It’s time for Top Ten Tuesday, a meme created by The Broke and Bookish.
This week’s topic? Ten Fairytale Retellings I’ve Read/Want To Read
I decided to focus on books I have read and loved: 5 of my favourite picture books and 5 of my favourite MG/YA novels. I love fairytales and stories with nuances of fairytale elements. But, I am very particular. It is a pleasure to share what I consider to be some of the very best in this list.
Picture Books:
The Cat, the Dog, Little Red, the Exploding Eggs, the Wolf, and Grandma written by Diane Fox and illustrated by Christyan Fox
Hilarious. Kind of like having a backseat driver “helping” tell a story. Annoying for the narrator. Amusing for the readers. Little Red Riding Hood like you have never before heard it.
The Princess and the Pig written by Jonathan Emmett and illustrated by Poly Bernatene
This lovely little read manages to link to many classic fairy tales while telling a great original story and poking fun at just about everything! A pig and a princess switch places and the happy ending is not what you might predict.
Me and You by Anthony Browne
Browne tells simultaneous stories, letting us into the world of Goldilocks while at the same time we revisit the familiar story about the bears. On the left, sepia images of the little girl, out on an errand with Mom and then suddenly, lost. Her story is wordless, told just through the images. On the right, we follow little bear and his Mummy and Daddy as they head out for a walk and then return home to find a stranger in their home. A version of the Goldilocks story that we are very familiar with. This story blurs the absolutes of fairy tale right and wrong and introduces a lovely element of empathy.
The Three Ninja Pigs by Corey Rosen Schwartz and illustrated by Dan Santat
Certainly not the Three Little Pigs story we thought we knew! A fan of pig power? Girl power? Stories where the bullies don’t win? This book delivers! Kiya!
The Very Smart Pea and the Princess-to-Be by Mini Grey
This book is told from the perspective of the pea! A pea, who plays quite an active role in the outcome of this tale . . .
Novels:
Rump: The True Story of Rumplestiltskin by Liesl Shurtliff
Such an interesting twist on the fairytale we know. Loved reading this aloud to my class. Why is this book so special? The children loved the whole idea that this was the “back story” of a well known tale. They felt they were in on some secrets! And what characters! We were rooting for Rump. We loved Red and the Trolls and Nothing, the donkey! We all agreed that the King and the Miller were terrible. The pixies fascinated us. Children begged and pleaded for me to read this book at every possible free minute of out day.
The Prince of the Pond by Donna Jo Napoli
The story of the Frog Prince but told from the perspective of the pond and the frogs. The prince is now a frog and must adjust to pond life and to talking like a frog. It is more difficult than it seems. Certain sounds aren’t possible thus, The Frog Prince is De Fawg Pin. Learn a lot about frogs. And their life cycle. Meet Jade, Pin’s mate. Despise the hag. Root for the froglets! Read this aloud to a group of children and prepare for spit out your milk laughter. Chortles. Giggles. Guffawing. The first in a trilogy.
Breadcrumbs written by Anne Ursu
Inspired by the classic story The Snow Queen with all kinds of modern everything. Yet magical fantasy that feels utterly timeless. Read this to my children who loved the mix between fairy tale and real life and all of the references to stories and books they knew. Beautiful as a read aloud – the words just come off the page, swirl around and we are immersed in the book.
The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
I became quickly hooked on all things Shannon Hale after reading this book and went on to read the complete Books of Bayern series. Fast paced. Lots of magic. Fantastic characters. The perfect book to get lost in.
Cinder written by Marissa Meyer
Honestly, I was surprised by how addictive this story was for me. I thought it would be a light read but I was drawn in to the drama and intrigue despite suspecting some of the secrets unveiled late in the novel quite early on. Futuristic, fantasy/sci-fi with fairy tale elements and high drama.
What are your favourite fairytale retellings?
There's a Book for That 
Ah, Cinder! One of my all time favourite books and my all time favourite fairytale retelling! I haven’t heard of any other books on your list though. Happy Reading 🙂
My TTT (Fairy Tale Retellings)
I really enjoyed this title and went on to read the next in the series. My daughter also read and loved these books!
Cinder is a current favorite of mine!
There are so many great fractured fairy tale picture books out there too – The Frog Prince, Continued is always a fun read!
Check out my TTT.
Yes, I like The Frog Prince, Continued as well. When well done, retellings are wonderful!
Hi Carrie,
I’m the TL at Quilchena and I can’t believe I’ve only just discovered your blog! I can’t say how marvellous I think you are!
As for fairy tale retellings, I really liked Ash by Malinda Lo. It’s certainly more YA than JFic but good. You can also add it to your gender diversity list 🙂
Thanks Celia – what a lovely compliment. I will look for Ash. I am not always in the mood for fairytales but love when I can get pulled completely into another world.
Oooh, I love all the ones you mentioned that I’m familiar with, so I’m putting Rump and The Prince and the Pond on my to-read list! (Actually, the other 3 of your MG/YA books are on my list as well!)
Rump and Jack by Liesl Shurtliff are wonderful MG tales. I highly recommend them both. Happy reading!
Princess and the Pig looks adorable!! 😀 And yay for Cinder 🙂 I think Marissa Meyer is winning this week…
@TarkabarkaHolgy from
Multicolored Diary TTT
I agree. Marissa Meyer’s books are getting a lot of love today!
This is a fun list! I put them all in my GoodReads To Read list and I’ll start looking around for them. If you liked Rump by Liesl Shurtliff, then you’ll also enjoy Jack: The True Story of Jack and the Beanstalk. And she has another one coming – Red: The True Story of Little Red Riding Hood.
I see we are both Liesl Shurtliff fans. I read Rump aloud to my class last year and then bought Jack as soon as it was released to share with my class this year – many of the same students so they were thrilled. I am very excited for Red!
Love the picture books! 🙂 My TTT list
My students love fairy tales so I am always on the look out for great titles!
I still need to read Cinder. My husband read the whole series and loved it and I’ve shared my copies with numerous students this past year. I must get Breadcrumbs. I’m liking Jack a lot more than Rump. I really think my issue with Rump (besides too many short choppy sentences) was the fairy tale itself–probably my least favorite. Shannon Hale is so wonderful. I still have several of her books to read for the first time. I refuse to read them just because I don’t want to run out!
I read both Rump and Jack aloud and I probably liked Rump more. It had more kid appeal for my students. Cinder really did surprise me and I went on to read the next 2 titles and know that I will also read Winter. All of the titles are very dramatic and engaging. I do love Shannon Hale and look forward to her books always!
I cannot wait to read Jack! I loved Rump 🙂
Also loved Cinder–almost made it on my list. And I love Hale, but haven’t read that one. 🙂
P.S. Love Dan Santat!
P. P.S. Have you read Princess Academy? I love the first, but haven’t read the rest of them; however, whenever I hear about The Selection, I feel they are just redoing Princess Academy…
Yes, Princess Academy was on my blog today 🙂 I haven’t read the Selection. I won’t tell you how but will say there is a wonderful connection between Jack and Rump!