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    The Fairy-Tale Detectives
    The Fairy-Tale Detectives
    The Fairy-Tale Detectives
    Audiobook6 hours

    The Fairy-Tale Detectives

    Written by Michael Buckley

    Narrated by L.J. Ganser

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Enter a world of fractured fairy tales and magical mysteries in this first installment of the beloved New York Times bestselling Sisters Grimm series.

    Orphaned sisters Sabrina and Daphne are sent to live with their newly discovered grandmother, Relda Grimm, in the strange town of Ferryport Landing. The girls soon learn a family secret: that they are descendants of the famous Brothers Grimm, whose book of fairy tales is actually a history book and whose characters are still alive in Ferryport, New York.

    When a terrorizing giant goes on a rampage through the town, it’s up to the Sisters Grimm to stop him and to solve the mystery of who set the giant loose in the first place. Was it corrupt Mayor Charming, formerly Prince Charming, who desperately wants his kingdom back? The Three Not-So-Little Pigs, the shifty town cops? Or Snow White or Jack the Giant Killer or one of the many other fairy-tale characters who seem to have it out for the young sisters Grimms?

    “A world in which humans and fairy-tale creatures live side-by-side. … Madcap adventure.”—School Library Journal
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateNov 28, 2008
    ISBN9781436156127
    The Fairy-Tale Detectives

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    Reviews for The Fairy-Tale Detectives

    4.5/5

    107 ratings55 reviews

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    • 4/5
      The beginning of a heartwarming adventure series that re-introduces children to well-loved fairy tale creatures in ways they've never seen before! The relationships in the book are heartwarming and important; the mysteries are fun to solve, and the element of fantasy rounds out this cross-genre book. A good combination of action scenes, investigation, vocabulary, sarcasm and slapstick humor, and a glimpse of human (and fairy tale creature!) relations.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      The book was written to make you want to know what happens next. The characters are well-developed and LOVED, loved, loved that so many fairy tale characters were included in the story.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      The book described the characters well and I enjoyed the different view of fairy tale creatures. Great book!
    • 3/5
      Nifty series for younger readers (~8-10) or others who enjoy light-but-scary mysteries with a fairy tale twist, and a nice sense of humor, although the humor is a bit broad and perhaps a too simplistic for many adults. The series is now ten books long, and would be a wonderful gift for a child starting when they are about 8 or so, and given one book for holiday presents several times throughout the year for the next couple of years.

      Two sisters, ages 11 and seven, lose their parents under mysterious circumstances and are brought to live with their father's mother, who lives in a fantastical little house in a peculiar little town next to a creepy forest in upper New York State. The place is filled with "Everafters", fairy-tale characters who have gotten trapped there and can't leave until the last Grimm is dead. That means Sabrina and Daphne - they and their grandmother are the last Grimms - protectors of humans and regulators of behavior of the Everafters, solving crimes and maintaining order as best they can.

      A light attitude and a nicely broad sense of humor made this enjoyable, but, for me, not compelling. Compared with the Lemony Snicket stories, it's both not as ruthless in its attitude, nor as wickedly, slyly funny, although that may have been remedied a bit in the later books. In this first in series the tone is decidedly gentle (but with dark edges), and essentially involve a quest by the two girls towards finding their destiny. Oh, and also finding their Grandmother, who's been kidnapped by a giant....

      The hardcover books would be wonderful presents even were the stories not as much fun for kids, since the books themselves are beautifully made, with terrific illustrations and covers stylized to mimic the storybooks of my Grandmother's youth - with a pasted-on cover illustration that simply calls to you. Wonderful stuff if you like old books, have young kids, or just enjoy being in Fairy-tale Land once more. But be warned - all the characters are not quite what they seem, nor, perhaps, what you remember from your own childhood...
    • 4/5
      A mystery for kids, this detective story is fun and lively. All the fairy tale characters are here, but who commited the crime? The sisters Grimm, Sabrina and Daphne must solve the mystery to dave their grandmother! Fun to read with the kids!
    • 5/5
      A funny, fresh twist on standard fairy tale characters. My kids enjoyed listening to me read it, and my oldest enjoyed reading it on her own.
    • 5/5
      These books are very dear to me as I read them when I was younger many times, I recommend them to anyone who is even slightly interested.
    • 4/5
      Quick read about young girl detectives who investigate fairy tale related mischief in Fairyport Landing. Quite clever and fun. I'm looking forward to reading the next one.
    • 4/5
      Left as orphans, the sisters Grimm (Sabrina & Daphne) were placed from here and there, but they always found a way to escape from each house and home. Finally having found a grandmother (Relda) to place them with, the frustrated social services personally left them at the train station and didn’t look back. Having only each other to depend on for so long, the sisters didn’t know how much they trusted this grandmother that had finally come from who knew where. Hearing the women talk about fairy tales like they were all true stories only confirmed that they would be crazy too if they stuck around. Even after meeting some of the legendary fairytale characters, Sabrina was still skeptical, but taking a few adventures through and with fairytales herself might change her mind. This book, Sisters Grimm: Fairytale Detectives is such a good adventure story with loads of drama and suspense but it doesn’t forget that it is for kids. The destruction and betrayals have turns that I wasn’t expecting from this type of youth fiction, but thoroughly enjoyed all. Gotta love grandma too. Really interested in seeing how much the girls can grow now that they are open to the fairy tales being real in the next book, Unusual Suspects.
    • 4/5
      The Sisters Grimm by Michael Buckley is about these two sisters who are orphans and need to find a place to stay. They belive that their parents abandonded them, and they were being sent to their grandmother. The sisters' father told them that their grandmother died, but later in the book they find out she is actually their grandmother. In this book Daphne and Sabrina become detectives and solve this problem about giants. Sabrina has a hard time beliving that all the fairytales are true, but at the end they solve this mysteries in an exciting adventure. I really liked reading this book. I like mysteries and fairytales, and this book it full of it and adventure. It is fun reading the strange food the sisters' grandmother makes them. I also like reading how the Everafters can turn from their real form into disguse. It was cool when they would find a lot of clues, and Sabrina ends up saving her family that she did not belive in before. She is determained to bring back her parents, and she hopes she will be successful.
    • 4/5
      This is a fun young adult novel about two orphans who go to live with their grandmother. They discover that they are part of a legacy that helps to police Fairy Tale creatures. The girls are barely reunited with their grandmother when she is kidnapped and they are forced to help rescue her!A very charming and fun read. As an adult reader I enjoyed this fun romp through the fairy tale creatures as they are now. I would recommend it to people of all ages who love fairy tales. Definitely going to need to read more in the series!
    • 3/5
      I've been wanting to read this series for a while and finally got it on audiobook. I loved the inclusion of all the fairy tale characters, although I was not completely sold on the characters. The story is just as much mystery as fantasy, and I think middle grade kids will really enjoy it. I listened to this on audio book and the audio book was well done.Sabrina and Daphne Grimm have been abandoned by their parents and for the last year have been shuffled from foster home to foster home. Suddenly they are told they are going to live with their grandmother, which is confusing because they thought she was dead. Well ends up she isn't dead and Sabrina and Daphne are getting a lot more than a new home; they are getting a crash course in fairy tale creatures and mystery solving.It was a bit weird to read this book after reading the first few books in the Fables series by Bill Willingham (not a series for anyone but adults). Both series have a lot of similarities; even down to the real world positions they place the fairy tale characters in. So it took a bit of work for me not to confuse the two storylines. That being said, as with the Fables series, I really enjoyed the creative way that all fairy tale creatures/people were tied into the story.The plot moves along at a good clip and is a mystery at heart. The mystery is a good one, filled with a couple unpredictable twists and turns. The plot wasn't all that complicated but was decent and engaging. There are some neat ideas in here. I also loved Granny Grimms crazy colorful food!I wasn't really all that excited about the two main characters. Sabrina is a sour and spiteful preteen for most of the book; she is prickly and doesn't have a lot of depth to her character outside of that. Daphne is her polar opposite, cheerful and trusting, again not much to Daphne outside of that either. Some of the side characters are much more interesting. I loved Puck who helps out but insists he's a bad guy and Canus, the cantankerous old man who helps out Granny Grimm. Granny herself was another wonderful character. So there are some great characters in here, they just aren't the characters featured in the book. This book is very much an intro book. The world is introduced but not explained in much depth. We get to meet the characters, but much about them remains a mystery. I think this series has a lot of potential and can't wait to see what happens in future books.The book ends well but definitely sets up a storyline that will take many books to fully resolve; no cliffhangers though so that is nice.Overall this was an okay read. I enjoyed the inclusion of different fairy tales in the story but didn't find it especially creative. The main characters were a bit simplistic, and Sabrina was entirely unlikable. I am hoping they characters are filled out better in future books. This book was very much an introduction book, nothing is explained in much depth. There is a good mystery here and the magic is woven into the mystery well. I think middle grade readers will enjoy this read, adults will find it to be a bit too simple and short. I am planning on reading the next couple books in the series to see if they characters become more likable and the world more well filled out. I would also recommend the Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull as a wonderful book involving Fables as part of our current world and a great fantasy adventure for all ages.
    • 3/5
      This was definitely a cute tale weaving a story about the descendents of the Grimm family. It seems for the most part to stick to the true side of the fairly tale creatures that come up in the story, save for one glaring error surrounding Cinderella.The Grimm Sisters first adventure is certainly a story worth checking out. It’s got a host of fun characters, missing people, and a mystery to be solved. I plan to read the others in the series as well. I’ve always been a fan of Grimm’s, so I’d like to see what else the books have to offer.
    • 4/5
      The story is certainly filled with fun and a very entertaining read. Nearly every fairy tale or story I've read as a kid was featured in this book. I guess you could say, it was like reading something that came out of Shrek, sans the main cast. The concept is certainly very interesting and adding in the idea of making the Grimm family a family of detectives out to solve mysteries caused by the Everafters (characters and creatures from the fairy tales) makes the story all the more fun to read. There were a few parts here and there that made me laugh out loud (the momma bear part was really good).I have to admit I didn't like Sabrina at first. Her skepticism got annoying and for someone who's very young (around 11 years of age) she doesn't act like it. She's certainly very mature - however given that they have jumped through a dozen or so foster homes, perhaps that's what made her grow up so fast. However, I still think she's a little too skeptical for her own good. All characters though were well done and each had something I liked. Which makes the book even much more enjoyable to read. The ending of the book is well done, albeit, a little too quick in finishing off the main story arc but naturally it leaves a lot more to do with the Grimm family and leaves me with a lot of questions. I am definitely going to get into this series. It's a quick read and there aren't any lulls or anything that takes you away from the main plot. Overall it's certainly worth a look into if you want something light and easy to read. It's filled with adventure and will keep you entertained, and hopefully getting you to pursue the series a little more further.
    • 5/5
      I enjoyed this book and will encourage my older children (12 & 9) to read it. The story moves along at a brisk pase. I would have appreciated a little more development, but for younger readers I think it is appropriate. The characters are also a little shallow, but enough details are given that you can fill in the rest with imagination.
    • 3/5
      Cute. I like seeing all the fairytale characters updated although it could have been funnier. But for the age group a solid adventure book.
    • 5/5
      I think this is a really good book for kids, mommys and dads. I like how they will soon find their parents maybe in the next book. My favorite part was at the end when Puck said, "I'm moving in" and handed in all his junk to Sabrina.
    • 4/5
      While I think future installments will fare better without the burden of introducing the entire concept, this first outing is plenty of fun. Emotional heft is added through the feelings and questions surrounding the disappearance of Sabrina and Daphne's parents which will apparently be a continued subplot. Sabrina's suspicious response to the sudden appearance of Granny Relda after significant time in the foster care system is realistic, although not necessarily pleasant to behold. The characters' imperfections naturally mold the plot without making either imperfections or plot seem contrived. This series will most appeal to those with a solid background in fairy tales and classic children's literature thanks to the many cameos throughout.
    • 2/5
      The first book in a series, Sisters Grimm: Fairy Tale Detectives is a paint-by-numbers Harry Potter clone. Orphaned child(s) of an important bloodline introduced to their heritage and a magical world they were unaware, where they attempt to solve a mystery with a MacGuffin badguy, and a foe with ties to a larger menace. The story goes over well-worked ground, dealing with folk tale characters and fables who have moved to the New World and made their home in the New York area, much like the comic series, Fables, only with less originality and shallower characters. It also throws a liberal amount of Oz and Alice in Wonderland into the mix with just a dash of Shakespeare. The book has just a touch of Fracture Fairytales, but is mostly played straight. As a children's book it is adequate. The characters are simple yet relatable and the writing is passable. It will likely be a quickly-forgotten after a single reading.
    • 4/5
      Sabrina and Daphne find out they are Grimms, as in the fairy tale Grimms, who have the mission of helping to keep the Everafters in check. When their grandma and Mr. Canis (aka the big bad wolf) are kidnapped by a giant on the loose, they take on the case and try to rescue their family. Lots of fun to see the different fairly tale characters and to see the spunky sisters learn to embrace their newly found identities.
    • 4/5
      Cute idea, done fairly well. Not a classic, but not a bad read for a children's book either.Two orphans are adopted by their strange grandmother, whose neighbors are even stranger. They learn that fairly tales were nonfiction, and in fact written by their ancestors, who lived among the immortal beings who populate these stories. Now that they have moved in with their grandmother, the girls must learn how to deal with an angry giant, the horribly self-centered Prince Charming, the mischievous fairy Puck, and other assorted characters.
    • 4/5
      Cute book (jf) about two sisters who discover they are the heirs of the Grimm brothers and it falls to them to keep Fairyport Landing's humans and Ever Afters separate.
    • 4/5
      Buckley creates a world where Grimm descendants protect and police Everafters (fairy tale creatures). It was a bit of a leap to accept the characters of Grimm's tales alongside the Carroll's Queen of Hearts of Shakespeare's Puck, but their personalities and special skills aid the story well. End of the book includes a brief history of the tales -- how they came to be, how they have been transferred/shared, and how subtle changes are made each time. Appendix also has brief list of references to fairy tale anthologies and urls for online collections.
    • 3/5
      Too much fantasy for my tastes, but very inventive.
    • 4/5
      Sabrina and Daphne Grimm have been passed around foster homes for the past year, since their parents disappeared. They have become quite the escape artists. When they are sent to live with a woman who claims to be their grandmother, Sabrina is suspicious to say the least. After all, her father had told them their grandmother was dead. When this strange old woman starts telling them that fairy tales are true, Sabrina fears the worst. The old lady is an imposter and she is crazy. Both girls soon learn that everything they have been told is true and they are part of THE Grimm family who are the guardians of Ferryport Landing, a town where all the fairy tale creatures reside. When their grandmother is kidnapped by a giant, Sabrina and Daphne must decide who to trust to help them save her.I really enjoyed this book. The girls are fun and likeable, even though Sabrina can be a bit much at times. The premise of the story is interesting and lays the groundwork for many more stories. Along with the traditional stories, children will be introduced to some of the more classic creatures such as Puck from Midsummer Night's Dream.
    • 4/5
      Brilliant, witty, fun. There is nothing more to say.
    • 5/5
      Michael Buckley has created a fantastic series that both girls and boys (thanks to Puck!) can enjoy. The characters from fairy tales are actually really live beings in a town called Fairy Port Landing. Daphne and Sabrina find themselves sent here to live with thier grandmother after thier parents mysteriously disappear. The girls soon find themselves immersed in mystery, and with a new wise cracking companion named Puck, it falls to them to solve a mystery and save their grandmother. Every book in this series ties perfectly into the last one and leaves you waiting impatiently to read the next! A must read for fans of fantasy, adventure or mystery!
    • 3/5
      The Fairytale Detectives introduces us to sisters Sabrina, 11, and Daphne, 7. The two have bounced around foster care since their parents disappeared a year ago, and they are now going to live with their Grandmother, who they thought was dead. Fairly quickly we come into contact with magical creatures, such as pixies and giants, who live in the town of Ferryport Landing. It turns out, the sisters are direct descendants of The Brothers Grimm and the magical creatures in their fairytales actual exist. The Grimms are charged with protecting the everafters, as they call them, from outside sources and themselves.The story, told from Sabrina’s point of view, moves quickly. We’re introduced to the young protagonists, the fact that their parents disappeared, that they’re going to live with their grandmother, and that there are magical creatures within the first 20 pages of the book. Sabrina is initially whiny and somewhat obnoxious, she’s constantly trying to escape because she doesn’t trust this kooky grandmother who just popped into their lives, but she moves past this fairly quickly and Daphne is a perfect offset, trusting and imaginative. Perfect for students who enjoyed Fablehaven, Lemony Snicket, or are too young for Percy Jackson. Grades 4-6.
    • 4/5
      Sisters Sabrina and Daphne Grimm have been moving from foster home to foster home ever since their parents' disappearance, and each home has been successively worse. Then, an old woman appears, claiming to be their grandmother, and taking them to live at Ferryport Landing. But Sabrina's parents always said their grandmother was dead, so she's not about to believe it, or any crazy things the lady says about being descendants of the Grimm brothers who may just have been recording history.The first of the Sisters Grimm series has a little bit of everything: mystery, adventure, and fractured fairy tales. Sabrina and Daphne's relationship was good but realistic, with a little bit of good old-fashioned arguing and manipulation, and I enjoyed their interactions. I also had fun recognizing fairy tale characters and discovering the author's reinterpretations. L.J. Ganser's narration of the audiobook was well done, with each character instantly recognizable. My only complaint as an adult reader is that I saw some of the twists coming a mile away, but I daresay I wouldn't have noticed a bit as a child.
    • 4/5
      The Sisters Grimm is a fun book full of adventure, fun and Fairytale. It is a book to Love and enjoy