5 stars Beautiful and unsettling. A mermaid in human form and a plague doctor travel together after the mermaid’s daughters devour the kingdom. On their journey, they come across a village of ageless children ruled by three “saints” with mystifying abilities to bring back the dead. As the pair investigate, they uncover the saint’s dark…
Read More
Edited by Steve Berman Featuring stories from James H. Moran, John Linwood Grant, Jonathan Harper, M. Yuan-Innes, John T. Fuller, Charles Payseur, B. J. Fry, Alysha MacDonald, Mark Ward, Evey Brett, Rob Rosen, and Ann Zeddies 3 stars Definitely a population that has been underrepresented in fairy tales, Burly Tales gives hefty gay men their…
Read More
Illustrated by Sebastià Serra 4 stars A humorous retelling of The Talking Pot with a Robin-Hood-style twist that emphasizes sharing without others. Ming’s mother sends him to market to trade eggs for rice to make a Spring Festival meal to share with their neighbors. But when Ming meets a man offering a rusty wok, he strikes an…
Read More
4 stars Loved this fresh spin on The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Featuring a science-driven Crane, a reluctant Van Tassel, and their prank-loving classmate, Croc, the trio must band together to navigate the legend of their small town. Nice humor and adventure with a bit of mystery tied in. There’s also a sweet romantic element without…
Read More
5 stars A fractured fairy tale featuring a new take on Rumpelstiltskin. I loved every word! I’m a sucker for fairy tale retellings, especially those featuring misunderstood villains. Shurtliff’s version was right up my alley. I loved the way she played with the power of names and destinies. Featuring magic, pixies, trolls, royalty, witches, gold,…
Read More
4 stars What a gorgeous book! Dive into seven classic tales featuring fairy tale princesses. Each story is paired with beautifully intricate book page sculptures, wonderfully lit and displayed. The written tales tone down much of the gruesomeness of the original Grimm tales. No cutting off toes or dancing in iron shoes here. Yet most…
Read More
4 stars A wonderful reimagining of the City of Ys, revamping the legend of King Gradlon and his daughter, Dahut. Anderson’s tale intermixes other Breton themes and stories such as Saint Corentin and his miraculous fish. The city of pleasure hides dark secrets, seeped in grief, greed, and sin. Filled with sea monsters, murder, seduction,…
Read More
3 stars An exciting adventure featuring a misunderstood wolf, his attempts to turn around the reputation of carnivores from land and sea, and the mayhem that ensues along the way. I enjoyed the twist on the gray area between “good” and “bad” and the theme of carnivores being misunderstood. Similar style to picture books like Misunderstood…
Read More
A delightful collection of fairytale-inspired drabbles. Every story is told in exactly 100 words and puts a fresh spin on an old tale. Each author brings their own style to the collection. There is humor, there is fear, there is romance, there is adventure. A wonderful anthology for fairytale lovers looking for new riffs on…
Read More
5 stars Was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I watched the Netflix adaptation when it first came out and found it interesting enough. Thus, I expected to feel similarly about the book. However, I was instantly pulled in and did not want to put this down. There are various changes made…
Read More