Heidi Anne Heiner's Blog, page 132

New Book: When My Baby Dreams of Fairy Tales by Adele Enerson

When My Baby Dreams of Fairy Tales by Adele Enerson was released this week. This is the second in the series, but the first inspired by fairy tales. Read more about it in the book description below which links to Enerson's blog and original success story.


Book description:

Once upon a time,

Mila dreamed she was a princess dressed in pink . . .

or perhaps Goldilocks,

or even Little Red Riding Hood.

When Mila dreams, she dreams in fairy tales, and all her wishes come true.

This imaginative journey through the dreamscapes of a newborn is a story of faraway kingdoms, enchanted forests, and above all, the love between a mother and her daughter.

About the Author

When Adele Enersen's daughter, Mila, was born, Adele started a blog of whimsical baby photos to share with her friends and family. Very quickly that blog, milasdaydreams.blogspot.com, boomed into a destination for millions of admirers around the world and also became a book called When My Baby Dreams. A former copywriter and concept designer in advertising, Adele now spends her days photographing Mila and imagining new dreamscapes for her growing daughter.

Fairy Tale Gifts 2012 Winner: Dark Faerie Queene

The holidays are mostly past and the new year has arrived. Time for me to finally announce the winner of the Fairy Tale Gifts giveaway. I decided to wait until now due since I didn't have email addresses for most of the entries. I wanted to let everyone return to somewhat normal routines so I can get a mailing address and mail out the book.


The winner of The Irresistible Fairy Tale: The Cultural and Social History of a Genre by Jack Zipes is Dark Faerie Queene.

Please send me your mailing address privately to my SurLaLune email address so I can ship the book out to you!

And for the rest of you, thank you for sharing your lists. You reminded me of some of my wishes and I think everyone enjoyed reading the entries. You also helped me get through a very busy December and prepare for the new year.

A new giveaway will start next week. I am still hearing about a possible book giveaway and if that doesn't pan out, I will start the Cinderella Tales From Around the World Giveaway instead. It's time to start discussing that book!

New Year and New Bargain Ebook Titles

Happy New Year! Happy New Month! Amazon has updated its 100 Ebooks for $3.99 or Less page for the new month and there are some great titles, especially under the Kids and Teens section. One is the Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman I featured yesterday, but there are more. Here are some highlights:


The Odyssey of Homer translated by Richmond Lattimore for $2.99.

Book description:

The most eloquent translation of Homer's Odyssey into modern English.

Shiver (Wolves of Mercy Falls) by Maggie Stiefvater.

Book description:

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf--her wolf--is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again. Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human--or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

Wake (A Watersong Novel) by Amanda Hocking, a mermaid novel.

Book description:

Gorgeous. Fearless. Dangerous. They're the kind of girls you envy; the kind of girls you want to hate. Strangers in town for the summer, Penn, Lexi and Thea have caught everyone's attention—but it’s Gemma who’s attracted theirs. She’s the one they’ve chosen to be part of their group.

Gemma seems to have it all—she’s carefree, pretty, and falling in love with Alex, the boy next door. He’s always been just a friend, but this summer they’ve taken their relationship to the next level, and now there’s no going back. Then one night, Gemma’s ordinary life changes forever. She’s taking a late night swim under the stars when she finds Penn, Lexi and Thea partying on the cove. They invite her to join them, and the next morning she wakes up on the beach feeling groggy and sick, knowing something is different.

Suddenly Gemma is stronger, faster, and more beautiful than ever. But her new powers come with a terrifying price. And as she uncovers the truth, she’s is forced to choose between staying with those she loves—or entering a new world brimming with dark hungers and unimaginable secrets.

Jane by April Lindner, a Jane Eyre retelling and thus a Bluebeard one, too.

Book description:

Forced to drop out of an esteemed East Coast college after the sudden death of her parents, Jane Moore takes a nanny job at Thornfield Park, the estate of Nico Rathburn, a world-famous rock star on the brink of a huge comeback. Practical and independent, Jane reluctantly becomes entranced by her magnetic and brooding employer and finds herself in the midst of a forbidden romance.

But there's a mystery at Thornfield, and Jane's much-envied relationship with Nico is soon tested by an agonizing secret from his past. Torn between her feelings for Nico and his fateful secret, Jane must decide: Does being true to herself mean giving up on true love?

An irresistible romance interwoven with a darkly engrossing mystery, this contemporary retelling of the beloved classic Jane Eyre promises to enchant a new generation of readers.

Circle of Magic #01: Sandry's Book by Tamora Pierce.

Book description:

Four elements of power, four mages-in-training learning to control them. In Book 1 of the Circle of Magic Quartet, gifted young weaver Sandry is brought to the Winding Circle community. There she meets Briar, a former thief with a way with plants; Daja, an outcase gifted at metalcraft; and Tris, whose connection with the weather unsettles everyone, including herself. The four misfits are taught how to use their magic, but when disaster strikes, it's up to Sandry to weave together four different kinds of power to save herself, her friends, and Winding Circle.

Today Only Bargain Ebooks: Gaiman and FForde

Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman (Author), Brett Helquist (Illustrator)is $1.99 today in ebook format.

Book description:

In this inventive, short, yet perfectly formed novel inspired by traditional Norse mythology, Neil Gaiman takes readers on a wild and magical trip to the land of giants and gods and back.

In a village in ancient Norway lives a boy named Odd, and he's had some very bad luck: His father perished in a Viking expedition; a tree fell on and shattered his leg; the endless freezing winter is making villagers dangerously grumpy.

Out in the forest Odd encounters a bear, a fox, and an eagle—three creatures with a strange story to tell.

Now Odd is forced on a stranger journey than he had imagined—a journey to save Asgard, city of the gods, from the Frost Giants who have invaded it.

It's going to take a very special kind of twelve-year-old boy to outwit the Frost Giants, restore peace to the city of gods, and end the long winter.

Someone cheerful and infuriating and clever . . .

The Eyre Affair: A Thursday Next Novel by Jasper Fforde is $2.99 today only.

Book description:

The first installment in Jasper Fforde’s New York Times bestselling series of Thursday Next novels introduces literary detective Thursday Next and her alternate reality of literature-obsessed England

Fans of Douglas Adams and P. G. Wodehouse will love visiting Jasper Fforde's Great Britain, circa 1985, when time travel is routine, cloning is a reality (dodos are the resurrected pet of choice), and literature is taken very, very seriously: it’s a bibliophile’s dream. England is a virtual police state where an aunt can get lost (literally) in a Wordsworth poem and forging Byronic verse is a punishable offense. All this is business as usual for Thursday Next, renowned Special Operative in literary detection. But when someone begins kidnapping characters from works of literature and plucks Jane Eyre from the pages of Brontë's novel, Thursday is faced with the challenge of her career. Fforde's ingenious fantasy—enhanced by a Web site that re-creates the world of the novel—unites intrigue with English literature in a delightfully witty mix. Thursday’s zany investigations continue with six more bestselling Thursday Next novels, including One of Our Thursdays is Missing and the upcoming The Woman Who Died A Lot.

Jack, Giant, and Blackboard Jungle

I haven't watched the 1955 film, Blackboard Jungle, in decades. Then while I was puttering around the other night, John was watching it in the same room I was in for a few minutes. Wouldn't you know that of the few scenes I saw, one was a classroom discussion of Jack and the Beanstalk? I couldn't find a clip online, but it was an interesting usage about the ethics and reality of stories. And how fairy tales communicate to a large audience...

From TCM synopsis:

[The teacher] stimulates an animated class discussion by showing a "Jack and the Beanstalk" cartoon in class. Summarizing the discussion, Dadier encourages the young men to consider the real meaning of what they hear and to think for themselves.

From Subzin, which also provides the time stamp in the movie for when the Jack and the Beanstalk takes place:

01:15:40 -Teach, how about some more stories? -Yeah, a story about football.

01:15:43 Hey, teach. Maybe I'll turn out to be a critic on the movies.

01:15:47 How did you like Jack and the Beanstalk? Turned out to be a thief.

01:15:50 I liked the story.

01:15:56 -So you finally got through to them. -I think so.

The film is slated to air on TCM again on MONDAY, JANUARY 21, 2013 @ 08:00 AM (ET).

Today Only Ebook Bargains

Today's Amazon Kindle Deals are in the Gold Box and include several romance novels for $1.99 each at Gold Box Deal of the Day: $1.99 Kindle Romances. Two of the books are faerie and mythology inspired with authors that have been featured here before, but with different titles bargain priced. Here goes:


The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny--one she could never have imagined...

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school...or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth-- that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face...and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

The Goddess Test (Harlequin Teen) by Aimeé Carter

It's always been just Kate and her mom—and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall.

Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld—and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.

Kate is sure he's crazy—until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess.

Fairy Tale Tabs 12/27/2012

Janet and Anne Graham Johnstone
Read Guest post: Christie from Spinning Straw Into Gold on Little Match Girl at Tales of Faerie


I enjoyed All I Want For Christmas... at Doc in Boots. Hope some of the wishes are fulfilled.

I'm especially eager to read Fairy Tale Queens. There's a chapter, "The Queen's Wardrobe: Dressing the Part," which could have been written especially for me! Although I'm also intrigued by "The Fairest of Them All: Queenship and Beauty." Every chapter looks fascinating and I have high hopes.

Read On The Snow Queen, Part 2 at Spinning Straw into Gold:

Though the devil's mirror and the Snow Queen are not direct accomplices, their methods are similar. The glass shards make Kai blind to the living beauty of the roses and only able to appreciate the inorganic geometry of the snowflakes.

And also Snow White's Stepmother at Spinning Straw into Gold:

I never tire of reading about, writing about, and watching Snow White. That said, I'm late to viewing this 90's film, Snow White: A Tale of Terror, but I liked it.

It's grounded in a historical medieval Europe (there is mention of Paris and the Black Plague) and earned its title with suitably nightmarish scenes and plot details. There's definitely the elements of a horror film at work. Not to mention, A Tale of Terror preceded the dark fairy tale remakes now in vogue over a decade later. Think Red Riding Hood, The Brothers Grimm, and Snow White and the Huntsman.

Grimm: Season One is $16.99

Grimm: Season One is $16.99 in DVD format at Amazon and Target for the rest of this week.

The Target ad also shows Once Upon a Time: The Complete First Season as $16.99 but it is not listed on the Target site, so Amazon is not price matching, at least not yet. So if you have a gift certificate to either place and didn't get these on your wishlist, these are the lowest prices to date on these sets.

Fairy Tale Gifts 2012: Jenna

Our next entry in the Fairy Tale Gifts 2012 Giveaway is from Jenna:


1.) The Annotated Brothers Grimm (The Bicentennial Edition) edited & translated by Maria Tatar. Though I have the previous edition, I can't resist also wanting this new one for the expanded content.


2.) The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault (Calla Editions) illustrated by Harry Clarke. These Calla Editions look gorgeous!


3.) Off with Their Heads! Fairy Tales and the Culture of Childhood by Maria Tatar. I think I side with Tatar over Bettelheim and have been wanting to read this one for a while.


4.) Italian Folktales by Italo Calvino. I am not familiar any Italian folktales and I must correct this. (From Heidi: I should do a series of posts on Italian folktales. This is a WONDERFUL book, but not necessarily the place to start with Italian folklore. And Calvino, like so many, rewrote tales, too. The tales in this collection are "hybrids" as discussed in the introduction. I'm not picky that way, it's all literary to me once it is written down. Then again, it could be a starting point if you want to start with well-written tales and then work backwards to Calvino's source materials. I'm going to stop now and avoid the temptation of deleting this gloss altogether. In the end, this book is highly recommended and sits on my shelf but I don't take it down nearly as often as others.)


5.) The Complete Fairy Tales (Penguin Classics) by George MacDonald. I had never heard of him until I stumbled upon his tale "The Light Princess," and now I must read the rest of his fairy tales!

(From Heidi: Two wishlists included George MacDonald collections. While all of his books are available for free reading online, I understand the desire for a paper copy. I'd like to recommend finding editions of MacDonald's most popular tales illustrated by Maurice Sendak, and others, such as The Golden Key (A Sunburst Book) and The Light Princess (Sunburst Book).


 

Bargain Ebook: What the Dormouse Said: Lessons for Grown-ups from Children's Books

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What the Dormouse Said: Lessons for Grown-ups from Children's Books by Judith Viorst (Foreword), Pierre Le-Tan (Illustrator), Amy Gash (Compiler) is temporarily bargain priced in ebook format to $1.99. I've owned a hardcover copy since the year it was originally released in 1999 and have kept it on the shelf through several moves now.

Book description:

This one-of-a-kind collection reminds weary adults not to lose sight of the values and virtues they learned as kids. Here are over three hundred quotations from over two hundred well-loved children's books, such as Charlotte's Web, Peter Pan, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Eloise, Sounder, Number the Stars, and Goodnight Moon, organized by topic, among them Acceptance, Goodness, Family Woes, and Growing Old. On Silence: "I assure you that you can pick up more information when you are listening than when you are talking."--E. B.White, The Trumpet of the Swan. On Reverence: "Dying's part of the wheel, right there next to being born. . . . Being part of the whole thing, that's the blessing."--Natalie Babbitt, Tuck Everlasting.

With clever illustrations from Pierre Le-Tan, here is a book to share with a friend or keep by your own bedside. It's the perfect gift for your sister, your mother, your brother, your nephew, your kid's teacher, your daughter away at college, your son in the Navy, your mailman, your priest, for the old lady next door, or for the baby just born. Most importantly, give it to yourself. It will help you remember why you loved reading in the first place.