Was never able to read this book. Only displayed first page so I cannot really review. I did purchase the book and will be reading & reviewing at a later time but for now I’m leaving a three star to remain neutral

Cute retelling of a few stories we know but with a twist that its the boys now on the runner up!
Cute and with amazing illustrations! I really enjoyed the read!

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

High-Five to the Hero is a collection of 15 stories, all of them retellings of popular fairy tales, legends and myths. Revisited for today’s young readers are short, colorful versions of King Arthur, Tom Thumb, Hercules, Sinbad, Pinocchio, Jack and the Beanstalk, Quasimodo, King Midas, The Pied Piper, and others.

I was torn about this book. As I read it, I hated it. Having raised two sons, I adored the idea of a collection for boys like the recent books popping up for girls – short stories geared to teach important morals and values. The line-up for stories was very promising. Murrow proclaims the importance of talking and listening, community, an understanding heart, being yourself, organizing for community strength and cooperation. Noble strengths to encourage indeed, but I was a bit disturbed when King Arthur’s tale was about bringing together people who were fighting by talking to them and listening to their problems and made no mention of Camelot, the knights, or the Round Table. Quasimodo’s tale became one of a community organizing to save the ‘safe haven’ they shared, and ended with the establishment of a FriendFest.

In revamping these classical tales to more modern values, Murrow has erased the enduring lessons that these tales taught. More, by changing these tales so significantly, I confess that I worry that children who are taught these versions of the tales may not be able to properly connect with their cultural significance. That said, it is time-honored tradition to revisit stories and myths and rework them, so I cannot fault the concept on that front. Also, the book is GLBT-friendly, featuring diverse families, and characters, such as a snowman who finds love with another snowman. Personally, this book wouldn’t be one that I would share with my children, but if you are looking for something in this vein – like Power to the Princess, but for boys – the stories are well written, and the lessons are clear. Each story is a few pages, so they’re quickly read, and the illustrations are delightful.

Fairytale anthologies for kids are amazing, and I was instantly in love with the lady version of this book so when I saw one for little gentlemen I was excited! Boys need heroes and princes too! And to see these heroes with messages of self-confidence, advocacy, as well as features for marginalized community! Amazing!

I loved how Power to the Princess subverted stereotypes (including our expectation of how the classic tales should be), but I admit I was hesitant to pick this one up. I feared that the formula that made the first book successful would not translate well with male protagonists. I need not have feared, these tales were as fantastic as the ones in the first tome.

I absolutely adore this book and its companion Power to the Princess. It retells classic fairy tales with modern views of masculinity, feminism, race and sexuality. This book is wonderfully popular in our store and it is absolutely earned: the artwork is beautiful and it is fantastic to imagine young children reading these stories and learning about all the different ways it is possible to be a boy.

I think Power to the Princess: 15 Favorite Fairytales Retold with Girl Power was a much more successful collection than this one unfortunately. Even though it claims to be diverse, this collection could have included so much more representation. I wish it included mental illness, more disability rep, and more MAIN characters of colour.

But that being said, all of these main characters are HUGE hufflepuffs, which I personally really loved.

King Arthur
“It’s your generation that will unite this land.”
representation: divorced parents, death of loved ones, adoption, characters of colour represented in the illustrations.

Tom Thumb
“Nothing is too small to be meaningful.”
representation: characters of colour, interracial relationship.

Hercules
“Hercules also grew tired of Hera’s one-sided affection. She only liked one thing about him, the warrior stuff. But that was only part of who he really was. When no one was looking, Hercules could often be found reading quietly outside the hospital.”
representation: step-parents, Greek main characters.

Sinbad
“Once, beside a green sea, lay a dazzling city carved of white stone.”
representation: potentially characters of colour (not explicitly stated), mentions of different classes.

The Emperor’s New Clothes
“… to be worthy of your respect, I must above all respect myself.”
representation: Asian rep (specific country not stated), other characters of colour shown in illustrations, son who loves fashion.

Pinocchio
“The heart of a real boy is powered by the help they give, and the help they receive.”
representation: boy fairies??? That’s about it lol

Rumpelstiltskin
“You don’t need to be afraid to be yourself.”
representation: characters of colour.

Jack and the Beanstalk
“There are no shortcuts to success.”
representation: mc has two mums, characters of colour.

Quasimodo
“Real sanctuary is not bars, it’s an open door.”
representation: disability rep, characters of colour.

The Snow Man
“The two made an excellent pair indeed.”
representation: m/m relationship.

Prince Charming
“I’m not the one who needs to be seen… Everyone knows who I am. It’s time we started seeing all the people in our kingdom: in parades, on coins, in portraits, and in plays!”
representation: characters of colour.

King Midas
“…I can’t stop life’s peaks and valleys. I can’t stop people from feeling hurt. What I can do is be there, to feel with them and show them that they don’t have to be alone.”
representation: characters of colour represented in the illustrations.

The Pied Piper
“It’s not OK to trivialize Pip’s job… Running our home is just as key a profession as anyone else’s and Pip deserves recognition for it.”
representation: challenges gender roles, characters of colour represented in the illustrations.

The Elves and the Shoemaker
“It’s elves who have breathed new life into the shop.”
representation: characters of colour represented in the illustrations.

Anansi
“If I could, I would pull the moon from the sky for you all.”
representation: characters of colour, a character that uses they/them pronouns.

This one comes out on 1st October. Huge thanks to NetGalley and Frances Lincoln Children's Books for the review copy!

A refreshingly, bold fairytale anthology that celebrates boy power through a clear lens that commends masculinity and heroism by heart, spirit and empathy, and not by the number of damsels that are rescued or dragons that are slayed.

Rich in detail and moral, Murrow does away with the typical masculinity and 'knight in shining armour' displayed in the original tales and instead uplifts boys and embraces their empathy, heart and purpose by introducing issues of self-image, confidence, LGBTQ, friendship, advocacy, and disability.

With charming illustrations these positive tales will no doubt have a positive impact on all those who read it.

This is a wonderful collection of stories for boys about boys. Unlike many fairytales where the boy is a warrior, or just the prince charming, the boys in this are the true heroes. Modern themes pertaining to boys and society that surrounds them educates children as well as giving them positive role models and a self esteem. A group of stories, illustrations and characters I would share with my son.
#Netgalley

As an adult: I felt this book was trying too hard to make #boypower a thing. Though the illustrations were very cute.

As a reviewer of Children's Picture books for children: I think little boys will love it and I think boys need to see more that they can be heroes and strong without all the masculinity. Or, even little girls who don't want to read only about Princesses.

Girl power has been a thing for a while but it hasn't been until lately that I've seen children's books celebrating the heart and tenderness of a boy. Bravo!

Fairy tale retellings ( slightly) making all the boys heroes.
This is a fun little book, while sticking to the original fairy talr but with a modern twist on them.

Read in 1 sitting it was enjoyable and fun and i loved it.

High Five to the Hero by Vita Murrow is clearly a book with very good intentions. In this book, classic tales are retold so that the heroes are not saving helpless women, fighting violent battles, and living lives that seem empty of any emotion. Instead, in these stories, the heroes demonstrate empathy, leadership, and courage in embracing their identities. The only problem is that the stories are incredibly didactic, which doesn't always come across as particularly realistic or true to life.

Murrow very creatively transformed these stories. King Arthur is a peacemaker among his school friends, Hercules is a pacifist and becomes a nurse, and Jack (of beanstalk fame) has two moms. The illustrations are colorful and depict characters of diverse racial and ethnic identities. Still, the stories are clearly told to teach specific lessons to children and they are not developed enough to show how the characters have grown.

High Five to the Hero is also written with fairly advanced vocabulary. It is not a book that many children would be able to sit down and read independently and they might not stick with the stories for long enough to grasp the message, even if they were inclined to do so. While fairy tales are often shared by teachers or parents and can be discussed with children, the messages in these stories are so overtly stated in the text that they don't leave much room for independent thought or collaborative meaning making through conversations.

This is a very sweet book and we definitely need more children's literature that doesn't make all male heroes out to be traditionally masculine. Unfortunately, this book doesn't quite deliver the multi-dimensional characters that young children will find relatable.

*thank you to Netgalley, Quarto Publishing Group - Frances Lincoln Childrens and Vita Murrow an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*


4 stars.

This is such a good collection of stories where the boy is the main hero of the story. There seem to be so many where it's always the girls who are the heroin so it was really nice to get to read 15 fairy tales such as these. 

This collection is also quite modern as well. With themes such as self image, disability and LBGTQ. You never use to see that in children's books so it's quite refreshing. 

I can easily see this being a pretty big hit with children and adults of all ages. You are never to old or too young for fairytales and this is a great mix!

Stories we all already know are cleverly rewritten, so that Arthur and his knights bring peace by having people talk and Sinbad helps a younger sailor find the courage to voyage. The illustrations are lovely, really bright and nice. This book will join the ranks of the best story collections for children ... or for anyone!

Wonderful, simple yet positive stories, with all the ways to be a man highlighted.

I thought the snowman story was particularly beautiful. A lovely way to introduce LGBT to children in a pitch perfect manner.

Clever reimaginings of well known stories with lovely illustrations. The casual diversity is nice. Reading the stories all at once, a couple of them were a little insipid, but as a one-a-night they'd be fantastic. A great rad and one that will sit beautifully with other story collections.

Cute progressive re-telling of various male fairy tale and legendary heroes. It's pitched as a kid's book but I think it will do better for adults, as a certain level of understanding regarding the original source text is necessary to make the stories "work." At times I wasn't sure if the intent was satirical or not though and I could easily see this being classed as "humor" rather than children's lit. I did appreciate the emphasis on multicultural, multi ethnic, and LGBTQ characters in the illustrations.