Saturday, April 27, 2013

Happily Never After?

What are your favorite fairy tales? Do you prefer the Brothers Grimm or Disney?  Do your kids know that their favorite stories didn't always have that Happily Ever After ending?

Most of us grew up hearing about Jack's trouble with the bean stock, Cinderella's domestic troubles and Hansel and Gretel's truancy issues.  Today's book shelves are home to various tellings of these favorites tales and include some versions that horrify and others that are overly sweet.  The last decade has seen more and more updated retellings make their way into school libraries, bringing fresh eyes, interest and entertainment to the genre.  


My personal favorites are the fractured fairy tales.  What is a fractured fairy tale?  It is an old familiar fairy tale that has been modified to include an unexpected characterization, setting, plot development or point of view.  One of the most well known is Robert Munsch's Paper Bag Princess.  Here are some others that are worth a look:


Bigfoot Cinderrrrrella by Tony Johnston
Cinder Edna by Ellen B. Jackson
Dinorella: A Prehistoric Fairy Tale by Pamela Duncan Edwards
Prince Cinders by Babette Cole

Deep in the Forest by Brinton Turkle (goldilocks)
Goldilock & Three Hares by Heidi Petach
The Silly Story of Goldie Locks & the Three Squares by Grace Maccarone
Somebody & the Three Blairs by Marilyn Tolhurst

Jack & the Giant: A Story Full of Beans by Jim Harris
Kate and the Beanstalk by Mary Pope Osborne

Little Red Cowboy Hat by Susan Lowell
Petite Rouge: A Cajun Red Riding Hood by Mike Artell

The Three Little Javelinas by Susan Lowell
The Three Little Wolves ; the Big Bad Pig by Eugene Trivizas
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by A. Wolf by Jon Scieszka
The Three Horrid Little Pigs by Liz Pichon

The Frog Prince Continued by Jon Scieszka

Sleeping Ugly by Jane Yolen
Sleeping Bobby by Will and  Mary Pope Osbourne

The Girl Who Spun Gold by Virginia Hamilton


Castle sketch by DigitalRob70 (Flicker)
--------------

Liesl Shurtliff writes about the adaptability of fairy tales and how they endure...Fairy Tales: Still Living, Happily or Not


No comments:

Post a Comment