Once upon a time there was ... a princess who loved all her beautiful ponies, a cool muscle dude who rode an awesome motorcycle. But a giant came and started stealing them! The dude came to fight the ugly, smelly giant with his mighty sword. She turned gold into thread while she cried for Buttercup, her favorite pony. And he took the princess's gold thread for payment The end!

Wait a minute! That's not how it ends!

Oh no?

Once upon a time there was a boy and a girl who had to tell a fairy tale to the class, but they couldn't agree on the story. Will everyone live happily ever after?

During the first ten years of Kevin O'Malley's life, he didn't care about the difference between girls and boys. Over the next ten, he found out that there was a big difference. After ten more years (and marriage), Kevin discovered that the difference is really, really huge. Another ten years and two children later, Kevin wrote Once Upon A Cool Motorcycle Dude. He still has no clue about girls.

Carol Heyer used to argue with the boys in her class about important things like princesses and giants, so she enjoyed collaborating on this dueling boy and girl story. Now Carol is a full-time writer and illustrator whose books have sold over a million copies.

Scott Goto thinks illustrating a story about a dude who battles giants with a bike and a big sword is the perfect way to start the day. However, the only bike he has is pedal powered, and he fought a giant once in school and got squashed. But he does own a big sword.

Three artists with distinct styles combine efforts for this rollicking story, which takes on the topic of gender differences with humor and insight. O'Malley's (Cinder Edna) cartoon-like boy and girl, their words appearing in thought balloons, present a library project. I'll begin the story, says the girl. My beginning is better, but go ahead, the boy responds, hinting at the book's tensions from the get-go. Heyer (The First Easter) illustrates the girl's story of Princess Tenderheart in flowing purple and pink robes, as she plays with her eight beautiful ponies (e.g., Jasmie, Nimble, Sophie, etc.). Her favorite was Buttercup, the girl reports from the bottom left-hand corner of the framed illustration; the boy, on the opposite corner, chagrined and somewhat panicked, says, Please... don't call him Buttercup. Call him Ralph or something. After a giant steals the ponies and the weeping princess spins straw into gold, the boy directs the proceedings (That's it... I can't take it anymore, says he). Goto's (Heat Wave) full-bleed spreads in garish hues signal a change in tone: One day this really cool muscle dude rides up to the castle on his motorcycle. Naturally, the girl objects to this line of development. The story then becomes a collaborative effort (all three artists' styles appear on each page), as the two resist confining their characters to stereotypes. Entertaining and sophisticated, this book would make a great conversation starter about issues of gender stereotyping, and the benefits of teamwork. Ages 6-10. (Apr.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

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        • Fiction