The Ordinary Princess


M.M. Kaye - 1980
    Unlike her six beautiful sisters, she has brown hair and freckles, and would rather have adventures than play the harp, embroider tapestries . . . or become a Queen. When her royal parents try to marry her off, Amy runs away and, because she's so ordinary, easily becomes the fourteenth assistant kitchen maid at a neighboring palace. And there . . . much to everyone's surprise . . . she meets a prince just as ordinary (and special) as she is!"This delightful fairy tale is sure to please young romantics . . . Neither Kaye's princess nor her book should be considered ordinary." (School Library Journal)

Rags & Bones: New Twists on Timeless Tales


Melissa MarrCharles Vess - 2013
    From Sir Edmund Spenser's "The Faerie Queene" to E. M. Forster's "The Machine Stops", literature is filled with sexy, deadly, and downright twisted tales. In this collection, today's most acclaimed award-winning and bestselling authors reimagine their favorite classic stories and use their own unique styles to rebuild these timeless stories, the ones that have inspired, awed, and enraged them, the ones that have become ingrained in modern culture, and the ones that have been too long overlooked. They take these twelve stories and boil them down to their bones, and reassemble them for a new generation of readers. Written from a twenty-first century perspective and set within the realms of science fiction, dystopian fiction, fantasy, and realistic fiction, these short stories are as moving and thought provoking as their originators. They pay homage to groundbreaking literary achievements of the past while celebrating each author's unique perception and innovative style.Contents:Introduction: Rags & Bones: New Twists on Timeless Tales (2013) • essay by Tim Pratt and Melissa MarrThat the Machine May Progress Eternally (2013) / shortfiction by Carrie Ryan, inspired by E.M. Forster's The Machine StopsThe King of Elfland's Daughter (2013) • interior artwork by Charles VessLosing Her Divinity [Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz] (2013) / shortfiction by Garth Nix, inspired by The Man Who Would Be KingThe Sleeper and the Spindle (2013) / novelette by Neil Gaiman, inspired by Sleeping BeautyKai Lung's Golden Hours (2013) • interior artwork by Charles VessThe Cold Corner (2013) / shortfiction by Tim Pratt, inspired by Henry James' The Jolly CornerMillcara (2013) / shortfiction by Holly Black, inspired by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's CarmillaFigures of Earth (2013) • interior artwork by Charles VessWhen First We Were Gods (2013) / shortfiction by Rick Yancey, inspired by Nathaniel Hawthorne's The BirthmarkSirocco (2013) / shortfiction by Margaret Stohl, inspired by Horace Walpole's The Castle of OtrantoThe Shaving of Shagpat (2013) • interior artwork by Charles VessAwakened (2013) / shortfiction by Melissa Marr, inspired by Kate Chopin's The AwakeningNew Chicago (2013) / shortfiction by Kelley Armstrong, inspired by W. W. Jacob's The Monkey's PawThe Wood Beyond the World (2013) • interior artwork by Charles VessThe Soul Collector (2013) / shortfiction by Kami Garcia, inspired by the Brothers Grimm's RumpelstiltskinWithout Faith, Without Law, Without Joy (2013) / shortfiction by Saladin Ahmed, inspired by Sir Edmund Spenser's Faerie QueeneGoblin Market (2013) • interior artwork by Charles VessUncaged (2013) / shortfiction by Gene Wolf, inspired by William Seabrook's The Caged White Werewolf..

Haroun and the Sea of Stories


Salman Rushdie - 1990
    In this captivating work of fantasy from the author of Midnight’s Children and The Enchantress of Florence, Haroun sets out on an adventure to restore the poisoned source of the sea of stories. On the way, he encounters many foes, all intent on draining the sea of all its storytelling powers.

Straw into Gold: Fairy Tales Re-spun


Hilary McKay - 2017
    Each story is also accompanied by black and white illustrations and includes fresh perspectives with hilarious new twists.Using details never revealed before, this sure-to-be treasured collection includes:RapunzelCinderellaThe Princess and the PeaRumpelstiltskinThe Pied PiperThe Swan BrothersSnow WhiteRed Riding HoodThe Twelve Dancing PrincessesHansel and Gretel

The Elves and the Shoemaker


Jim LaMarche - 1812
    Jim LaMarche's stunning paintings, reminiscent of his earlier work in The Rainbabies, are the perfect compliment to this favorite Grimm fairy tale.

Dorothy Must Die: Stories Vol. 2


Danielle Paige - 2016
    Glinda the Good Witch set the three friends on their new paths: the Scarecrow would now rule the Emerald City with his new brain, the Tin Woodman and his heart would travel to the land of the Winkies to become their leader, and the Lion would put his courage to good use as the King of Beasts.But in a place like Oz, where magic and temptation lurk around every corner, the gifts from the Wizard begin to take on a life of their own…This bind-up of three prequel novellas to the New York Times Bestselling Dorothy Must Die series follows the Tin Woodman, the Scarecrow, and the Lion as they evolve from Dorothy’s beloved friends into something almost Wicked.

The Victorian Fairy Tale Book


Michael Patrick Hearn - 1988
    M. Barrie’s Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, here are seventeen classic stories and poems from the golden age of the English fairy tale. Some of them amuse, some enchant, some satirize and criticize, but each one–in the words of Laurence Houseman, author of the classic Rocking-Horse Land– “is an expression of the joy of living.”Accompanied by the illustrations from the original editions of these works–by such celebrated Victorian artists as Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Maxfield Parrish, and Arthur Rackham–this collection will delight readers both young and old.

The Little Bookroom


Eleanor Farjeon - 1955
    Her selection of her favorite stories describes powerful—and sometimes exceedingly silly—monarchs, and commoners who are every bit their match; musicians and dancers who live for art rather than earthly reward; and a goldfish who wishes to “marry the Moon, surpass the Sun, and possess the World.”

Fearless Girls, Wise Women & Beloved Sisters: Heroines in Folktales from Around the World


Kathleen Ragan - 1998
    Gathered from around the world, from regions as diverse as sub-Saharan Africa and Western Europe, from North and South American Indian cultures and New World settlers, from Asia and the Middle East, these 100 folktales celebrate strong female heroines.Fearless Girls, Wise Women, and Beloved Sisters is for all women who are searching to define who they are, to redefine the world and shape their collective sensibility. It is for men who want to know more about what it means to be a woman. It is for our daughters and our sons, so that they can learn to value all kinds of courage, courage in battle and the courage of love. It is for all of us to help build a more just vision of woman.

Beauty and the Beast


Bayard Taylor - 1872
    "You've got to get the girl to fall in love with you!"The Beast's only chance to break the spell is for him to fall in love with Belle and earn her love in return.

The Princess and the Pea


Janet Stevens - 1835
    In this rendition a tiger is proven to be a princess.

Cinderella


Anthea Bell - 1812
    The smoothly told story contains the familiar details and a happy ending in which Cinderella forgives her stepfamily." - The Horn Book Club -"This satisfying tale never grows old. Koopman's illustrations are jewel-toned and Cinderella herself is attractive as a person and figure." - Yellow Brick Road -

The Twelve Dancing Princesses


Marianna Mayer - 1989
    And award-winning artist Kinuko Craft add, her own magic: a visual feast of exquisite, jewel-like paintings that sweep across the pages.Together, Mayer and Craft have created an unforgettable world that readers of all ages will want to return to again and again.

The Foundling and Other Tales of Prydain


Lloyd Alexander - 1973
    Alexander wrote a collection of short tales about the land of Prydain. These stories revisit familiar characters and reveal more about the history of this magical land. Here readers will find Dallben, destined to be an enchanter; Angharad, Princess of the House of Lyr; Kadwyr, the rascal crow; and Medwyn, the mystical protector of all animals. They'll learn the grim history of the sword Dyrnwyn and even find out how Fflewdur Fflam came by his enchanted harp. In The Foundling, Lloyd Alexander's land of fantasy and adventure lives on.

The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye


A.S. Byatt - 1994
    As A.S. Byatt renders this relationship with a powerful combination of erudition and passion, she makes the interaction of the natural and the supernatural seem not only convincing, but inevitable.The companion stories in this collection each display different facets of Byatt's remarkable gift for enchantment. They range from fables of sexual obsession to allegories of political tragedy; they draw us into narratives that are as mesmerizing as dreams and as bracing as philosophical meditations; and they all us to inhabit an imaginative universe astonishing in the precision of its detail, its intellectual consistency, and its splendor.