"Puss in Boots" by Shari L. Tapscott

This wasn’t a bad book. It was well written and edited, however it didn’t really have any sort of “wow factor” that you usually expect to find in fairy-tale retellings. The only real twist in the story was that Puss did not get his boots until very late in the book. Outside of that, this was a very straightforward retelling of the Puss in Boots story.

The book starts off with Suzette & her brothers at the reading of their aunt’s will. Her eldest brother gets the mill, her middle brother the donkey, and Suzette gets the cat. She is given a small amount of money that is supposed to be used to purchase boots for the cat. In an act of defiance, Suzette uses the money to purchase new boots for herself instead. Shortly thereafter, she discovers that Puss can speak and after apologizing for not buying him his boots, the tale follows the usual progression of the Puss in Boots story, minus his boots.

I was enjoying this story, despite it not really having any surprises, until I read a comment about the donkey being a “Valiant Steed.” It was really the only reference to the donkey in the story, and was clearly a reference to the Shrek animated movie. That right there made me very nearly put the book down and move on to something else instead. It just had no place in this tale, and it never came up again. Had the author found more of a way to weave the reference in so that it fit better, it would not have bothered me as much as it did. I did, however, continue on and finish reading the rest of the book.

Overall, it was an okay story. There were no surprises and nothing unexpected. I had really been hoping for more though, some sort of unexpected plot twist that never appeared. In other words, I’m afraid this book left me feeling a bit disappointed. Others may enjoy it, but I was really left wanting something more.