I’m Violet Small and I’m six minutes older than my twin brother.
I love writing and I’m a great storyteller. I want to write the
most fabulous fairy tale in the history of fairy tales.

My name is Victor Small, but I am BIG.
I’m working on my Animals from Australia project.
In Australia—

Shh. I have a great idea
for my fairy tale.

Violet was born in a castle—

You were born in a hospital.

Princess Violet was
born in a gleaming castle
in Fairy Tale Kingdom.

Ahem.

That’s not a real place.

Stop being grouchy.

Fairy Tale Kingdom is a
marvelous place. Princess
Violet writes fairy tales about
glass slippers and peas under
mattresses and talking frogs.

Talking frogs don’t exist.
In Australia there are real amazing animals, like
koalas and cockatoos and quokkas and kangaroos—

What’s a quokka?

It’s a short-tailed wallaby that eats—

Oh, never mind!

Fairy Tale Kingdom is filled with
fairy-tale creatures. Talking frogs and
swan princesses and multicolored
unicorns and fire-breathing dragons—

and koalas and cockatoos and
quokkas and kangaroos and—

It’s my story.

I want a turn.

One terrible day in Fairy Tale
Kingdom, a wicked witch invaded
Violet’s castle.

Victor!

The witch cried, “Witches are
always wicked in stories!”
So she banned fairy tales.

Stop!

She locked up
all the creatures—

Why?

—and the witch banished
Princess Violet to an island in
Fairy Tale Ocean. Violet could
never write another fairy tale.

It’s my turn now!

Straightaway, Violet went to
work on a plan to escape the
island. She built a boat out of
sticks and leaves—

But it was full of
holes, so it sank.

She begged a passing
mermaid to help—

But the mermaid was too
busy fishing for oysters.

So...Princess Violet summoned
Prince Victor and his dragon!

Wait. I’m not in this fairy tale.

Of course you are.
You’re my twin.

Well, dragons don’t exist.
How about a cockatoo?

Violet and Victor climbed onto the
back of Prince Victor’s cockatoo.
They flew over Fairy Tale Ocean.
They landed secretly in the castle.

That’s not what happened!

They found the witch
and locked her up—

Violet told the witch a marvelous
fairy tale about a talented witch
who made delicious cakes.
The witch pricked up her ears.

Violet told a brilliant fairy
tale about a happy witch
who loved Australian
animals. The witch smiled.

Violet told the best-ever fairy
tale about a generous witch
who shared her delicious
cakes with all the Australian
animals. The witch giggled.
Now the witch loved fairy tales!

The talented, happy, generous witch
released all the creatures. She shared
the castle with Violet and Victor.

Violet wrote the witch the most
fabulous book of fairy tales.
Everyone lived happily ever after.

Especially the quokkas.

Especially the
multicolored unicorns.
Now shh, let’s read.

For Yann, with love

—A. K.

For Ana and Audrey, thank you for reminding
me to believe in unicorns and dragons

—B. D. M.

ARTIST’S NOTE

The illustrations in this book were created using graphite pencil, pen-and- ink, watercolor, papier-mâché, acrylic paint, cut-paper sculpture, photography, twine, and various natural elements—all combined in Photoshop. I had such fun developing visual styles to represent Violet’s and Victor’s unique perspectives in this story. In the tradition of many early European fairy-tale books, Violet’s vision is depicted in pen-and-ink. Maps, also in a European style, play a significant role in Violet’s imagery, as they conjure up adventure and new lands. Victor’s vision was inspired by his Australian animal project. The paintings of the Papunya Tula (a collective of Aboriginal artists from Australia’s Western Desert) were the primary inspiration for the dot style in this book. These artists have created a contemporary style using formal abstract elements—especially dots and line. This style connects their work to the rich history of Australian Aboriginal art and myth while also making the images appropriate for an audience beyond their own culture. (In certain traditions of Aboriginal art, sacred imagery has often been obscured underneath dots. Information about religion and the land was passed from generation to generation in this way.) For this book, I developed my own simple dot style, and I hope it encourages readers to learn more about the amazing art and culture of the Papunya Tula.

—Bethanie Deeney Murguia

ABOUT THIS BOOK

This book was edited by Bethany Strout and designed by Saho Fujii. The production was supervised by Erika Schwartz, and the production editor was Barbara Bakowski. This book was printed on Gold Sun wood-free paper. The text was set in Varius, and the display type was hand-lettered by the artist.

ARTIST’S NOTE

The illustrations in this book were created using graphite pencil, pen-and-ink, watercolor, papier-mâché, acrylic paint, cut-paper sculpture, photography, twine, and various natural elements—all combined in Photoshop. I had such fun developing visual styles to represent Violet’s and Victor’s unique perspectives in this story. In the tradition of many early European fairy-tale books, Violet’s vision is depicted in pen-and-ink. Maps, also in a European style, play a significant role in Violet’s imagery, as they conjure up adventure and new lands. Victor’s vision was inspired by his Australian animal project. The paintings of the Papunya Tula (a collective of Aboriginal artists from Australia’s Western Desert) were the primary inspiration for the dot style in this book. These artists have created a contemporary style using formal abstract elements—especially dots and line. This style connects their work to the rich history of Australian Aboriginal art and myth while also making the images appropriate for an audience beyond their own culture. (In certain traditions of Aboriginal art, sacred imagery has often been obscured underneath dots. Information about religion and the land was passed from generation to generation in this way.) For this book, I developed my own simple dot style, and I hope it encourages readers to learn more about the amazing art and culture of the Papunya Tula.

—Bethanie Deeney Murguia

ABOUT THIS BOOK

This book was edited by Bethany Strout and designed by Saho Fujii. The production was supervised by Erika Schwartz, and the production editor was Barbara Bakowski. This book was printed on Gold Sun wood-free paper. The text was set in Varius, and the display type was hand-lettered by the artist.

ALICE KUIPERS is British but lives in Canada. She is
the award-winning author of four young adult novels, and she tries her
best to help Violet and Victor when they want writing tips for their books.
Alice can be found here: alicekuipers.com.

BETHANIE DEENEY MURGUIA

earned an MFA in illustration from the School of Visual Arts in New York
City and is the creator of numerous picture books, including Zoe’s Jungle
and I Feel Five! Bethanie, her family, and their dog, Disco, live in Northern
California. Her website is aquapup.com.

For more Violet and Victor, read

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