Tell a Fairy Tale Day

Today is National Tell a Fairy Tale Day and we have all kinds of inspiration to help you find a favorite to share.

Cinderella of the Nile coverFrom Tiny Owl Books, you can pick up  Cinderella of the Nile, as told by Beverly Naidoo and with evocative and detailed art by Marjan Vafaeian.  This story has many cultural variations, with this version, part of Tiny Owl’s “One Story, Many Voices” series, based on an Egyptian tale.

Stylish graphic artist Bethan Woollvin’s Hansel & Gretel, from Hansel & Gretel cover
Peachtree Publishers, presents the familiar Grimm Brothers’ story with a twist: here we see it all from the witch’s point of view.

Little Red Wolf coverAnother nicely twisted fairy tale set-up comes from Amélie Fléchais, published in translation from French by Jeremy Melloul for Lion Forge. The Little Red Wolf turns Perrault’s classic tale around several times and what emerges is a delightful graphic novel for Born Bad coveryoung and older to share. For a completely different take on wolfish identity, cicada Books offers Born Bad, by C. K. Smouha and illustrated by Stephen Smith. Rather than a fairy tale, this one offers a compelling backstory for the dissatisfaction felt by fairy tales’ perennial bad guy.

The Princess and the Pea coverXanthe Gresham’s retelling of Andersen’s The Princess and the Pea, published by Barefoot Books,  is richly alliterative, making it a great read-aloud. The artwork here, by Miss Clara is luminous and ever-changing in styles as each successive princess takes the prince’s—and readers’—attention.

An Illustrated Treasury of Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales, illustrated by Anastasiya Archipova and published by Floris A Treasury of Hans Christian Andersen Fairy TalesBooks, delivers eight fairy tale favorites, including “The Emperor’s New Clothes” and “The Snow Queen.” This edition does a good job of offering both gift-worthy elegance and accessibility by small children.

Ready to get started telling a fairy tale today?

 

 

 

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