Fairy Tales
Imagine a little girl who insists on wearing a homemade princess hat (you know the type--cardboard cone, covered with pink silk and a long wisp of pink taffeta coming out of the top). Now, imagine what stories that little girl might like to hear.
Yes, I have a fairy tale addiction. I came by it honestly. While my sister was out riding her tricycle and falling off the jungle gym, I was in my room with my magic wand (very sophisticated with the foil covered star), reading from a worn copy of the Brothers Grimm.
Strangely enough I never learned about novelized fairy tales until well into adulthood. I don't know how I missed them, since most novelized fairy tales are classified as young adult, but somehow my teen years passed me by without my delving into the genre that has become my favorite. I'll blame it on my teen fascination with Christopher Pike and R. L. Stine.
A lot of people think I'm silly for enjoying fairy tales so much, but a little study on the subject has intellectually justified my fascination with the old stories.
If you've studied fairy tales at all, you probably know that the Disney sanitized versions are not at all what fairy tales started out as. Even the brothers Grimm didn't capture the true essence of original fairy tales. Fairy tales have a much darker history than most people realize, which is one reason they continue to be something of an obsession for me.
What's this dark history? Well, as far as I can tell from my Internet research, most fairy tales started out as a way to teach women how to survive in the world. Women had no inherent power, so they had to use cunning to gain power. It may not sound like an endearing term, but wily women were the precursor of the modern day feminists. Read a few of the historic fairy tales found at Folktexts and see if you agree.
Enough of all that prattle! I'm supposed to be sharing my very favorite novelized fairy tales, but I can't help but spread a little bit of history behind my obsession.
First and foremost, I want you to understand that these novelized fairy tales are not generally for children. Fairy tales were originally written for adults and most of my favorites include adult themes.
First up is a very well developed retelling of East of the Moon, West of the Sun, Once Upon a Winter's Night by Dennis L. McKiernan. McKeirnan takes a short, poignant tale and turns it into a wonderful full length novel. The world is imaginative and has everything a fairy world should have. The characters are realistically conflicted, and the plot is complex enough to keep even the best plot-unraveller guessing until the very end. I adore this book and highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good story. This is one of those adult tales about a young girl falling in love with a prince in disguise. It is also a tale about trust. If the main character of the book would just trusted her lover she wouldn't have nearly as exciting of a life and we wouldn't have a book to read.
Donna Jo Napoli is one of the renowned tellers of the modern fairy tale. I've read several of her books including Beast, Zel and Sirens. Beast takes on the Beauty and the Beast story, but from a slightly different angle. Instead of being set in the wilds of Europe, the story takes place in Asia. The story is told from the Beast's point of view and is extremely poignant and well written. It is by far my favorite Napoli story, though I love them all. You can generally find her books in the YA section of the library or book store, though I find they are quite graphic and probably would not be enjoyed by younger teens.
No list of fairy tales writers would be complete without a nod to Robin McKinley. I've even heard a few people go so far as to say she's the mother of the modern day fairy tale novelization. Frankly, I'm not that big of a fan. Of her works, I've only really fallen in love with Beauty, one of her Beauty and the Beast retellings. McKinley writes for tweens, and that is not my favorite age group. Frankly, if I was going to recommend one book meant for the tween set, it would have to be Ella Enchanted by Gail Levine. It is a wonderful work of humor that plausibly explains why Cinderella would sit back and take the abuse that her step-mother dishes out.
If you're looking for an original, modern fairy tale you must go out and read Star Dust by Neil Gaiman. His overactive imagination was hard at work when he created this beautiful piece of whimsy. A young man enters Fairy and has many adventures while there. Fairy tales don't get much better than this. If you're lucky you may even be able to find a copy of the illustrated edition, which is definitely not child friendly. The book isn't graphic, though there is sex, but one illustration goes far beyond the words in the book.
Last, but not least, I have to give a shout out to one of the best children's fairy tales that I've seen in years! I don't know if I would have liked it as a kid, but as an adult I think Cinder Edna by Ellen Jackson should be required reading for every little girl and boy. When I taught freshmen English my students used to cheer when I'd read them this book to kick off my fairy tale unit. This picture book is a twist on the traditional Cinderella story. Cinderella is a boring martyr with a next door neighbor who is in a similar situation. The next door neighbor, Edna, doesn't sit back and let life happen to her. She finds ways to solve her own problems and have a little fun. This very empowering book belongs on the shelves of all children!