Heidi Anne Heiner's Blog, page 78

New Book: Gretel and the Dark: A Novel by Eliza Granville

(US / UK cover with links)
Gretel and the Dark: A Novel by Eliza Granville is released this week in North America. It was released this past February in the UK, see Gretel and the Dark: UK edition.

It's been a little while since I've seen a Hansel and Gretel and WWII retelling. The two are such a perfect match for each other for obvious reasons. It's a very small but potent subgenre of fairy tale retellings.

Book description Gretel and the Dark: A Novel: US Edition:

A captivating and atmospheric historical novel about a young girl in Nazi Germany, a psychoanalyst in fin-de-siècle Vienna, and the powerful mystery that links them together.

Gretel and the Dark explores good and evil, hope and despair, showing how the primal thrills and horrors of the stories we learn as children can illuminate the darkest moments in history, in two rich, intertwining narratives that come together to form one exhilarating, page-turning read. In 1899 Vienna, celebrated psychoanalyst Josef Breuer is about to encounter his strangest case yet: a mysterious, beautiful woman who claims to have no name, no feelings—to be, in fact, a machine. Intrigued, he tries to fathom the roots of her disturbance.

Years later, in Nazi-controlled Germany, Krysta plays alone while her papa works in the menacingly strange infirmary next door. Young, innocent, and fiercely stubborn, she retreats into a world of fairy tales, unable to see the danger closing in around her. When everything changes and the real world becomes as frightening as any of her stories, Krysta finds that her imagination holds powers beyond what she could ever have guessed.

Rich, compelling, and propulsively building to a dizzying final twist, Gretel and the Dark is a testament to the lifesaving power of the imagination and a mesmerizingly original story of redemption.

Book description for Gretel and the Dark: UK edition:

Gretel and the Dark is Eliza Granville's dazzling novel of darkness, evil - and hope.

For fans of Markus Zusak's The Book Thief and Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth.

Vienna, 1899. Josef Breuer - celebrated psychoanalyst - is about to encounter his strangest case yet. Found by the lunatic asylum, thin, head shaved, she claims to have no name, no feelings - to be, in fact, not even human. Intrigued, Breuer determines to fathom the roots of her disturbance.

Years later, in Germany, we meet Krysta. Krysta's Papa is busy working in the infirmary with the 'animal people', so little Krysta plays alone, lost in the stories of Hansel and Gretel, the Pied Piper, and more. And when everything changes and the real world around her becomes as frightening as any fairy tale, Krysta finds that her imagination holds powers beyond what she could have ever guessed . . .

Eliza Granville was born in Worcestershire and now lives in the Welsh Marches. She has had a life-long fascination with the enduring quality of fairytales and their symbolism, and the idea for Gretel and the Dark was sparked when she became interested in the emphasis placed on these stories during the Third Reich.

Fairy Tales in Advertising: Symbicort: Three Little Pigs

Symbicort Grandpa from FFAKE Animation on Vimeo.

Saw this this week and had to share, of course. A rather clever use of the fairy tale for an asthma drug. Kudos.

From the Vimeo page:

Director: Mike Smith
Client: AstraZeneca
Product: Symbicort
Agency: JWT NY

The brilliance of using the Wolf and 3 Pigs story for a COPD product can't be understated in this charming throwback to classic fully animated pieces of the 40's and 50's.

Director/Design: Mike Smith
Animation Production: FFAKE
Live Action: Laurence Thrush/Rabbit

Fairy Tales in Advertising: Scrabble: Multiple Tales

Scrabble: Red Riding Hood
This one is fascinating but I have to let the designers fully explain it. So from Ads of the World:

This poster was written to prove the infinite amount of words you can get combining the alphabet letters when playing Scrabble. We took the classic tale Red Riding Hood "Caperucita Roja" and using the exact same letters, from the title and the story, wrote a completely different tale: "Pau el Carrito Caja", Paul the little Boxcar. As an example, if this poster was written in English, a different tale using the same letters of Red Riding Hood could have been "Odd Herd Origin". "Pau el Carrito Caja" tells the story of a little girl that travels with her imagination to different places on Pau, in her car made out of a wooden box.

Advertising Agency: Ogilvy, Guatemala
Chief Creative Officer: Ramiro Eduardo
Creative Director: Herberth Monterroso
Copywriter: Desire Cojulum
Illustrator: Sua Agape
Art Directors: Fernando Mira, Christina Irving-Bell

Now someone go play this rewriting game with another fairy tale. I call Princess and the Pea!  Nah, I think I will just stick to playing Scrabble instead. Which, ironically enough, has been my computer game of choice for clearing the brain after a long day in 2014.


Scrabble: Three Little Pigs

This poster was written to prove the infinite amount of words you can get combining the alphabet letters when playing Scrabble. We took the classic tale Three Little Pigs "Los Tres Cochinitos" andusing the exact same letters, from the title and the story, wrote a completely different tale: "Tres Chinitos Locos", Three Crazy Little Chinese. As an example, if this poster was written in English, a different tale using the same letters of Three Little Pigs could have been "The Glitter Piles". "Tres Chinitos Locos" tells the story of three wise Chinese friends that get the call from the Emperor to find the cure for mortality. After many attempts the wise Chinese come back with the solution: To avoid mortality live your life fiercely.

Scrabble: The Ugly Duckling

This poster was written to prove the infinite amount of words you can get combining the alphabet letters when playing Scrabble. We tok the classic tale The Ugly Duckling "El Patito Feo" and using the exact same letter, from the title and the story, wrote a completely different tale: "Pelotita Ofe", Little Ball Ofe. As an example, if this poster was written in English, a different tale using the same letters of The Ugly Duckling could have been "Cudy The Gull King". "Pelotita Ofe" tells the story of a little ball called Ofe (short name for Ofelia) that opposite to the Ugly Duckling, goes from pretty to ugly after she goes on a diet because she finds out that she is fat.

How fitting that I will be spending the weekend at the Southern Festival of Books!

The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury

The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury is $3.63 in paperbook at Amazon and I wanted to recommend it as a great book that shares Halloween traditions with readers young and old. The folkloric content is of interest to the usual SurLaLune reader which is why I am sharing here. A dear friend loves the book and has written a much better post about the book and how it has become an annual part of her Halloween celebration at this post: The Halloween Tree. I missed recommending it here last year because it was too late when I thought of it. Why torture you with what you couldn't order in time to use for the holiday?

Book description:

Special indeed are holiday stories with the right mix of high spirits and subtle mystery to please both adults and children--Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol," for example. Or Ray Bradbury's classic The Halloween Tree. Eight boys set out on a Halloween night and are led into the depths of the past by a tall, mysterious character named Moundshroud. They ride on a black wind to autumn scenes in distant lands and times, where they witness other ways of celebrating this holiday about the dark time of year. Bradbury's lyrical prose whooshes along with the pell-mell rhythms of children running at night, screaming and laughing, and the reader is carried along by its sheer exuberance.

Bradbury's stories about children are always attended by dread--of change, adulthood, death. The Halloween Tree, while sweeter than his adult literature, is also touched at moments by the cold specter of loss--which is only fitting, of course, for a holiday in honor of the waning of the sun.

This is a superb book for adults to read to children, a way to teach them, quite painlessly, about customs and imagery related to Halloween from ancient Egypt, Mediterranean cultures, Celtic Druidism, Mexico, and even a cathedral in Paris. (One caveat, though: Bradbury unfortunately perpetuates a couple of misconceptions about Samhain, or summer's end, the Halloween of ancient Celts and contemporary pagans.) This beautiful reprint edition has the original black-and-white illustrations and a new color painting on the dust jacket. --Fiona Webster

New Book: The Fairy-Tale Matchmaker by E. D. Baker

The Fairy-Tale Matchmaker by E. D. Baker is another new release this week. Baker is perhaps the most prolific fairy tale author right now and this is the start of a new series--her third with fairy tale inspirations--that hints at a fairy godmother theme in the book description. Do I smell a publishing trend in Fairy Godmothers? I hope so!

Book description:

Cory is a young tooth fairy in training who wants to be anything but that, except there's no way the Tooth Fairy Guild or her mother will let that happen. After yet another bad night on the job, Cory quits to explore other things—like babysitting an adventurous Humpty Dumpty, helping Suzy organize seashells by the seashore, and attempting to finally rid the spiders that plague Marjorie Muffet. But it isn't until Marjorie asks Cory to help set her up with a boy that Cory taps into a power s he never knew she had. As she tries to understand her new-found romantic visions, will Cory finally discover her own true path?

Just as she did with her Wide-Awake Princess series, E. D. Baker spins a tale that is poised to launch her to the top of the fairy tale canon with a new series that fans of Gail Carson Levine and Diana Wynne Jones.

New Book: Pennyroyal Academy by M. A. Larson

Pennyroyal Academy by M. A. Larson is released today. The book description doesn't provide a specific fairy tale but it does claim to be "set in Grimm’s fairytale world." Sounds like giving away a specific fairy tale or two may be spoilerish, so that may be why specific tales are not mentioned. And it has the flavor of a series but nothing states that either.

Book description:

Pennyroyal Academy: Seeking bold, courageous youths to become tomorrow's princesses and knights….Come one, come all!

A girl from the forest arrives in a bustling kingdom with no name and no idea why she is there, only to find herself at the center of a world at war. She enlists at Pennyroyal Academy, where princesses and knights are trained to battle the two great menaces of the day: witches and dragons. There, given the name “Evie,” she must endure a harsh training regimen under the steel glare of her Fairy Drillsergeant, while also navigating an entirely new world of friends and enemies. As Evie learns what it truly means to be a princess, she realizes surprising things about herself and her family, about human compassion and inhuman cruelty. And with the witch forces moving nearer, she discovers that the war between princesses and witches is much more personal than she could ever have imagined.

Set in Grimm’s fairytale world, M.A. Larson’s Pennyroyal Academy masterfully combines adventure, humor, and magical mischief.

Fairy Tales in Advertising: Colsubsidio Book Exchange Part 2

Colsubsidio Book Exchange: Rapunzel and Don QuixoteCome with a story and leave with another.
While the Colsubsidio Book Exchange campaign I shared yesterday is my favorite, this one isn't very far behind it. I am not sure but I think this campaign predates the one from yesterday. I can't really say more than that I would hang all of these Colsubsidio Book Exchange images on my walls to look at every day. I wonder if they sold posters? Or even gave them away?!

Campaign info from Ads of the World:

Advertising Agency: Lowe/SSP3, Bogota, Colombia
Chief Creative Officer: Jose Miguel Sokoloff
Creative Directors: Gustavo Marioni, Carlos Camacho, Jaime Duque
Copywriter: Mario Lagos
Art Directors: Andres Lancheros, Guillermo Siachoque, Sebastian Pelaez
Account Director: Carlos Obando
Agency Producer: Sonia Llanos
Chief Executive Officer: Francisco Samper
Account managers: Natalia Bermudez, Paola Cortes
Retoucher: La Lupa
Photographer: Javier Crespo
Craft Producer: Miguel Angel Lopez

Colsubsidio Book Exchange: Peter Pan and The Werewolf

Colsubsidio Book Exchange: Alice in Wonderland and The Sword in the Stone

New Book: Stray (Four Sisters) by Elissa Sussman

Tomorrow, October 7th, is one of the biggest fairy tale release days of 2014. When I say "big," I mean that there are several fairy tale related titles released tomorrow. So expect a lot of book posts this week. I thought I would start with one of the more unusual and thus intriguing to me titles: Stray (Four Sisters) by Elissa Sussman. It's intriguing because it is about fairy godmothers. I've mentioned trends in Prince Charming and Baba Yaga and I'm all for a fairy godmother trend if that is starting.

Book description from Amazon, comparison heavy for marketing:

A cross between The Handmaid's Tale and Wicked, with a dash of Grimm and Disney thrown in, Stray is part coming-of-age story, part fairy tale, part adventure, part sweet romance.

Stray tells the story of Aislynn, a princess who misbehaves and must give up her royal trappings and enter a life of service as a fairy godmother. Will Aislynn remain true to her vows and her royal family, and turn away from everything she longs for? Or will she stray from The Path and discover her own way? Epic, rewarding, and provocative, Stray will appeal to readers of Entwined, by Heather Dixon; to those who grew up watching the Disney princess movies; and to fans of the acclaimed musicals Into the Woods and Wicked.

I'm also curious to know if other fairy tales make an appearance, say those with a fairy godmother in them. And the real question is which Wicked are they referencing there? The musical or the book? Cause that's a wide range of atmosphere. And then throw in Handmaid's Tale and I think the powers that be may be overmarketing this one as dark and dreary without realizing it to savvy readers who know their books because the book flap description below is much less dark in tone. I have a feeling TPTB mean Wicked the Musical which is more appealing to a wider audience in my experience.

And from the book cover which is more helpful:

Princess Aislynn has long dreamed about attending her Introduction Ball, about dancing with the handsome suitors her adviser has chosen for her, about meeting her true love and starting her happily ever after.

When the night of the ball finally arrives and Nerine Academy is awash with roses and royalty, Aislynn wants nothing more than to dance the night away, dutifully following the Path that has been laid out for her. She does not intend to stray.

But try as she might, Aislynn has never quite managed to control the magic that burns within her—magic brought on by wicked, terrible desires that threaten the Path she has vowed to take.

After all, it is wrong to want what you do not need. Isn't it?

About the Author

Elissa Sussman received her BA from Sarah Lawrence College and in a previous life managed animators and organized spreadsheets at some of the best animation studios in the world, including Nickelodeon, Disney, DreamWorks, and Sony Imageworks. You can find her name in the credits of The Croods, Hotel Transylvania, The Princess and the Frog, and Tangled. She lives in Los Angeles with her boyfriend and their rescue dog, Basil. Stray is her first novel.

Fairy Tales in Advertising: Colsubsidio Book Exchange 2012

Colsubsidio Book Exchange: Little Red Riding Hood and Moby DickCome with a story and leave with another
Okay, this has to be one of my favorite campaigns using fairy tales ever. So I am not saving it for my usual Friday Fairy Tales in Advertising feature. Be sure to look more closely at these and look at the titles to see what they are doing. It takes more than a first glance to fully appreciate these. Of this set, Snow White is my favorite. With sneaky Sherlock Holmes just waiting to be noticed. Adore! I will share a second campaign tomorrow.

Campaign info from Ads of the World:

Advertising Agency: Lowe/SSP3, Colombia
Creative Chairman: Jose Miguel Sokoloff
Creative Director: Gustavo Marioni, Carlos Camacho
Art Directors: Andres Lancheros, Guillermo Siachoque, Sebastian Pelaez
Copywriter: Mario Lagos
Producer: Sonia Llanos
Account Director: Carlos Obando
Published: April 2012

Colsubsidio Book Exchange: Snow white and Sherlock Holmes

Colsubsidio Book Exchange: Harry Potter and Troy

Today Only: Of Giants and Ice (The Ever Afters) by Shelby Bach is $1.99

Of Giants and Ice (The Ever Afters) by Shelby Bach is on sale today only for $1.99 in ebook format. Usually in the $6 range, this is the first in a series.

Book description:

When Rory realizes fairy tales are the real deal at Ever After School, she embarks on a classic quest to fulfill her destiny in this “fast-paced combination of middle school realism and fairy-tale fantasy” (Kirkus Reviews).

Rory Landon has spent her whole life being known as the daughter of a famous movie star mom and director dad. So when she begins a new after-school program and no one knows who her family is, Rory realizes something is different. After she ends up fighting a fire-breathing dragon on her first day, she realizes the situation is more unusual than she could have imagined. It turns out the only fame that matters at Ever After School is the kind of fame earned from stories Rory thought were fictional. But as Rory soon learns, fairy tales are very real—and she is destined to star in one of her own.

This first installment of The Ever Afters series reimagines classic fairy tale characters in a modern context, merging familiar fantasy with the everyday realities of middle-grade existence.