本篇論文所選取探討的現代童書文本共通點為由原本古典童話中的反派角色所重新敘述的故事，如「小紅帽」和「三隻小豬」裡的大野狼、「白雪公主」裡的後母、「灰姑娘」裡的兩位繼姊及「糖果屋」和「長髮公主」裡的巫婆。此類童話變體顛覆了以往人們對童話故事中反派角色(大野狼、後母和繼姊、巫婆)的刻版印象，藉由賦予他們發聲敘事的機會，讓他們對原本的故事發展有另一番的說明交代，進而使得他們原本看似惡毒的行為或決定合理化與正當化。換言之，傳統童話中以主角(正派角色)為中心所構築的故事結構與角色間的權力關係，因為此類童話而崩解重組，進而迫使讀者以反派角色的角度與思維重新了解故事。大野狼、後母和繼姊、巫婆不但不再是加害人，反而成了童話中的受害者，進而獲得讀者認同與憐憫。但儘管如此，這些得以平反重新發聲的角色所敘述的故事，不論是在文字內容中或插圖裡，卻充滿了許多令人存疑的情節，在在暗示讀者這些角色為不可靠的敘事者〈unreliable narrators)。因此，這些由此類角色觀點敘述的童話變體，除顛覆以往兒童讀者對童話中反派角色的既定觀念，也同時提供其對童話文本二次質疑的機會；而也藉此培養與引導了他們的批判性識讀能力〈critical literacy〉。

The traditional genre of fairy tales within the realm of children’s literature has experienced a dramatic and radical change in the past two decades. Among these modern variations, there are works introducing the reader with a topsy-turvy world in which the generally-recognized fairy tale villains such as the wolf, the step-relatives and the witch get the chance to redeem themselves from their “innocent” victimization and justify their seemingly dreadful but actually “harmless” deeds. In this paper, six of such contemporary variants of classic fairy tales will be given an analysis and discussion. The Wolf’s Story: What Really Happens to Little Red Riding Hood (2005) and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by A. Wolf (1989) both provide a portrayal of a blameless wolf serving as the real victim. Furthermore, the loathsome step-relatives in both “Snow White” and “Cinderella” offer their own chronicles to evoke sympathy from the reader for them through Snow White: The Untold Story (1995) and The Awful Cinderella (1993). Lastly, the witches in the early tales “Hansel and Gretel” and “Rapunzel” narrate their favored adaptations in Hansel and Gretel/The Witch’s Story (1991) and Zel (1996). These voices from the dark side break the initial asymmetrical relationship between good and evil characters, subvert the hierarchal structure constructed in the primitive story frame and finally achieve an evolution of the fairy-tale genre in children’s books which invites the child reader to step into these antagonists’ shoes to understand the tale. Through such an evolution of this ancient genre, an alternative reading position can be established for young readers and help them develop critical thinking/reading ability to challenge the dominant ideology inherited in classic versions of fairy tales.