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46 pp.
| Harvard/Dumbarton
| September, 2018
|
TradeISBN 978-0-88402-436-1$12.50 New ed. (1961, Hastings)
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Barbara Cooney.
In Cooney's retelling of the medieval French legend, the little orphaned juggler of Notre Dame--having no other gift to bring to the statue of Mary and the Child--entertained them with his tumbling. The telling is dignified and tender, as is the art; black-and-white illustrations alternate with pictures in which bright colors--Christmas red and green and the luminous blue of stained glass--are added. This edition includes Cooney's original foreword and a new afterword by Jan M. Ziolkowski.
341 pp.
| Candlewick
| July, 2018
|
TradeISBN 978-0-7636-8880-6$18.99
(3)
YA
Lucie is a new servant at Château Beaumont, where a handsome master reigns. Initially smitten, she soon learns how horribly cruel Jean-Loup can be (rape scene included). When a wisewoman curses Jean-Loup for his beastliness, Lucie's only other wish is "to see him suffer." Expectedly, this retelling of "Beauty and the Beast" challenges appearances versus virtue, but it also addresses autonomy and the dehumanizing effects of revenge.
40 pp.
| Disney/Hyperion
| January, 2017
|
TradeISBN 978-1-4231-1981-4$16.99
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
Meg Park.
There's little remarkable about Rylant's retelling of the old tale, except that she occasionally resorts to archaic sentence structure to lend a folkloric flavor ("There erupted then such a sound as to nearly stop the man's heart beating..."). Park's illustrations have some warmth but resemble cels from an animated film (though not the famous Disney production.) More beautiful editions of the story are available.
40 pp.
| Disney/Hyperion
| June, 2017
|
TradeISBN 978-1-4231-2108-4$16.99
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
Erin McGuire.
Rylant does an adequate job of telling the popular tale in her own words, with a unique spin on the lesson to be learned: "It just took Time." Whether that interpretation will satisfy readers is an open question. McGuire's cartoony digital illustrations are bland but inoffensive, though readers obsessed with princesses may long for more sparkle.
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Kinuko Y. Craft.
This lengthy text is a loose retelling of Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont's version of the classic fairy tale, first published in France in 1756. It is set with large initial letters on most verso pages to give the feeling of an antique volume. Presented in full pages and spreads, the sumptuous, fantastical oil-over-watercolor paintings emphasize Beauty, not the Beast.
(4)
K-3
Fairy Tale Mix-Ups series.
Illustrated by
Tim Sutcliffe.
Little Red Riding Hood goes to the wrong cottage and finds the three bears, while Goldilocks wanders into Grandmother's house. Puss in Boots needs a shoemaker to fix up his old boots. Neither folktale "mix-up" is very clever, though both illustrators introduce diversity in the cartoonish portrayals. Background information on each book's two source tales and writing prompts are appended. Reading list. Glos. Review covers the following Fairy Tale Mix-Ups titles: Red Riding Hood Meets the Three Bears and The Elves Help Puss in Boots.
(4)
K-3
Multicultural Fairy Tales series.
Meister gathers Beauty and the Beast stories from France, China, and Switzerland and Hansel and Gretel tales from Germany, Russia, Italy, and the Philippines. Each collection begins with a familiar Western version and then encourages comparison via appended writing prompts. While the retellings and illustrations are undistinguished, the variants are well chosen to highlight folktales as a global genre. Reading list, websites. Glos. Review covers the following Multicultural Fairy Tales titles: Beauty and the Beast Stories Around the World and Hansel and Gretel Stories Around the World.
(4)
4-6
Far Out Fairy Tales series.
Illustrated by
Alex Lopez.
Each brief, accessible comic retells a fairy tale with a sci-fi/fantasy twist: Jak and her robot friend Cow ride an elevator into space, zombies Hansel and Gretel try to eat the witch's brains, etc. The unremarkable revamps and panel illustrations are improved by thorough back matter, which notes changes to the source material and poses "visual questions" to help readers navigate graphic narratives. Glos. Review covers the following Far Out Fairy Tales titles: Jak and the Magic Nano-Beans, Hansel & Gretel & Zombies, Sleeping Beauty, Magic Master, and Goldilocks and the Three Vampires.
64 pp.
| Sterling
| February, 2015
|
TradeISBN 978-1-4549-1512-6$7.95
(4)
K-3
Fairy Tale Adventures series.
Adapted by Giada Francia.
A touch overlong, especially for younger readers, these retellings stick mostly to the traditional ingredients, with a pinch of something new added here and there. (In Snow White, the evil queen is a crow; in Red Riding Hood, the wolf worries about maintaining his big, bad public image.) Rossi's stylized illustrations curve and flow, with particular attention paid to hair and clothing. There are four other spring 2015 books in this series. Review covers these Fairy Tale Adventures titles: Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White.
64 pp.
| Sterling
| February, 2015
|
TradeISBN 978-1-4549-1508-9$7.95
(4)
K-3
Fairy Tale Adventures series.
Adapted by Giada Francia.
A touch overlong, especially for younger readers, these retellings stick mostly to the traditional ingredients, with a pinch of something new added here and there. (In Snow White, the evil queen is a crow; in Red Riding Hood, the wolf worries about maintaining his big, bad public image.) Rossi's stylized illustrations curve and flow, with particular attention paid to hair and clothing. There are four other spring 2015 books in this series. Review covers these Fairy Tale Adventures titles: Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White.
340 pp.
| HarperTeen
| February, 2015
|
TradeISBN 978-0-06-230353-0$17.99
(3)
YA
The kingdom is thrilled when its hometown prince Rodric breaks the spell and wakes Princess Aurora from her hundred-year sleep. But all is not well in the land of Alyssinia. Revolution is in the air, and a commoner, Tristan, tries to open Aurora's eyes to the Crown's corruption. This series-starter features a feisty (if understandably confused) princess's true awakening, a political one.
(4)
K-3
Fairy Tales Today series.
Illustrated by
Jo de Ruiter.
As a baby, Prince Handsome is cursed with an allergy to pointy things; a run-in with a toy sword puts the kingdom to sleep for one hundred years. Princess Anya uses her smarts (and a kiss) to wake the prince. Switching the main characters' genders is a clever touch, but this re-envisioning of "Sleeping Beauty" doesn't offer much substance. Genial illustrations accompany the updated tale.
(2)
K-3
Illustrated by
Pat Cummings.
Giving Cummings's lushly detailed paintings center stage, Lee simplifies the tale and puts it into Beauty's first-person voice. While the retelling retains the story's original details, the pictures portray all of the characters as black, in settings inspired by West Africa. The retelling is crisp, the drafting is skillful, and the compositions are dramatic. Princess-lovers of any color should enjoy it.
Reviewer: Roger Sutton
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
January, 2014
(2)
K-3
This absurdist version of French folktale "Drakestail" stars a farmer duck who is wealthy in jelly beans. When a little-boy king "borrows" his jelly beans, Duck sets off to get them back. Along the way he makes some odd yet helpful friends. Gerstein's pen-and-ink, acrylic, and colored-pencil illustrations employ a cheerful palette, with scribbly lines and dialogue bubbles.
32 pp.
| Whitman
| March, 2014
|
TradeISBN 978-0-8075-0600-4$16.99
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Sarah Gibb.
Fairy-tale aficionados and princess-obsessed kids will all find something to love in this refined retelling. Beauty's sincerity and innocence is nicely contrasted with her sisters' shallowness and greed. Gibb renders many of the illustrations in profile or silhouettes, some in color and some in dramatic black-and-white with color accents. There's lots of rich detail to pore over time and again.
(3)
K-3
Folk Tale Classic series.
These four books appear in uniform paper-over-board editions. Galdone was a refreshingly modest illustrator: his retellings are straightforward and his unassumingly loose-lined, color-separated pictures provide just enough embellishment. Plenty of white space gives the stories all the room they need. Review covers these Folk Tale Classic titles: Cinderella, Henny Penny, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Rumpelstiltskin.
32 pp.
| Abrams
| October, 2013
|
TradeISBN 978-1-4197-0986-9$18.95
(4)
K-3
Here is a textually straightforward retelling whose stylish pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations somewhat make good on the promise of a "fashion-forward twist." The art contains nods to groundbreaking twentieth- and twenty-first-century designs by the likes of Yves Saint Laurent and Vivienne Westwood, vaguely identified in the endpapers; a picture-book audience is unlikely to appreciate these references, but they'll dig the groovy garb.
32 pp.
| Amazon
| September, 2012
|
TradeISBN 978-0-7614-6170-8$17.99
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
Nicoletta Ceccoli.
Based on the story by Charles Perrault. This is a visually luminous but not very warm retelling of the French fairy tale. Rendered with acrylics and digital techniques, Ceccoli's illustrations present a Cinderella who resembles a solemn china doll while evoking the grandeur of the reign of King Louis XIV, from which Perrault's original is inspired. An author's note provides background on both Perrault's and the Brothers Grimm versions.
40 pp.
| Dial
| November, 2012
|
TradeISBN 978-0-8037-1642-1$17.99
(2)
K-3
Pinkney provides sumptuous watercolor, gouache, and colored-pencil illustrations that place realistic natural elements side by side with ostentatious embellishments in the eighteenth-century clothing of the human characters. Aside from switching the story’s usual ogre into a sorcerer, Pinkney sticks close to the source and uses his large pages, including a gatefold illustration, to great effect.
Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
January, 2013
14 pp.
| Candlewick
| September, 2012
|
TradeISBN 978-0-7636-6175-5$19.99
(4)
K-3
A pop-up curtained stage is the vehicle of this Cinderella retelling. Six spreads of multi-layered mixed-media illustrations in jewel tones with touches of gilt show key moments in the story, while pared down text appears behind drapes on both sides of the tableaux. The gimmicky format makes reading the text awkward, but this novelty book is mostly about looking.