The Paper Gardens

Good lord, is this book offensive and morbid! There's definitely a dark humor to this that probably not everybody would take very well.

In a world full of fairy tales, Uncle Jeever takes the absolute worst interpretation of every single story, and throws it all together into a fourth-wall-breaking mess.

You've got a man who wishes he had a son, and gets one by buying what he thinks is a misshapen loaf of bread.

You've got your simple and bumbling, but well-meaning hero, who manages to ruin everything he touches.

There's Mary (who's legal, Uncle Jeever swears!) and her little lamb, Hansel and Grettel, who are inadvertently eaten by the hero and a witch (including a double entendre that is in no way subtle), a clever fox, and a tortoise and a hare that don't get much character development. There is also a cow.

The story is narrated by Uncle Jeever, who often interrupts things to correct a remark, clarify a statement, or change things around a bit.

The illustrations are a mix of professional looking sketches, and a bunch of stick figures, thrown in when Uncle Jeever changes things and has to quickly incorporate something new into his tale.

Like I said, this book probably isn't for everybody. But if you can handle disgusting and offensive stories, there's a certain level of amusement to be had.