40 Fun Facts About Whatever After

In Sarah Mlynowski's Whatever After series, in which room of their new house do Abby and Jonah find the magic mirror?

The basement is where the creepy old mirror was left behind by the house's former owners. Jonah is the first to spot it doing strange things at night.

In Whatever After: Fairest of All, why is saving Snow White from the poisoned apple a problem for Abby and Jonah?

She never meets her prince, because in the old tale he only finds Snow White after the apple has struck her down. Abby and Jonah spend the rest of the book trying to repair her happy ending.

Who falls down a mysterious hole behind Penny's house at the start of Whatever After: Abby in Wonderland?

Frankie tumbles in first, and Abby, Robin and Penny follow her down into Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The girls then spend much of the story trying to find her again.

In Whatever After: Fairest of All, Abby struggles to adjust after her family moves to which new town?

Smithville is the family's new home, and Abby finds everything there different, from the games at recess to the sandwiches. By the end of the book she decides she can be happy there after all.

Abby, the practical ten-year-old heroine of the Whatever After books, wants which job when she grows up?

A judge is Abby's dream job, though she knows she must work as a lawyer first. She loves fairy tales for a similar reason: in them, right and wrong are always clear.

In Whatever After: Two Peas in a Pod, the kingdom decides Abby is a princess after she cannot do what?

Fall asleep is the one thing Abby cannot manage on top of a hundred mattresses, so the kingdom takes her for the princess it is looking for. She is soon showered with ball gowns, jewelry and ice cream.

In Whatever After: If the Shoe Fits, why can Cinderella no longer squeeze into her glass slipper?

She broke her foot, and the swelling means the slipper will not go on. Abby and Jonah caused the accident, so they have until midnight to put Cinderella's happy ending back together.

In Whatever After: Liar Liar, Pinocchio sneaks into the real world and is passed off as Abby and Jonah's what?

Cousin is the cover story Abby and Jonah give their friends and teachers. Keeping it up is tricky, because Pinocchio's nose grows whenever he lies.

Which fairy lives inside the magic mirror and sends Abby and Jonah into fairy tales in Whatever After?

Maryrose is the fairy living in the glass. In a later book the children go on a mission to win back her lost fairy powers.

What must Abby and Jonah do to the magic mirror before it pulls them into a fairy tale in Whatever After?

Knock on it three times and the mirror sucks the children into a swirling vortex. In one book their puppy bounds through first and they have to follow.

What scoops up Abby and her friends and whisks them into the story in Whatever After: Abby in Oz?

A tornado carries them off, just as one carries Dorothy in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. This time the Wicked Witch of the East locks the girls in her dungeon.

Which Wonderland character wants to put Abby and her friends on trial in Whatever After: Abby in Wonderland?

The Queen of Hearts is the horrible ruler of a topsy-turvy land of potions that make you grow and cakes that make you shrink. The girls must escape her or be stuck in Wonderland for good.

What kind of talking animal, named Ralph, do Abby and Jonah ride in Whatever After: Cold as Ice?

A reindeer named Ralph carries them, and he is sarcastic enough to tell the children they are clueless. That is how they learn their kindly hosts are really thieves.

In Whatever After: Beauty Queen, the Beast takes Jonah prisoner after Jonah does what in his garden?

Picks a rose is all Jonah does, yet the furious Beast locks him up in place of Beauty. Abby then has to play matchmaker for a Beast who does not even like Beauty.

Whatever After: Sink or Swim sends Abby and Jonah into which fairy tale, whose original ending is not happy?

The Little Mermaid has such a sad original ending that Abby and Jonah set out to rewrite it on purpose. Their plan is to persuade the heroine to keep her tail.

In Whatever After: Abby in Neverland, why does Peter Pan whisk away Jonah and Jonah's friends?

He needs new Lost Boys, so he flies off with Jonah and his friends after turning up at their window with Tinkerbell. Abby has to chase them into Neverland armed with courage and a little fairy dust.

In Whatever After: Just Dance, which enchanted gemstone must Abby and Jonah find to help their fairy friend?

A ruby is the prize, and finding it means trailing twelve princesses to the secret spot where they go dancing. Abby and Jonah first have to get their hands on an invisibility cloak.

In Whatever After: Bad Hair Day, which food nickname belongs to the prince Abby and Jonah must track down?

Pickles is what the prince goes by, and locating him is only one job on the list. Abby and Jonah have also cut Rapunzel's hair too short to climb, leaving everyone trapped in her tower.

Which character from another fairy tale turns up in Good as Gold, the Whatever After take on Goldilocks?

Rumpelstiltskin appears because Abby and Jonah need someone who can turn straw into gold. Goldilocks is in a lot of trouble, and the pair also have one hundred gold coins to find.

In Whatever After: Sugar and Spice, which healthy drink do Abby and Jonah learn to make while trapped by the witch?

Kale smoothies are on the to-do list after Abby and Jonah end up taking Hansel and Gretel's place in the witch's cake-house. The witch is planning a kid casserole for dinner.

What is the first name of Snow White's prince in Whatever After: Fairest of All?

Trevor is locked up by the queen for much of the story, so he never rides by to rescue anyone. The series' final book has Snow White planning their royal wedding.

What nickname does Snow White's scheming stepmother go by in Whatever After: Fairest of All?

Evil Evelyn puts on disguises and attacks her stepdaughter several times. Her own guards turn on her once Snow White is shown to be the rightful ruler.

In Whatever After: Fairest of All, which creatures fill the castle moat that Snow White's prince falls into?

Crocodiles lurk in the moat, and the prince lands among them after taking an arrow meant for Snow White. She revives him with mouth-to-mouth, which only looks like the kiss of the old tale.

In Whatever After: Fairest of All, a full day in Snow White's world equals about how long back home?

One hour is all a fairy-tale day costs at home, which gives Abby and Jonah six days before their parents wake up. Abby still refuses to leave until Snow White's story is fixed.

In Whatever After: Fairest of All, what do Abby and Jonah produce to prove Snow White is the rightful queen?

Her father's will names Snow White as the rightful queen, and the palace guards switch sides once they see it. The queen's own magic mirror helped the children find the document.

Which Snow White character do Abby and Jonah free from the dungeon with the prince in Whatever After: Fairest of All?

The huntsman had spared Snow White when he was supposed to kill her, and the queen now holds him prisoner. The children steal the dungeon key from the sleeping queen's room to let him out.

In Whatever After: Fairest of All, what strange sound does the magic mirror make before pulling Abby and Jonah in?

Hissing is the sound Abby and Jonah notice coming from the mirror. Moments later the pair are pulled through and land in the middle of the woods.

Whatever After: Fairest of All was later retold in which new format, with art by illustrator Anu Chouhan?

A graphic novel version of the first adventure arrived with art by an award-winning illustrator. If the Shoe Fits later followed in the same format.

In Whatever After: If the Shoe Fits, which baked treats does Cinderella sell once Abby and Jonah help her find work?

Brownies become Cinderella's business, sold under the royal-sounding name crownies. Her fairy godmother had told her to rely on herself, so she decided to get a job.

What secret about the Alice story does Abby hide from the other girls in Whatever After: Abby in Wonderland?

She has never read it, which is awkward because Abby usually knows exactly how a fairy tale should go. Penny claims to know the book, but it turns out she never finished it.

Which Wonderland character gives Abby and her friends a riddle to solve in Whatever After: Abby in Wonderland?

The Cheshire Cat sets the riddle, one of several Wonderland hurdles on the way home. The girls must also become best friends with Alice herself.

Where do Abby and the others finally catch up with their missing friend in Whatever After: Abby in Wonderland?

At the tea party the girls find their friend having a wonderful time. She is the bookworm of the group and has read Alice and its sequel many times.

Whatever After: Abby in Wonderland was the first book in the series published under which label?

Special Edition marked this book as extra long, with puzzles, games and a Q&A with the author. Trips to Oz and Neverland later appeared under the same banner.

Jonah finally lands in his favorite fairy tale in the thirteenth Whatever After book; which tale is it?

Jack and the Beanstalk is Jonah's dream destination, reached in Spill the Beans. He and Abby end up climbing into the sky themselves to find the goose that lays golden eggs.

At the end of Whatever After: Cold as Ice, what happens to Jonah when the fairy hypnotizes his parents?

He forgets every adventure the pair have had, because the spell meant for his parents catches him too. Abby had just shown their mom and dad the mirror after deciding to stop lying to them.

In Mirror Mirror, the final Whatever After book, which fairy must Abby free from Snow White's mirror?

Gabrielle is the fairy stuck inside Snow White's mirror. Wicked fairies try to stop the rescue, so Abby calls on old friends from earlier tales for a final showdown.

Sarah Mlynowski, who writes the Whatever After books, was born in which Canadian city?

Montreal is her hometown, and she studied English literature at McGill University before working for a romance publisher. Her bedtime stories as a child starred a girl from the same city.

As a child, Whatever After author Sarah Mlynowski imagined which candy under the mattress in The Princess and the Pea?

M&Ms replaced the pea because young Sarah was no fan of vegetables. Reworking bedtime stories like that later gave her the idea of a regular girl who falls into a fairy tale and fractures it.

Fans can write to Whatever After author Sarah Mlynowski care of which New York publisher?

Scholastic publishes the series and passes on readers' letters, though the author warns that replies can take weeks or even months.

In Whatever After: Once Upon a Frog, why do Abby and Jonah refuse the princess's help with the frog?

She is super rude, so the pair decide to turn the frog back into a prince without her. That plan involves climbing out of a smelly well and canoeing over a waterfall.