Heidi Anne Heiner's Blog, page 138

Guillermo del Toro and Fairy Tales

From Guillermo del Toro explains the biggest mistake people make in telling stories for children by Charlie Jane Anders:

Is there a limit to how dark a movie for kids can get? And do you think animated films are getting closer to classic children's books, and less like cartoons?

One of the master of children's fiction is one of the guys who acknowledged fully the darkness of the world — that is, Roald Dahl. He did really brutal passages in The BFG. There's really very, very creepy and violent [stuff] in The Witches. And so on, and so forth. He really scared a lot of [kids] from that side. He is the reason why... when the line is crossed, and then it doesn't function as a children's story any more — it can become an adult fairytale. It can become a fairytale that adults can enjoy. And I think there are some of those, particularly in the Eastern cultures. Like 1001 Nights — a lot of those stories are very harrowing. And people forget that a lot of the tales that the Grimm Brothers collected, they were actually meant to be told to adults. People think, "Oh, they were children's stories" — [but] not in the beginning. They were meant to be told to adults, to entertain them. But yes, to answer your question: It can get too dark.

There's much more at the article, of course. And I have to say I am anxiously awaiting del Toro's Beauty and the Beast. Which doesn't start shooting until next summer. Darn it. Because so much can happen to stop it. Like fairy tale weariness which I never suffer from but the public might...

2013 Fairy Tale Calendars

Arthur Rackham's Fairy Tale Illustrations - 16-Month 2013 Wall Calendar
Here are some 2013 Fairy Tale themed wall calendars. The Arthur Rackham has been standard for a few years now, so I hope it continues. 

Grimm - 2013 and Grimm - 2013 by Benedikt TASCHEN who published a great book late last year, The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm.

Art Deco Fairytales 16-Month Wall Calendar 2013 (Size 12" X 12") This one calls itself Art Deco but in reality it is fairy tale illustrations by the great Kay Nielsen. Love it.

Fairy Tales By Brothers Grimm 2013 Wall Calendar

Little Red Riding Hood by Lari Don (Author), Célia Chauffrey (Illustrator)

Little Red Riding Hood by Lari Don (Author), Célia Chauffrey (Illustrator) was released last month and is a fun interpretation of Little Red. It comes with a CD to listen to the story, too. I haven't seen this one in person yet, but the sassiness of LRRH comes across in the images. I bet this one bests the wolf all on her own. Or so I hope!



Book description:

Little Red Riding Hood loves to visit her Granny's cottage in the forest. Her mother warns her to go straight to Granny's, but when she meets a handsome grey wolf, she doesn't see the harm in stopping for a chat. Scottish storyteller Lari Don's retelling of this well-loved tale is lively and exciting with a wolf who is just scary enough for younger children to enjoy. Célia Chauffrey's finely detailed paintings create an enticing world of quirky characters in a dark and mysterious forest. Comes with storytime CD featuring narration of the text by beloved English actress Imelda Staunton.

Bargain New Book: Cinderella by Sarah L. Thomson (Author), Nicoletta Ceccoli (Illustrator)

Cinderella by Sarah L. Thomson (Author), Nicoletta Ceccoli (Illustrator) is a new book--I haven't even covered it on SurLaLune yet--that has been temporarily bargain priced in hardcover on Amazon to $7.99, 56% off cover price. It may even be a today only but I am not sure.

Of course, the reason to buy another Cinderella picture book is new illustrations and these are by Ceccoli, a personal favorite of mine, since I already own her The Princess and the White Bear King, among others. (I'll put up some more book covers at the bottom of this post.) I love these but wish Cinderella looked a little older. But then again, my almost three-year-old niece is Cinderella nuts right now and I know she will adore this book. Christmas present it is!

You can view several of the illustrations by looking inside the book on Amazon. I wasn't able to easily capture and share any here today.

Book description:

Once upon a time, a rich merchant lived with his daughter. He loved the girl for her beautiful face and her sweet heart. But after his wife died, he decided to marry a second time, and his new wife was selfish and cruel. She had two daughters of her own who were just like her. . . .

This story of Cinderella is based on the version collected and published by the seventeenth-century author Charles Perrault. Perrault’s Cinderella echoes the elegance and luxury of the French court of King Louis XIV, and it’s from his version that we get Cinderella’s famous glass slippers. Sarah L. Thomson’s beautiful retelling of the classic fairy tale is matched with the uniquely stunning artwork of Nicoletta Ceccoli rendered in acrylics on paper and digitally. This is a picture book to treasure.

 

Blood and Snow Volumes 1-4: Blood and Snow, Revenant in Training, The Vampire Christopher, Blood Soaked Promises by RaShelle Workman

Blood and Snow Volumes 1-4: Blood and Snow, Revenant in Training, The Vampire Christopher, Blood Soaked Promises by RaShelle Workman is bundled into a bargain price of 99 cents for a limited time. These appear to be self-published so be ye warned if that matters to you.

"Lips red as rubies, hair dark as night. Drink your true love's blood, become the Vampire, Snow White."

EVERY THOUSAND YEARS THE VAMPIRE QUEEN SELECTS A NEW BODY, ALWAYS THE FAIREST IN THE LAND, AND THIS TIME SHE'S CHOSEN SNOW WHITE.

Praise for the Blood and Snow series:

"The modern twist on the Snow White fairy tale was interesting and original, which isn't easy to find these days. Highly recommended." Sarra Cannon, bestselling author of the Peachville High Demons series

Summary:

BLOOD AND SNOW: Snow White isn't an ordinary girl. She doesn't know that yet.

REVENANT IN TRAINING: Snow has become something not quite human. She must discover how to live with the changes, hopefully without killing anyone.

THE VAMPIRE CHRISTOPHER: Snow White craves blood. Especially the blood of her Hunter. But will drinking from him save or enslave her?

BLOOD SOAKED PROMISES: Snow White must come to terms with her bloodlust. It's one thing to drink the blood of her Hunter, something else entirely to drink the blood of a human.

Free Ebook: The Grimm Curse (Once Upon A Time Is Now) by Stephen Carpenter

The Grimm Curse (Once Upon A Time Is Now) by Stephen Carpenter is temporarily free, marked down from $2.99 on Amazon. The other book in the series, The Grimm Curse (The Girl In The Red Hoodie), is still $2.99. So you can either get a free book or essentially two books for $2.99.

Book description:

Fifteen year-old Jake Grimm is the last living descendent of the Brothers Grimm, who wrote the famous fairy tales in the 1800's. But Jake grew up with foster parents in Los Angeles, never knowing his true destiny until he ran away from his unhappy foster home, to the place of his birth--Woodland--a small town nestled deep in a Northwestern forest.

In Woodland, Jake discovers that the famous fairy tales are all real, and they are happening today. And Jake, as the last living Grimm, is the only one who can stop the witches, big bad wolves, and evil stepmothers who are all alive and well, and about to wreak havoc in the small town of Woodland.

But these fairy tales creatures are not like those in the old stories. Woodland is a modern place, and the creatures Jake battles seem like completely normal, modern people--to everyone but Jake. Only Jake can see them for what they really are, and, together with his friend and apprentice, Madeleine, he must fight to prevent the evil that is all around the unsuspecting teens at Woodland High.

With the GRIMM CURSE, author Stephen Carpenter has done for the Grimm Fairy Tales what the TWILIGHT series has done for vampires--brought them into the real world of today, with real teens who find themselves in the middle of a centuries-old struggle between good and evil.

Because once upon a time is now.

Cinderella and the Magic and Fairy-tale Dice (Story Telling Game)

Magic and Fairy-tale Dice (Story Telling Game) dropped in price overnight to 27% off on Amazon--if it hasn't already gone up--and I decided to finally acquire them. I imagine there are things I will prefer about these over the Once Upon A Time Storytelling Card Game. The dice are backordered but that is better since I can fudge them into a Christmas present for myself.

The fun game, one I can only play right now, is to pick a die and pull a Cinderella out of my head that incorporates that image. I mean a written Cinderella, not one of my own creation. There's just so many of them...and my head is a temporary database of them. Seriously, every single one of the images below on the dice can conjure up a Cinderella tale for me. Well, the bow and arrow might be pushing it. But if it were a sword...I could do that. Trees and pumpkins? Too easy. Even if you don't use Grimms or Perrault. It's more fun if you don't! Quick, name a tale in which Cinderella disguises herself as a gourd! But ghosts, frogs, cats? I can do those, too. When Cinderella Tales From Around the World is finally released, you will be able to play, too, with a simple word search of the ebook. It could be a really boring parlor game.

Product description:

Revive the art of storytelling using these nine beautifully illustrated wooden dice to create the most imaginative, funny, and bizarre stories. This is the perfect family game that will stimulate the imaginations of children and adults alike. Ideal for playing by a log fire.

New Book: The Teller's Tale: Lives of the Classic Fairy Tale Writers edited by Sophie Raynard

The Teller's Tale: Lives of the Classic Fairy Tale Writers edited by Sophie Raynard is a new nonfiction fairy tale release. This one looks fascinating, but doesn't accommodate the SurLaLune budget to acquire right now, so no in depth review, just the usual basic info. There is mostly the usual suspects discussed with some extra less known tellers. Looks like an excellent volume overall!

Book description:

This book offers new, often unexpected, but always intriguing portraits of the writers of classic fairy tales. For years these authors, who wrote from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries, have been either little known or known through skewed, frequently sentimentalized biographical information. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were cast as exemplars of national virtues; Hans Christian Andersen's life became—with his participation—a fairy tale in itself. Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, the prim governess who wrote moral tales for girls, had a more colorful past than her readers would have imagined, and few people knew that nineteen-year-old Marie-Catherine d'Aulnoy conspired to kill her much-older husband. Important figures about whom little is known, such as Giovan Francesco Straparola and Giambattista Basile, are rendered more completely than ever before. Uncovering what was obscured for years and with newly discovered evidence, contributors to this fascinating and much-needed volume provide a historical context for Europe's fairy tales.

Table of Contents:

Introduction
Sophie Raynard

Part I. Emergence

Straparola: Sixteenth-Century Italy
Basile: Seventeenth-Century Italy

Europe’s First Fairy Tales
Ruth B. Bottigheimer

Giovan Francesco Straparola: 1485?–1556?
Ruth B. Bottigheimer

Giambattista Basile: 1575?–1632
Nancy Canepa

Part II. Elaboration

Perrault and the Conteuses Précieuses: Seventeenth-Century France

Sophistication and Modernization of the Fairy Tale: 1690–1709
Nadine Jasmin (translated and adapted by Sophie Raynard)

Charles Perrault: 1628–1703
Yvette Saupé and Jean-Pierre Collinet (translated and adapted by Sophie Raynard)

Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville, Baroness d’Aulnoy: 1650/51?–1705
Nadine Jasmin (translated and adapted by Sophie Raynard)

Catherine Bernard: 1663?–1712
Lewis C. Seifert

Marie-Jeanne Lhéritier de Villandon: 1664–1734
Lewis C. Seifert

Henriette-Julie de Castelnau, Countess de Murat: 1668–1716
Geneviève Patard (translated and adapted by Sophie Raynard)

Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force: 1650?–1724
Lewis C. Seifert

Part III. Exoticism

Galland: Eighteenth-Century France

Antoine Galland: 1646–1715
Manuel Couvreur (translated and adapted by Sophie Raynard)

Part IV. Didacticism

Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont: Eighteenth-Century France

Jeanne-Marie Leprince (or Le Prince) de Beaumont: 1711–1780?
Elisa Biancardi (translated and adapted by Sophie Raynard)

Part V. Traditionalization

Naubert: Late Eighteenth-Century and Early Nineteenth-Century Germany
The Grimms: Nineteenth-Century Germany
Bechstein: Nineteenth-Century Germany

The Legacy of Eighteenth-Century and Nineteenth-Century German Female Storytellers
Shawn C. Jarvis

Benedikte Naubert
Shawn C. Jarvis

Jacob Grimm: 1785–1863, Wilhelm Grimm: 1786-1859
Donald R. Hettinga

Ludwig Bechstein
Ruth B. Bottigheimer

Part VI. Sentimentalization

Andersen: Nineteenth Century Denmark

Hans Christian Andersen
Peer E. Soerensen

Lister of Contributors
Index

Bargain Ebook: Puss in Boots

Puss in Boots (Rabbit Ears Set 4) by Eric Metaxas (Author), Pierre Le-Tan (Illustrator) is the Amazon Kids Ebook of Deal of the Day for $.99.

Book description:

Claude, the youngest son of a miller, feels short-changed when his dearly departed father leaves him nothing more than a retired tomcat. However, when Claude decides to do away with his feline inheritance, the cat devises a clever plan to save his own skin by promising to transform his dim-witted owner into a noble prince. This is a splendid comic adaptation of the classic French fairy tale. Ages 5 and up

Bargain Ebooks: Mercedes Lackey

[image error]
Beauty and the Werewolf (A Tale of the Five Hundred Kingdoms) by Mercedes Lackey is temporarily $1.71 in ebook format, down from about $5.50.

Book description:

The eldest daughter is often doomed in fairy tales. But Bella—Isabella Beauchamps, daughter of a wealthy merchant—vows to escape the usual pitfalls.

Anxious to avoid the Traditional path, Bella dons a red cloak and ventures into the forbidden forest to consult with "Granny," the local wisewoman.

But on the way home she's attacked by a wolf—who turns out to be a cursed nobleman! Secluded in his castle, Bella is torn between her family and this strange man who creates marvelous inventions and makes her laugh—when he isn't howling at the moon.

Breaking spells is never easy. But a determined beauty, a wizard (after all, he's only an occasional werewolf) and a little godmotherly interference might just be able to bring about a happy ending.…

A Tangled Web (A Tale of the Five Hundred Kingdoms), a novella in the same series has just been released singly (it appeared in a multi-author anthology previously. It is currently $2.51.

Book description:

Kidnapping Persephone should have been an easy task. But in the Five Hundred Kingdoms, nothing's ever simple—and the wrong blonde goddess is stolen by mistake, leaving Prince Leopold without his new bride. At least until he braves the realm of the dead to get her back...

A Tale of the Five Hundred Kingdoms novella. Previously published in the Harvest Moon anthology.