally represent both points of view, the lines and colors seem to naturally flow from one side of the page to the other as they reflect the opposing feelings presented in each pair of poems.
Evaluation Criteria: Style
Singer’s style of reverso is innovative and quite clever. She writes a poem about a well know character
or fairy tale, then using the exact same words in reverse, changing only the
punctuation and capitalization, she produces a completely different take on the
same story. We are able to see each tale
from two opposite perspectives such as in Sleeping Beauty where she’s tired of
just sleeping and waiting around for her prince to come, and he’s just as tired
of always having to work so hard to find love.
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