in the oral tradition take 3

THE SIX SWANS by the Brothers Grimm with illustrations by Gerda Raidt. North South Books, 2014.

Seven children flee
From a wicked stepmother
Who wishes them dead.

In the oral tradition take 2

THE WORST PRINCESS by Anna Kemp and Sara Ogilvie. Random House, 2014.

No fancy clothes, no
Boring sessions at court, no
Need for Prince Charming.

Snoring Beauty

SNORING BEAUTY by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen with illustrations by Jane Manning. Harper, 2014.

Will the prince rescue
A snoring beauty? Maybe
With a mouse's help.

Rockabilly Goats Gruff

THE ROCKABILLY GOATS GRUFF by Jeff Crosby. Holiday House, 2014.

Rockabilly goats
Outsmart a troll and live to
Play music again.

Sink or Swim

WHATEVER AFTER: SINK OR SWIM by Sarah Mlynowski. Scholastic Press, 2013.

The Little Mermaid is the fairy tale into which Abby and her brother Jonah travel when they enter their magic mirror. Abby knows the original story by Hans Christian Anderson and knows it will not end well for the mermaid. Surely, she and her bother can set things right?

Funke is Fearless

FEARLESS by Cornelia Funke. Books on Tape/Listening Library, 2013. Read by Elliot Hill.

This new entry in the Mirrorworld series begins with Jacob Reckless facing certain death from the Red Fairy. He has only a short amount of time and just a glimmer of hope to find a cure or he will die. And so, he travels back into the world behind the Mirror to tell Fox goodbye. But if Jacob can find an elusive object perhaps all will be well. Trouble is, a Goyl is also seeking the same treasure. Funke sets her roots firmly in the fairy tale traditions with archetypes and motifs but they never take a front seat to the non-stop action and adventure.

A Rump Romp

RUMP: THE TRUE STORY OF RUMPLESTILTSKIN by Liesl Shurtliff. Knopf, 2013.

Ever wonder about the story behind Rumplestiltskin? Why did the miller offer his daughter as one able to spin straw into gold? Why did Rumplestiltskin come to her rescue? Shurtliff provides a complicated back story that just might change readers' minds about the events of the fairy tale they think they know well. Meet Rump. His mother never had the chance to speak his full name when he was born. So, Rump he was and has been. The incomplete name basically makes him an incomplete person, too. And so Rump is always searching for his true name. In the meantime, Rump discovers that he has the ability to spin straw into gold. This is NOT a blessing, but a curse. He is beset upon my pixies who show up whenever there is gold nearby. And then there are those greedy individuals who would steal gold from him, too. Enter Red who is there to help him with a visit to her grandmother through the woods. Alert readers will see the roots of Rumplestiltskin as well as nods to other tales as Rump finds his identity and rescues a princess along the way.

Truth or Death?

THE REAL BOY by Anne Ursu. Walden Pond Press, October 2013.

Order this one now, folks. Anne Ursu, who gave us BREADCRUMBS, now tackles Pinocchio on her splendid reimagining of the story. Throw away all your preconceptions, especially those that center on Jiminy Cricket and good old Walt Disney's adaptation. Suspend your disbelief, and enter the world of Oscar, a young boy in the employ of the local magician in the Barrows. Oscar is kept in the cellar. His task is to gather herbs and prepare them for various concoctions. The magician has an assistant who works in the shop. Well, until one day when the assistant and his tryst are found dead out in the woods that surround (and protect) the Barrows. Now Oscar must be upstairs, must deal with customers from the Barrows and from the shiny city. As Oscar interacts ore with other people, he begins to suspect all is not well in his world, and it all has to do with magic. Motifs, archetypes, magic, and more meet in this remarkable novel.

Ribbit

FROGGED by Vivian Vande Velde. Harcourt, 2013.


Princess Imogene is approaching her thirteenth birthday. Her other has given her a book about how to be a good princess. Imogene must read it before her birthday, and finds it insufferable. However, when Imogene learns the plight of the frog before her, she knows it is her duty to kiss him and return him to his original human form. Problem is, the frog lied to her. He is not a prince. Worse, she is now a frog and will remain so until she convinces someone to kiss her and then take her place as a frog. How could she do that to another? And so Imogene is off on a journey, trying to figure out what she must do to return to her princess form. The journey will include a stint as a member of a travelling drama group where Imogene will learn some important lessons--better than the ones in her stuffy old book to be sure.

Variations on a theme

IF THE SHOE FITS by Sarah Mlynowski. Scholastic, 2013.

The series is called "Whatever After." In the first book in the series, Abby and Jonah travel through a magic mirror to the land of Snow White. Here, the story involves Cinderella. Abby and Jonah travel through the mirror to a palace where a fancy party is being held. Sure enough, there is Cinderella, but the Prince seems to be interested in someone else. How can that be? Before long, of course, Abby and Jonah's presence have changed the course of the story. Now, it is up to them to set things right. Dropped bricks, clownies, and characters who do not fit into their stereotypes make this a humorous addition to the variants on this story. Be sure to let students know about Grimm, Perrault, and others who have shared versions of Cinderella. Philip Pullman's new book with retellings of Grimm is also a good resource.

STARRY RIVER OF THE SKY by Grace Lin. Little Brown, 2012.

A runaway named Rendi, worried he will be found stowing away on a wagon, flees just in time to become stranded in the Village of Clear Sky. The innkeeper has secrets, is warring with his neighbor. The entire village seems to be at odds with one another. and what has happened to the Moon? It seems to have disappeared. Rendi thinks he can hear the Moon howl every night. What is going on and what role will the new guest at the inn play as she weaves her stories and demands that Rendi tell his own, too? As she did in WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON, Lin effortlessly weaves traditional folk tales, interrupting the tale of Rendi and the village. But is it really an interruption? The visitor's stories seem to point to some of the very real people Rendi has come to know.

There's more than one way to tell a story

NOBODY ASKED THE PEA by John Warrne Stewig with illustrations by Cornelius Van Wright. Holiday House, 2013.

Imagine the story of The Princess and Pea told from the viewpoint of the Pea (and some of the other players in this fairy tale). Point of view is really important, isn't it? The Prince, Queen, King, Pea, and Princess all have turns at telling their version of what is happening. <685>

THE PRINCESS AND THE PEAS by Caryl Hart with illustrations by Sarah Warburton. Nosy Crow, 2013.

Lily-Rose May does not wish to eat her peas. In desperation, her father calls for a doctor who declares that Lily-May must go live at the palace if she is ever to be cured. At first, life at the palace is grand and no one makes her eat peas. But we all know this cannot last. <686>

Twisting the tale

CINDER by Marissa Meyer (Macmillan Audio 2011) has been my driving companion for a few weeks. As the cover not to subtly suggests, this is no ordinary retelling of the Cinderella story. What you get here is a futuristic story with cyborgs, aliens, plagues, and so much more. Cinder is a mechanic and a darned good one. That comes in handy as she has a prosthetic foot and hand, the result of a horrific accident that she does not recall. She lives with her stepmother and two stepsisters. One stepsister adores Cinder, the other sister and stepmother, not so much. And have we mentioned the handsome Prince, soon-to-be-emperor, who comes to Cinder for a repair on his faithful android? a prince, a ball, palace espionage, and a deadly plague all play pivotal roles in this first book in a planned 4 book series. Lots of clever references to Cinderella will amuse readers familiar with the tale's origin, but the story will rivet any reader interested in the twists and turns of Cinder's fortunes. <119>

Beauty in the eye of the beholder

Jan Brett's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (Putnam 2012) is a classic retelling of the fairy tale. The story of how Beauty comes to spend a year living with the beast should be familiar to many young readers from the Disney version. However, Brett sticks close to the more classic tale. Her illustrations are detailed and lush in color. The text, therefore, remains confined to the bottom of each page with pictures capturing most of the space. This would be a good choice for reading aloud to children. <180>





DAY BY DAY by Susan Gal (Knopf 2012) opens with three pigs making their way out into the world. The build a house brick by brick. They pant a garden row by row and make friends neighbor by neighbor. Check out the illustrations for little gems such as the titles of the books the pigs read at night (Charlotte's Web and The Three Little Pigs!). <181>

Cat, Dog, Cow

Here are some forthcoming picture books I picked up at ALA Midwinter at the HarperCollins breakfast (thanks, Patty!).



I love Pete the Cat and how he rocks his new school shoes. Pete is back on PETE THE CAT AND HIS FOUR GROOVY BUTTONS by Eric Litwin and James Dean (HarperCollins 2012). As before, there is a link to the free song (www.harpercollinschildrens.com/petethecat) so you can listen as well as read. Pete has a terrific shirt with four buttons. But one by one, the buttons pop off. Time to mourn the loss of a button? Not if you are Pete the Cat. Nice little side lesson on subtraction in addition to the ever-so-cool Pete the Cat. <71>




HOMER by Elisha Cooper (HarperCollins 2012) is a wonderfully quiet book about Homer the dog and his life at home. Does he want to go to the beach? Nope, he wants to sit on the porch. Chase balls with the puppies? Sitting on the porch is just fine with him. The text is spare, the colors are gentle perfectly complementing this story of a dog who loves a family who, in tun, love him.A special treat are the textless double page spreads near the end of the book. <72>




CINDY MOO by Lori Mortensen with illustrations by Jeff Mack (HarperCollins 2012) is about a determined cow who, once she hears the rhyme about the cow jumping over the moon, sets her mind to do the same. The task is not as simple as Cindy Moo had imagined, however, but the solution will delight readers. <73>

The geek shall inherit the earth

Trying my best to catch up on posting all of the books read this month has been daunting to say the least. But I hope to finish out November with a handful of new YA like GEEK FANTASY NOVEL by E. Archer (pseudonym) (Scholastic 2011). Ralph is spending the summer with his cousins in England ostensibly to set up a wi-fi network in their rather strange home. Ralph discovers that there is more to life than meets the eye. He also comes to understand why his parents have been a tad overprotective when it comes to making wishes and meeting the relatives. Quick as a wink he is involved in an action packed quest to assist his cousins and defeat the "monsters" that would make mincemeat of the family. Metafiction at its finest, this story is hilarious and unpredictable. Pair this with A TALE DARK AND GRIMM.
<620>

the picture books keep on coming

WILD ROSE'S WEAVING by Ginger Churchill with illustrations by Nicole Wong (Tanglewood 2011) gives readers the story of a girl who is much too busy to learn how to weave from her grandmother. Instead, she runs over the hillsides and dips her feet into the river. When she returns, she is amazed to see what her grandmother has created on her loom. Pair this one with ANNIE AND THE OLD ONE. <563>



EVERY-DAY DRESS by Selina Alko (Knopf 2011) is a bit deceptive from the outside. It appears to be a book about a young girl laying dress up with clothes from an old trunk. Look inside, though, and you will see this girl transform herself into Amelia Earhart, Frida Kahlo, Maria Tallchief, and other women. An appendix gives brief biographies of the women featured in this book. <564>



In THE SCAR (Candlewick 2011), a young boy is angry over the death of his mother. Who will take care of him? How could she leave him? His father will never learn how to cut his toast just right. Charlotte Moundlic and illustrator Olivier Tallec have produced a book that is simple in its approach to death. It is frank and heartbreaking but always hopeful. <565>



THE ORPHAN by Anthony Manna and Soula Mitakidou with illustrations by Giselle Potter is a Cinderella story from Greece. It will be familiar in places to those who know more than the sanitized Disney version of this classic tale. Rhyme and repetition and other motifs make this a strong addition to a fairy tale collection. <566>




MY DOG, MY CAT by Ashlee Fletcher (Tanglewood 2012) presents the differences between the two pets. One has a wt tongue; the other's tongue is rough. However, there are some similarities as well: both pets love their owner and their owner loves them. Simple illustrations with splashes of color to accentuate are perfect for this easy reader. <567>