Heidi Anne Heiner's Blog, page 161

The Princess and the Packet of Frozen Peas by Tony Ross and illustrated by Sue deGennaro

The Princess and the Packet of Frozen Peas by Tony Ross and illustrated by Sue deGennaro was released earlier this year in the US. The concept on this one--and the riff on Princess and the Pea--is rather cute and fun. This was originally published in Australia in 2009 and has made its way to other countries this year thanks to Scholastic.

Book description from publisher:

After tiring of the needs of overly demanding princesses, Prince Henrik devises a test to find a girl who is not so sensitive, using a very thin mattress and an entire packet of frozen peas. His dream girl shows up unexpectedly in the form of his old friend Pippa, who is all too happy to pitch a tent or play a hard game of hockey, after which she finds the perfect use for that packet of peas! In this twist on the fairy tale, Tony Wilson and Sue DeGenarro deliver a freshly humorous take on one prince's search for the just-right girl of his dreams.

And here are some illustrations:

More Sleeping Beauty Syndrome

Photo by Mike Jones

From Stacey Comerford Kleine-Levin Syndrome: British Teen With 'Sleeping Beauty Syndrome' Sleeps For Two Months:

A 15-year-old British girl fell asleep in April. But when she woke up, it was June.

The Sun reports on the curious case of Stacey Comerford, who has Kleine-Levin Syndrome, or Sleeping Beauty Syndrome. People with the condition have "episodes" where they sleep for as long as 20 hours a day for periods of time, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Comerford's latest period of time with the conditionlasted two months, The Sun reported.

"When she's in an episode, she might get up to go to the toilet or get a drink but she's not awake. I call it sleep mode," Comerford's mother, Bernie, told The Sun, adding that she feeds her when she's in this trance-like state. "When she wakes, she thinks it's the following day. She doesn't have any memory of it."

There's more in the article. And I've featured this on the blog before--the syndrome that is--but it always fascinates me and makes me wonder how common it was in centuries past.

Disney's The 7D

Coming to Disney Junior in 2014. From The 'Seven Dwarves' get a new look at CNN:

In case the two recent Snow White movies and "Once Upon a Time" weren't enough for you, Snow White is even having a moment on children's television.

The recently launched Disney Junior channel announced on Tuesday that they've started production on "The 7D," a reboot of Snow White's "Seven Dwarves."

Designed by Noah Z. Jones of the popular Disney series "Fish Hooks," "The 7D" look quite different from how we're used to seeing them.

"Our goal for Disney Junior is to engage kids with stories and characters that represent the very best of Disney storytelling," said Disney Junior Senior Vice President Nancy Kanter in a release.

"With 'The 7D,' we look to continue Walt Disney's legacy of reinterpreting classic folk and fairy tales in ways that delight new audiences. We're excited to re-imagine these familiar characters and put them in a new humorous setting that we think will entertain kids and parents alike."

So how about that, folks? There's a little more on the CNN site. You can also learn more at the Disney Wiki, like this:

The series takes place in the whimsical world of Jollywood, where Queen Delightful relies on the 7D – Happy, Bashful, Sleepy, Sneezy, Dopey, Grumpy and Doc – to keep the kingdom in order. Standing in their way are two laughably evil villains, Grim and Hildy Gloom, who plot to take over the kingdom by stealing the magical jewels in the 7D's mine. With seven very distinct personalities, the 7D always manage to save the day and send Grim and Hildy running back to their evil lair to try another day.

First Image of Angelina Jolie as Maleficent

She's everywhere the last few days--timed to ride the wave of the sucess of Snow White and the Huntsman, I think. I got to talk to a friend who has read the script and I won't say much--I don't know much--but the horns are real in the film--not Maleficent's own styling choice--so the costuming will be interesting throughout, methinks.
This won't be released until March 2014 although we all know that is always subject to change. It will be 3D, too. So the fairy tale trend will continue for a while yet!

Here's Disney's synopsis:

Directed by two-time Oscar®-winning production designer Robert Stromberg ("Avatar," "Alice in Wonderland"), in his directorial debut, and produced by Joe Roth, "Maleficent" is written by Linda Woolverton ("The Lion King," "Beauty and the Beast") and executive produced by Angelina Jolie, Don Hahn, Matt Smith and Palak Patel. Co-starring in the film are Sharlto Copley ("District 9"), Elle Fanning ("Super 8"), Sam Riley ("On the Road"), Imelda Staunton ("Vera Drake"), Miranda Richardson ("The Hours"), Juno Temple ("Atonement") and Lesley Manville ("Secrets & Lies").

This is the untold story of Disney's most beloved villain, Maleficent, from the 1959 classic "Sleeping Beauty." The film reveals the events that hardened her heart and drove her to curse the baby, Aurora. Behind-the-scenes talent includes Academy Award®–winning cinematographer Dean Semler ("Dances with Wolves," "In the Land of Blood and Honey"), production designer Gary Freeman ("Saving Private Ryan," "The Bourne Supremacy"), two-time Oscar® nominated costume designer Anna B. Sheppard ("Schindler's List," "The Pianist") and seven-time Academy Award–winning makeup artist Rick Baker ("Planet of the Apes," "Men in Black").

Here's an excerpt of an interview with Jolie about the film from EW:

In this version, Sleeping Beauty is the nemesis instead of the good guy?

It’s not anti-princess, but it’s the first time they’re looking at this epic woman.

Is it sympathetic to her, or is she a straight-up villain?

It’s both. I hope in the end you see a woman who is capable of being many things, and just because she protects herself and is aggressive, it doesn’t mean she can’t have other [warmer] qualities. You have to figure out the puzzle of what she is.

So there are some redeeming qualities to Maleficent the witch?

It sounds really crazy to say that there will be something that’s good for young girls in this, because it sounds like you’re saying they should be a villain. [Maleficent] is actually a great person. But she’s not perfect. She’s far from perfect.

There’s a tradition of taking a classic character who is a villain and telling the story from his or her perspective. John Gardner did it with the 1971 novel Grendel, and more recently we got the witch’s story in Gregory Maguire’s Wicked, and the musical it inspired. We like it when the bad guy is deeper than we thought.

In general, it’s a very good message to say, “Let’s look at something from the other side.” But then also, what our challenge will be — and the script writer [The Lion King and Alice in Wonderland’s Linda Woolverton] has already cracked it — is not to simplify it, not to just reverse the story but tell a bigger story that doesn’t point the finger [at Princess Aurora] either. It doesn’t flip it.

Since it’s a Disney film, will this version of Maleficent be close to the one we know from their 1959 animated film?

We’re still figuring out the look. We’re experimenting with different things. But the horns are the horns — you can’t deny them. You have to have horns.

New Book: Home From the Sea: An Elemental Masters Novel by Mercedes Lackey

Home From the Sea: An Elemental Masters Novel by Mercedes Lackey was released earlier this month. This is the latest book in her Elemental Masters series. It is inspired by selkie tales with perhaps a touch of The Little Mermaid (not sure about that) instead of the more usual fairy tales the series has drawn from previously.

Book description:

In Edwardian Britain, magic is real. And Masters of the Elements control Fire, Water, Air, and Earth...

Mari Prothero has lived all her life with her father, Daffyd, in a tiny fishing village on the coast of Wales. Though Daffyd takes his boat out on the sea regardless of weather, Mari has learned not to fear for his safety, for her father is a Water mage, and always comes home safely with a large catch. Mari knows that in her family, children are expected to marry at eighteen, to an appropriate stranger. However, Mari is a fledgling Water Master with a rebellious nature. She has no intention of agreeing to any arranged marriage. But Mari has yet to learn the truth of the magical heritage that must be protected by these very marriages. For the Protheros are descended from Selkies—magical beings who are able to change from seals to humans—and to continue her line, she must marry a full-blooded Selkie...

So is anyone a fan of this series? I enjoyed the first books of this series but my affection has waned with the later books although I haven't read this one or last year's release, Unnatural Issue: An Elemental Masters Novel, which interests me with its Donkeyskin and Lord Peter Wimsey inspirations. With the price drop in ebook to correspond to the paperback release, I guess it's time I move it up my TBR list!

Lucy Palmer Fairy Tale Jewelry

Here are some jewelry pieces designed by Lucy Palmer with fairy tales as inspiration. My favorites are the East of the Sun and West of the Moon pendants above and below, but the Firebird, Hansel and Gretel, Mermaid, wolf and Little House in the Woods are all lovely. More items for the wishlist! I'd love to wear one of these when I am presenting fairy tales...

Bargain Ebook: A Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James

A Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James is currently bargain priced at 99 cents in ebook format. The next book in this series--The Ugly Duchess--is due out in August, so this bargain price is promotional in anticipation of that book.

Book description:

Miss Kate Daltry doesn't believe in fairy tales . . . or happily ever after.

Forced by her stepmother to attend a ball, Kate meets a prince . . . and decides he's anything but charming. A clash of wits and wills ensues, but they both know their irresistible attraction will lead nowhere. For Gabriel is promised to another woman—a princess whose hand in marriage will fulfill his ruthless ambitions.

Gabriel likes his fiancÉe, which is a welcome turn of events, but he doesn't love her. Obviously, he should be wooing his bride-to-be, not the witty, impoverished beauty who refuses to fawn over him.

Godmothers and glass slippers notwithstanding, this is one fairy tale in which destiny conspires to destroy any chance that Kate and Gabriel might have a happily ever after.

Unless a prince throws away everything that makes him noble . . .

Unless a dowry of an unruly heart trumps a fortune . . .

Unless one kiss at the stroke of midnight changes everything.

The other two novels in the series so far are When Beauty Tamed the Beast and The Duke Is Mine (Happily Ever After). The latter draws inspiration from Princess and the Pea, more unusual for a romance novel or any novel for that matter.

New Book: If the Slipper Fits (Cinderella Sisterhood) by Olivia Drake

If the Slipper Fits (Cinderella Sisterhood) by Olivia Drake is a new release in the romance genre, drawing inspiration from fairy tales. It is the first book in a new series by Drake of the Cinderella Sisterhood.

Book description from the publisher:

Raised in a girls’ school, Annabelle Quinn longs for the world outside the walls of the academy. When she’s hired as the governess to an orphaned duke, Annabelle never expects the child’s breathtakingly handsome guardian to capture her imagination—or her heart.

Falling for his young nephew’s governess is an irksome complication in Lord Simon Westbury’s orderly life, but Annabelle’s quiet beauty and wry intellect are too much to resist. Meanwhile, a mysterious danger looms over the remote Cornwall estate. Will their newfound desire stand the test of time? Or are some happy endings just too good to come true?

More Fairy Tale Toys by Ostheimer

Bremen Town Musicians
Okay, just in case you don't click through and see the other Ostheimer fairy tale toys at The Wooden Wagon, here are some other favorites. I want one or two to sit on my desk. Maybe. My desk is cluttered as it is, but these would be fun!
Frog Prince Princess
Frog Prince Well
Frog Prince
Castle
Mermaid
Mermaid
Wolf
Little Red Riding Hood
Pied Piper
Rumpelstiltskin
The Star Child (I adore!) Hansel and Gretel

Ostheimer's Snow White Toys

Waldorf education philosophies encourage fairy tales and these wooden toys are one of today's Snow White offerings for you. This line of toys by Ostheimer has several fairy tales available for purchase, some that mix and match between stories as some of the characters do here. The gentle simplicity of these is quite charming. I found these at The Wooden Wagon toy site. I don't think these dwarfs are named Dopey or Grumpy or anything similar...