How do you fracture a fairy tale? How does “Cinderella” become “Cinder…Really?” or how does “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” become “Goldilocks and the Three Aardvarks”? Using examples pulled from Jon Scieszka’s The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales and from a few of my readers’ theater fractured fairy tale scripts, we’ll look at seven different ways to take a traditional fairy tale and turn it on its head. This list can be presented as part of a mini-lesson and posted as an anchor chart to provide a classroom resource throughout a fairy tales unit. Whether students are reading or writing fractured fairy tales, they’ll learn about key story elements as you present these seven ideas for how to fracture a fairy tale:

1. Change the CHARACTERS.

Fractured fairy tale characters don’t have to be the same as their traditional counterparts. In Jon Scieszka’s “The Stinky Cheese Man” the gingerbread man has become . . . well . . . a man made out of stinky cheese.

2. Change the SETTING.

Every story has to happen someplace. But where exactly that someplace is may undergo a shift. In my readers’ theater script “The Three Pirate Pigs,” the pigs aren’t on land—they head out to sea. This new setting creates all sorts of opportunities for further fracturing.

3. Change the CONFLICT.

For any story to get rolling it needs a PROBLEM—it needs a source of CONFLICT. So if you’re looking to fracture a fairy tale, just do a switcheroo with the story’s underlying conflict. I took this approach with “Gransel and Hetel.” The main problem isn’t that the two children get abandoned in the woods by their father and stepmother—they run away from home because they’re sick of eating their stepmother’s spaghetti.

4. Change the PLOT.

All of the events that move a story from its beginning conflict to its ending resolution form the heart of the plot. These events also provide loads of opportunities for fracturing! Returning once again to “The Stinky Cheese Man,” there’s a major change to the plot because even though the Stinky Cheese Man is running away from everyone (just like in “The Gingerbread Man”), no one actually wants to catch him because he smells so awful.

5. Change the ENDING.

To surprise readers (and hopefully make them laugh), throw a twist into how the fairy tale ends. In the end of Scieszka’s “The Really Ugly Duckling,” the ugly duckling doesn’t grow into a beautiful swan. He just grows up to be a really ugly duck.

6. Change the POINT OF VIEW (POV).

Sometimes perspective is everything. The point of view (POV) of Little Red Riding Hood wouldn’t be the same as the wolf’s. The POV of Hansel and Gretel wouldn’t be the same as the witch’s. In my free readers’ theater script “Cinder…Really?” the two stepsisters provide the POV to explain what REALLY happened with Cinderella at the prince’s ball.

7. Create a MIX-&-MATCH fairy tale.

Why only fracture a single fairy tale when you can mash the characters and plots together for even more fractured fun? You’ll only need a single guess to figure out which two classic fairy tales Scieszka mixed and matched to come up with “Cinderumpelstiltskin.”

How to Write a Fractured Fairy Tale

Do you want to help students learn how to write fractured fairy tales? Present the seven ways to fracture a fairy tale (You can use my “How to Write a Fractured Fairy Tale” video!) and read plenty of fractured fairy tales to your class. Then have each student brainstorm answers to four basic questions:

1. What traditional fairy tale are you going to fracture?

2. What is the title for your fractured version of the fairy tale?

3. What are three ways your fractured fairy tale and the traditional fairy tale will be the SAME?

4. What are three ways your fractured fairy tale and the traditional fairy tale will be DIFFERENT? (This is where it’s important to remember the seven ways for how to fracture a fairy tale!)

While you let students tackle their own fractured fairy tales, you can see how I’ve incorporated these same ideas into my Readers’ Theater Fractured Fairy Tales-Series 2, which can complement a fairy tales unit or folktales unit in your classroom. You’ll find that three pirate-y pigs are more worried about building boats than houses. Rumpelstiltskin is NOT Rumpelstiltskin. Goldilocks is suddenly invading the home of three aardvarks. And although Hansel and Gretel may find themselves in danger of being eaten by a witch, Gransel and Hetel find themselves in the clutches of a witch determined to feed them Spinach-Broccoli-Brussels-Sprout Smoothies with Tofu Cream Surprise. Fun. Funny. Fractured.