"The mash-up is a fun, unexpectedly gripping meld of the Muppets' sensibility with an engrossing tale of love and jealousy." — Entertainment Weekly "There’s no bones about it: young readers will get a taste of the classic in a fun and  humerus  way (wocka wocka)." — Kirkus "The fabulous wardrobe. The glorious sets. The hordes of back-up singers. The sheer grandeur and over-the-top theatricality of opera. It’s the perfect setting for moi . . . and it’s a gangbuster story, too." —Miss Piggy for  InStyle What do you get when you cross the Muppets and the classics? A monster hit! Join Kermit, Miss Piggy, Uncle Deadly, and the other Muppets as they bring this gripping tale of mystery and suspense to life in their own hilarious way. This classic tale of love, intrigue, and jealousy at the Paris Opera House, which has thrilled readers, musical lovers, and movie goers for more than a century, has now been reimagined with the cast of the Muppets. Readers will gasp, cry, laugh, and laugh again 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. Gr 4–6—The Muppets star in the classic musical, with Miss Piggy as the young soprano, here named Piggy Daae, with Kermit as her childhood friend and admirer, Monsieur Viscount Kermit de Chagny. The melodramatic story contrasts humorously with zany Muppet antics. The Phantom's gold wedding ring becomes a candy Ring Pop, Fozzie Bear shows up as a pun-cracking detective, and the text is full of irreverent pop culture references. The complicated plot may be confusing to readers unfamiliar with the original story. Those new to the Muppets may also have trouble keeping track of the large cast of characters. Black-and-white illustrations in the style of Victorian oil paintings occasionally break up the text. The lively language, full of wordplay and goofy banter, makes for an entertaining read-aloud, particularly if an adult reader can explain the references. The Muppets are a classic themselves, and so this book requires at least two layers of understanding that many young readers may not have. VERDICT An additional purchase for most collections. Adults or kids who have been exposed to the classic Muppet movies will best appreciate this satirical retelling.—Lisa Goldstein, Brooklyn Public Library 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 As in the classic, Piggy Daaé rises as a star of the Paris Opera House due to training from an Angel of Music, who in this tale is a Koozebanian of Music from the planet Koozebane (or is he?). The main difference between this book and the classic (other than the cast) is the conglomeration of time periods, with a mix of details drawn from both the 21st and the 19th centuries.... This puntastic tale is full of beloved faces, such as the grouchy pranksters Statler and Waldorf. As in many children's stories, there is entertainment for older readers with abundant modern references, often found in footnotes, as in a tidbit about Beaker's burial alongside Oscar Wilde, Molière, and Jim Morrison. 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 This is Erik Forrest Jackson 's first book. He spent more than a decade as an executive editor for magazines including Entertainment Weekly and InStyle . As an award-winning dramatist, his work has been produced internationally and includes Like a Billion Likes (winner of the Southwest Playwriting Competition and the Chesley/Bumbalo Foundation Playwriting Award); the Neil Sedaka musical Breaking Up Is Hard to Do ; Carrie , a black-comedy adaptation of Stephen King’s novel; the Off Broadway comic thriller Tell-Tale (Best Play GLADD nomination); and Cheers Live on Stage ,