Muppets Meet the Classics: The Phantom of the Opera
Book 1 of the acclaimed
Muppets Meet the Classics series.
The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux’s classic tale of love, intrigue, and jealousy at the Paris Opera House, has thrilled readers, musical lovers, and moviegoers for more than a century, and it has now been reimagined by Erik Forrest Jackson and mashed-up with the cast of the Muppets.
Middle-grade readers—and adults who are in touch with their inner kid—will gasp, laugh, and groan as Kermit (as Raoul), Miss Piggy (as Christine), Uncle Deadly (as the phantom), and the chickens (as the ballet corps) give a whole new meaning to the word “classic.” This imaginative tale is sure to win the hearts of all Muppets fans, as well as fans of literary classics.
“A fun, unexpectedly gripping meld of the Muppets’ sensibility with an engrossing tale of love and jealousy. GRADE: A-”
— Entertainment Weekly
“We all know the story: a masked figure, ostracized for his hideous disfigurement, haunts an opera house, falling in love with a karate kicking soprano as he teaches her to sing ‘Mahna Mahna.’ Inspector Fozzie waves his rubber chicken in the face of danger; Sam Eagle forgets he’s not in America anymore; and Janice, like, totally thinks a demon killed the janitor, man. In the tradition of The Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island, this charming retelling of Leroux’s classic tale of jealousy, music, and (Electric) mayhem features a certain pig and frog as the opera’s star-crossed lovers
and the lesser-known Uncle Deadly as its Phantom. Jackson describes each fuzzy friend in hilarious detail—guess who has ‘blue-like-Gatorade fur’ and ‘a nose like a dipper gourd’?—and though the characters’ banter crackles with nonstop witticisms and bad puns, he never sacrifices the original text’s gothic tone. Zany and lovable, with allusions from 1979’s ‘Rainbow Connection’ to 2014’s Constantine, the Muppets’ latest adventure will delight fans of all ages.”
— Booklist
“After reading this hilarious, action-packed re imagining—a totally ridiculous idea brought to glorious life—I can’t help but wonder why all novels don’t have the Muppets in them! A total delight from start to finish.”
— Ben H. Winters, New York Times bestselling author of Underground Airlines, The Last Policeman trilogy, and Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters
“This puntastic tale is full of beloved faces [and,] as in many children’s stories, there is entertainment for older readers with abundant modern references. There’s no bones about it: young readers will get a taste of the classic in
a fun and humerus way (wocka wocka).”
— Kirkus Reviews