Have you ever wondered about all the characters in our favorite fairy tales? How they might have been different or perhaps what happened to them after their story? "A Wolf at the Door and Other Retold Fairy Tales", edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, brings a new twist to thirteen traditional fairy tales.
For example, there's "Cinder Elephant", by Jane Yolen, that's a take-off from Cinderella, but this forlorn girl is a bit overweight. Ms. Yolen writes with her usual flair and permeates humor throughout the story. She perfectly describes the wicked and very thin stepsisters, "On the night of the royal ball, the skinny stepsisters swept out of the house, in yellow gowns, skinny as straws and looking like brooms." You begin to root for the very smart and nice "Cinder Elly" at the time she meets the prince. And, after all, looks aren't everything as the prince becomes enamored with this most unusual girl.
There's "The Months of Manhattan", by Delia Sherman, about a modern day adventure with a 10 year old girl who gets lost in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and discovers a magical painting. Ms. Sherman based her story on a favorite fairy tale called "Fairy Tales from Many Lands."
There's a story about "Hansel's Eye's", by Garth Nix, which is a take off from "Hansel and Gretel", but a bit darker than the original story. In this story, the magic that the witch spreads over the children will hold any reader spellbound.
My favorite story is "Ali Baba and The Forty Aliens", by Janeen Webb. Here is an old favorite tale with a completely updated twist. "Alberto Barbarino" has become nicknamed "Ali Baba" and he just hates it. He's pretty much a loner and when he can, he rides his bike outside of town to where the old gold mines are located. When he passes most of the tourist areas, he discovers an old boarded-up gold mine that he hadn't noticed before. Suddenly, he hears someone coming so he quickly climbs up a tree. What he discovers are what ends up being forty men. But these men don't look like normal men. Ali decides that they look more like robots and they have a strange chemical odor. The first alien to arrive says "keep in" to the boarded up mine, and suddenly an opening appears. After a short while, they all leave again, but not before the one in charge says, "keep out." And the mine becomes completely boarded up again. Ali is amazed and anxious to look inside. But he's also worried that these strange men might soon come back. This story will take you on a new adventure, but at the same time Ms. Webb has done an excellent job in following the original story of "Ali Baba and The Forty Thieves".
Everyone has a favorite fairy tale they remember from when they were young. And like the ones we grew up with, these fairy tales are entertaining and interesting. Some of the stories in this clever compilation are funny, some are a bit scary, but all are very ingenious and will be enjoyed by 10 year olds and older.
No one knows the power of words better than an "Homunculus". An Homunculus is a little man who takes away the word "No" from a little girl in the picture book, "Hannah and the Homunculus", by Kurt Hassler and illustrated by K.L. Darnell. When Hannah discovers that she can't say her "No" word that she uses all of the time to answer her parents' constant pleading to do what she's supposed to, she's at a loss for words. But actually, the Homuculus has taken her "no" and is now searching for other words to give him even more power. This clever picture book demonstrates the power of words and the impact they make on each of us. The pictures are brilliant and the little man is illustrated very cleverly with his button eyes and his patchwork clothes. This book will be good for children 5 years old and older.