Heidi Anne Heiner's Blog, page 98

Help a SurLaLuner: Stories for Advent

Okay folks, reader Nayla sent me this email and I thought I would share with a larger audience to see if we can help her. Yes, I know this might seem past time for you, but I have many friends with similar traditions--most do the same with picture books--so I thought I would request your suggestions while the memories are still strong from the holiday season.

Here's the request:

I’m stumped on a pet project and wondered if you could point me in the right
direction. I’m putting together a collection of forty stories to read night by
night over winter lent next year (it’s a forty day period preceding Christmas
that was the old form of Advent, also called St Martin’s Lent since it kicks off
after Martinmas), I’d like the stories to be winter themed and folkloric,
ideally with a moral attached though not necessarily and I’m including a few
thematic stories such as a legend of St. Nicholas on his feast day and so on.
It’s an entirely private project to put in our family Christmas box, for me to
read to our children, with no selling or any such thing to follow. My trouble
is that I’m finding it impossible to sift through all the material. I’ve found
hundreds of out of copyright Victorian literature full of ‘yule fire’ stories,
but I can’t read through all of them by 2015.

Would you happen to know of any lists of fairy tales broken down by season or
other criteria? Off the top of my head I’ve come up with the Ant and the
Grasshopper, the Snow Queen, the Little Matchgirl, Star Money (not wintry, but a
decent moral), the Ice-Maiden, the Snow Man, and East of the Sun/West of the
Moon.

Thank you for your time and attention!

Nayla

Please post your answers here and Nayla and I thank you for your help!

PS: For 2014, I plan to offer more Help a SurLaLuner posts as I receive email requests that I cannot handle alone. Not enough time! Besides, all of our heads together will be much more productive than my little lone one, as overtaxed as it is.

New Book: Fearie Tales: Stories of the Grimm and Gruesome

Fearie Tales: Stories of the Grimm and Gruesome by Stephen Jones (Editor), Alan Lee (Illustrator) was released this past October in the UK but won't be released in the US--see Fearie Tales (US Edition)--until September 2014. This may be of particular interest to fans of the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films since their designer Alan Lee illustrates this book.

And, of course, for those of you always seeking darker fairy tales--those of you who prefer Grimm to Once Upon a Time, for example. I've included the usual book description below as well as some illustrations. Authors include Neil Gaiman, Tanith Lee, Joanne Harris and Garth Nix for their fans, too.


Book description:

Two hundred years ago two brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm, collected together a large selection of folk and fairy tales and published them as Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Children's and Household Tales). So successful was the first collection of 88 stories that they kept adding more to subsequent editions. Since then, the tales of the Brothers Grimm have been translated into upwards of a hundred different languages and are known and loved throughout the world.

Now award-winning editor Stephen Jones has tasked some of the brightest and best horror writers in Britain, America and Europe with reinterpreting some of the traditional Hausmärchen, putting a decidedly darker spin on the classic stories.

Stephen Jones is the multiple-award-winning editor and author of more than 100 books in the horror and fantasy genres. A former television director/producer and movie publicist and consultant (including the first three Hellraiser movies), he has edited the reprint anthology Best New Horror for more than 20 years. He lives in Wembley, Middlesex, and travels widely.

Alan Lee was born in London, where he studied graphic art and design. Over the years he has established himself as one of England's preeminent book artists, creating illustrations for, among other works: The Mabinogion, Castles, Merlin Dreams, Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of the Illiad and the anniversary edition of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. He was also the conceptual designer working on the Lord of the Rings films, responsible for creating the 'look' of Middle Earth. He currently lives on Dartmoor.

Upcoming 2014 Fairy Tale Book Releases

I have been busily adding to the lists of 2014 fairy tale releases. I generate my lists on Amazon since that is my top search tool for finding these--99% of these I find through my own research. There are a lot of fairy tale related titles planned for this year and I am sure I am missing several on my lists. If you know of any that are missing, please post here or let me know through email, etc.

I've included some scrolling images, too, to make it more interesting but more books are listed on list pages than appear in the images due to space and availability of covers at this point.

Fairy Tale Influenced Fiction 2014

Amazon.com Widgets

Fairy Tale Picture Books 2014

Amazon.com Widgets

Fairy Tale and Folklore Nonfiction 2014

Amazon.com Widgets

Kongjwi, the Other Cinderella

I have another French picture book to share today. This time it is Kongjwi, l'autre Cendrillon (Kongjwi, the Other Cinderella) by Yeong-hee Lim (Auteur), Marie Caillou (Illustrations).

This is a Korean version of Cinderella, often known as Kongji and Patzzi. Another Korean Cinderella variant, Pigling and Her Proud Sister, appears in my Cinderella Tales From Around the World.

The following images from the book were found on Marie Caillou's site.

La Belle et la Bete by Delphine Bodet

LA BELLE ET LA BETE by Delphine Bodet is a picture book of Beauty and the Beast. It is out of print but that doesn't stop me from sharing images of the book. I have been looking at French picture books again--I say again because I spent the month of January 2012 sharing many French picture books on the blog. My inspiration this time was playing many rounds of Dixit with my niece and other family members over the holidays. I mention Leighton specifically since I gave the game to her for Christmas and she was the one relative who played the game with me every time--she loved it!--as we rotated through new victims/family members.

Anyway, Dixit perhaps best described as Balderdash or Apples to Apples with pictures instead of words and the French illustrations in the original set are very, very French. There's some darkness in them especially in the original set. Leighton's psychologist father--my brother--was fascinated by it and won every time he played. I will have to dig out some of my favorite cards from the game to share some images--some are from fairy tales although the game isn't really a fairy tale game. It could be but it is not just for fairy tale aficionados like us readers here.

So back to the book for today. Bodet's illustrations remind me somewhat of Elenore Vere Boyle since the Beast is vaguely similar in shape sans the tusks although it is obvious different animals inspired both. It's a stretch but it is there for me. Here are images from the book. Enjoy!

Seasoning the New Year

Happy New Year everyone! I have been enjoying a much needed break from most versions of regular work in my life and needed time away from SurLaLune, too, while I enjoyed the holidays with family and friends and worked on some longstanding personal goals. I am feeling refreshed and more invigorated about SurLaLune than I have felt in almost two years since I moved houses and life got really, really hectic.

The fifteen year anniversary of SurLaLune occurred with no fanfare on December 28th but I am planning some fun in January to celebrate since I imagine most of you were off holidaying, too.

I wanted to share my favorite surprise gift of the season. My sister-in-law charmed me with this unexpected set of Fred and Friends Salt + Magic: Salt and Pepper Shakers. I dedicated Mermaid and Other Water Spirit Tales From Around the World (Surlalune Fairy Tale) to her and she has actually read much of the book, too. She saw these at a local store and thought of me which is always a cozy, comforting thought. She knows I have a penchant for fun kitchen stuff--like my collection of Zak Happy Spoons--so this gift really hit several high notes for me.


Yes, you magically salt and pepper your food by waving the wands over it. No stars appear like in the image above (smirk) but salt and pepper do generously emerge as you wave them. They are not practical but they are fun. The design would have been more practical by having the shaker holes at the top of the stars to make filling, seasoning, and storage easier but I am keeping these for the fun factor. And because I always appreciate some extra magical help in the kitchen.

Bargain Ebook: Beyond the Glass Slipper: Ten Neglected Fairy Tales To Fall In Love With by Kate Wolford

Beyond the Glass Slipper: Ten Neglected Fairy Tales To Fall In Love With by Kate Wolford is on sale for half price on Amazon for a short time. Wolford is the editor of Enchanted Conversation and a great supporter of fairy tales. Also, if you prefer paper, you can get it for $8.96 and then also get the ebook for $1.99 with the Kindle Matchbook program.

Book description:

Some fairy tales everyone knows—these aren’t those tales. These are tales of kings who get deposed and pigs who get married. These are ten tales, much neglected. Editor of Enchanted Conversation: A Fairy Tale Magazine, Kate Wolford, introduces and annotates each tale in a manner that won’t leave novices of fairy tale studies lost in the woods to grandmother’s house, yet with a depth of research and a delight in posing intriguing puzzles that will cause folklorists and savvy readers to find this collection a delicious new delicacy.

Beyond the Glass Slipper is about more than just reading fairy tales—it’s about connecting to them. It’s about thinking of the fairy tale as a precursor to Saturday Night Live as much as it is to any princess-movie franchise: the tales within these pages abound with outrageous spectacle and absurdist vignettes, ripe with humor that pokes fun at ourselves and our society.

Never stuffy or pedantic, Kate Wolford proves she’s the college professor you always wish you had: smart, nurturing, and plugged into pop culture. Wolford invites us into a discussion of how these tales fit into our modern cinematic lives and connect the larger body of fairy tales, then asks—no, insists—that we create our own theories and connections. A thinking man’s first step into an ocean of little known folklore.

Fables on Sale in Ebook Format

Several ebook collection volumes (compiling several issues in one book) from the Fables series and its offshoots are on sale for $3.99, significantly dropped from the usual $9.99+ price on these. You don't need a tablet to read but you must have a Kindle device, not just a Kindle app on your phone, iPad, etc. You do not need a tablet only as some graphic novels require though. You can read in black and white on your regular Kindle.

I imagine these are price matched through other sellers, too, but I am not taking time to check.

Text links if the images hard to read:

Fables Vol. 1: Legends in Exile

Fairest Vol. 1: Wide Awake

Fables Vol. 18: Cubs in Toyland

Fables Vol. 19: Snow White

Fables: Werewolves of the Heartland

Ebooks on Sale: The Captive Maiden and Others by Melanie Dickerson

The Captive Maiden by Melanie Dickerson is on sale for $1.99 in ebook format. Released last month, it is the newest (and fourth) release in her inspirational fairy tale series. This time she explores Cinderella.

Book description:

Happily Ever After ...Or Happily Nevermore? Gisela's childhood was filled with laughter and visits from nobles such as the duke and his young son. But since her father's death, each day has been filled with nothing but servitude to her stepmother. So when Gisela learns the duke's son, Valten---the boy she has daydreamed about for years---is throwing a ball in hopes of finding a wife, she vows to find a way to attend, even if it's only for a taste of a life she'll never have. To her surprise, she catches Valten's eye. Though he is rough around the edges, Gisela finds Valten has completely captured her heart. But other forces are bent on keeping the two from falling further in love, putting Gisela in more danger than she ever imagined.

And while we are here, here are her previous three books in the series are also $1.99 each:

Bargain Ebook: The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back by Sariah Wilson

The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back by Sariah Wilson is temporarily discounted to $1.99 for about two more days from the time I publish this post. It's promoted as sweet and clean YA romance, so if that interests you, this may be the book for you. And obviously it has a Cinderella inspiration behind it.

Book description:

Everyone knows how all those fairy tales go. The princess gets beautiful, nabs her prince, falls instantly in love, lives happily ever after and leaves her evil stepsisters in the dust.

But what happens when you’re the ugly stepsister and your obnoxiously perfect—read pretty, smart, and, worst of all, sickeningly nice—stepsister is dating the charming, tall, devastatingly handsome guy you've had a thing for since you were nine years old?

Quirky, artistic and snarky Mattie Lowe does not lead a charmed life. Her mother is constantly belittling her on Skype. Mercedes, the school mean girl, has made it her personal mission to torment Mattie. But worst of all? Her stepsister Ella is the most beautiful, popular girl in school and is dating Mattie’s secret longtime crush, Jake Kingston.

Tired of being left out and done with waiting for her own stupid fairy godmother to show up, Mattie decides to change her life. She’ll start by running for senior class president against wildly popular Jake.

Ella can keep her Prince Annoying. Mattie’s going to rule the school.

And no one, not even a cute and suddenly flirty Jake, is going to stop her.