The (adult) fairy tale mash-up begins again, this time starting with Goldilocks.
599538
A very quick introduction into the world and characters in the upcoming "Goldilocks" retelling trilogy, Marigold is a human who has been in prison for "stealing" what was hers to begin with.  The problem is, she had to steal from a shifter, who is considered more important (socially & economically) than her, so she is arrested & imprisoned immediately.  A year later, once out on parole, she finds out her parole consists of working a sentence she finds - well, I'll just let you read it to find out!  Refusing her sentence, Marigold makes a (slightly violent) break for it, ensuring that if she is caught, she will be returned immediately to prison.

Marigold leaves the country, and along the way meets Ella (who is forced to work for her dragon - literally - stepmother and two stepsisters), as well as who I am guessing is the first of her dragon shifters.

Most of this story is background information, setting up for the actual Goldilocks & the Three Dragon Shifters trilogy, which comes out next month.  There is not a lot of action until the last couple of pages, which then ends on a HUGE cliffhanger, setting up for the first part of the trilogy (Bated).

If you've read the Seven Kingdoms series, but were looking for a more "adult" tone, this is sure to please!  The fairy tale mash-up begins again, this time starting with Goldilocks.

I voluntarily read an advanced (ebook) copy of this story.
1736637
I love fairy tales, retellings of fairy tales and stories that combine characters from various fairy tales, so I was quick to choose this book from the Amazon Vine program. The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom is a story about the princes featured in Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and Rapunzel. Notice that all those stories center around the heroine of the tale and not the hero.

In Christopher Healy's book the princes are fed up with barely being noticed in their own stories. And the princesses are not so sure they want to marry these flawed, less than charming princes.

When Cinderella decides to leave the palace in search of adventure, Prince Frederic follows her. As he searches for Ella he meets three other princes and together they stumble onto a diabolical plot that threatens to destroy their kingdoms. The princes scramble from one adventure to another and along the way they discover their own strengths, forge friendships and learn to act as a team.

This book is definitely funny. The humor and adventure will keep you turning pages. But the characters are what really make this story stand out from other middle grade fantasy fiction novels. Each prince has distinct strengths and weaknesses. Together they learn how to make the most of what each person has to offer to the group. And by the end of the story some weaknesses turn out to be strengths after all.

Friendships are very important for tweens and this book is as much about friendship as it is about dragons and witches and heroes. This theme gives substance to what would otherwise be a fun but fluffy book. I highly recommend it!
4936727
It was a little inventive to re-create the Red-Riding Hood fairy tale from our childhood and give it some steam and adult parts that as adults we can enjoy quite a little bit. Red was a little bit funny although I did find it bit wearing that she was always complaining about the restrictions of her family life yet she didn't take the reins and change anything even by a small bit until her trip to Granny's and that's such a small thing, take a basket to Granny when you're now an adult! It was wearing to read it. Then she fussed once she got to Granny's!
1050095
Since the Adversary's first attack in the previous volume, it was obvious that the war had come to Fabletown and that this would be an ongoing theme for the rest of the series. However, aside from the first story, which features a treacherous Fable, the war with the Adversary hardly figures at all into this volume. Instead, we mostly get to see what happens as Prince Charming takes over Fabletown, and Snow White tries to deal with her litter of flying babies. There is also another murder mystery with a sad ending, and a flashback story featuring Bigby Wolf behind enemy lines in World War II. A great collection of stories, but a bit slower-paced than previous volumes.
1999393
For children or for adults who want to enjoy a little fun during their long night retelling of this ancient story.
4721638
Then this is a good series.  Here we hear from the characters themselves about what makes them tick and how they came to be and how the evil queen wants to break the bond.  Cameron Jace gives our beloved fairy tales the chance to speak for themselves and tell us their side.
219884
There is a group of authors and entertainers afoot that are bringing the joy of reading to children too occupied with the video games these days to appreciate fairy tales and just plain fine stories. The groups includes Gary Wren, illustrator, authors and editors Steven Runciman, Mary Runciman, Bruce Ley and a strong cast of voices that tell the various stories. The joy is in the variation of the fairytales, the twists that brings them up to date, and the inclusion of emphasizing character attributes that add a new dimension to the stories. The colorfully and imaginatively illustrated books are accompanied by a CD that offers a sound when to turn the page and adds at the end of he story some interactive search and find exercises, a coloring page, and a learning to read lesson plan.

This updated version of RAPUNZEL is narrated by Willie Brown and his cast of animals includes Lynda Shillum, Steve Runciman, Alana Johnston, and Christopher Ley. They all have fun as an entertainment team and so will your children. A very wise investment. Grady Harp, August 14
1726976
I am going to use this as a fairy party game (adult attendees).  I will read the book once, hand out a sheet of paper with A-Z written on it, and they will have to write from memory the type of fairy the book depicted for each letter.  Cute illustrations.
2965361
Andrew Lang (1844-1912) wrote a number of books of fairy tales and differentiated each from the other by color; for example, this one is green, another is pink, and another is blue. This volume contains over forty tales, a dozen of which are well-known:
  Jack and the Giant killer  Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp
  Goldilocks  Rumpelstiltzkin
  Little Thumb  Beauty and the Beast
  Hansel and Grettle  Puss in Boots
  Sleeping Beauty  Little Red Riding Hood
  Cinderella  Sleeping Beauty

 As can be expected, even the lesser-known tales have delightful familiar features that children will enjoy and some outdated improper statements. The Bronze Ring is an example. It has royalty, love by a princess of a commoner, a genie, magic, an evil magician, magic numbers, the need to help the unfortunate, and adventures.

A king has a large piece of land that does not grow beautiful plants. His advisors tell him that he is using gardeners who have no pedigree. If he would find a gardener whose parents and grandparents were gardeners, he would take care of the land properly. The soldiers search for such a man and find him. He comes to the palace with his wife and son. The king has a sixteen year old daughter, and she and the son fall in love.

 The king wants to marry his daughter to the son of a prominent man. His daughter rejects him and says she want to marry the gardener's son. The king's advisors suggest a test. During the test, the son of the prominent person fails to help an old woman. The gardener's son helps her and she tells him how to get hold of a bronze ring which contains a genie who will grant wishes. The genie helps the son attain the king's daughter. A bad magician hears about the ring and is able to get it from the king's daughter. The gardener's son has to find a way to get it back.

 The story is filled with many adventures, the magical number three is mentioned frequently, and there is a prejudicial statement in the tale about blacks.
289911
I just loved the introduction to the contents of what's included in the books collection of fairy tales.  I am going to quote the introduction by Alice Dalegliesh:

"Just as the enchanted swans of Hans Christian Andersen fly through the pages of this book from first page to the last story, so the stories themselves are held together by a thread of enchantment that runs all through the book. .... Here are tales of enchanted princes and princesses, of animals that become human beings and humas turned into animals."  There is more in between the ....., but you will need to find this out for yourself.  Fairy tales include: The wild swans, by Hans Christian Andersen; Zlatovlaska the golden-haired, retold by Parker Fillmore; The fire-bird, the horse of power, and the princess Vasilissa, retold by Artur Ransome; Cat skin, retold by Walter De La Mare; Snow-White and Red-rose, by the Brother's Grimm; East o' the sun and west of the moon, retold by George Dasent; The history of dwarf long nose, by Andrew Lang; The tinderbox, by Hans Christian Andersen; The house in the wood, by the Brother's Grimm; The twelve dancing princesses, by the Brother's Grimm; Beauty and the beast, an old French tale; The twelve months, retold by Parker Fillmore; The white cat, by Countess D'aulnoy; The golden parrot, retold by Ralph Steele Boggs and Mary Gould Davis; The black horse, retold by Joseph Jacobs; The Frog prince, by the Brother's Grimm; Simple Seng and the parrot, retold by Frances Carpenter; The swineherd, by Hans Christian Andersen; Rairu and the star maiden, retold by Charles Finger; Brair rose, by the Brother's Grimm; and The sleeping Tsarevna and the seven giants, retold by Ida Zentlin.
2414150
This Regency will appeal to readers who want great scenes between the hero and heroine but are tired of repetitious details about Almacks, the ton, the girth of the Prince Regent, and the intricacies of dress and manners. Readers with literary backgrounds will enjoy a reworking of various fairy tales and myth--notably, Sleeping Beauty and the Seven Dwarfs and Odysseus returning home to Penelope. Plus there are codes to be broken and in jokes: when the code is broken three of the names (of possible traitors) turn out to be people who in the next century wrote notable manuals of analytical bibliography--Ronald MacKerrow, Philip Gaskell, and Fredson Bowers. What larks!
4191996
Goldilocks and the Three Martians is a great twist to the original Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  The story is written in a poem like format with rhyming sentences which adds an interesting touch to the story line.  The illustrations catch the eye with the bold use of colors.  This would be a great book to use in a camparing activity with Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
4447546
This take on Goldilocks is unique. The children in my life like it, and I bought some of the other books in this series too.  I appreciate the fact that it is a more contemporary take on an old, worn out classic. Children now days can relate to this one better. Its all fantasy anyway, but at least this is in a modern perspective.
2384385
My daughter (12) read and reviewed this book for Mother Daughter Book Reviews.

This book tells the fractured fairy tale story of Goldilocks. Goldilocks is fairly new to Grimm academy and wants to make a lot of new friends but when she gets an invitation to join E.V.I.L. society she finally feels like she has friends. But she doesnt really want to be a villain so when Red, Cinda, Snow and Rapunzel discover Goldilocks invitation, they realize that Goldilocks could help them defeat E.V.I.L. society! Now Goldilocks must figure out a way to pretend to be a member of E.V.I.L. and keep it a secret.

I really liked how Goldie was like a double agent pretending to work for E.V.I.L., except she was actually trying to stop E.V.I.L. I always like books where the villain is pretending to be nice because they think the main character is on their side until they realize that the main character is actually trying to stop them.  I learned from this book that all you need to do to make friends is to be true to yourself and don't try to be anyone else.  Its really hard to be the new kid in a school, but in time, you make friends who are just like you.

I really liked the cover of the book. Its really cool because at first glance you think, Oh look!  Its the Library of Grimm Academy with random stuff in it. But when you look at it closely you realize that its the B section of the library and everything starts with the letter B (bears, books, bubbles, basket, banjo, bell, butterfly) everything except for Goldilocks and her ring of keys (which she uses to open a safe in the library).

I thought this book was really cool and fun. I read it in only one sitting  because I couldn't put it down!  I think girls 7-12 would like this book.
4673895
Tales of Cynings starts out looking like a fairly straightforward retelling of a fairy tale or two.  But after the first story it expands into a history of an era in the fictional country of Cynings where it is set.

The first story, The Laborers Cat is more or less Puss in Boots, although there are differences.  After Horaces fathers bakery burns down leaving him orphaned and out of work, Horaces cat, Shadow, suddenly acquires the ability to speak one day when they are out roaming in the woods.  The cat goes off on adventures by himself leaving Horace to support himself as a farm laborer.  While the cat is gone, Horace is befriended by a young woman named Cassandra who turns out to be the princess of the country.

Eventually Horace and Shadow succeed in getting the Cassandras father to allow her to marry Horace.  They are good rulers, beloved of the people, and reign together for a long time.

In the next story, Straw and Gold things begin to go off the rails a bit.  This is basically the story of Rumplestiltskin, although in this one the dwarf is named Rumstakkelden.  Horace and Cassandra lived long and ruled well, but never had any children.  Just before his death, Horace seeks out his closest living relative to succeed him, a cousin named Hatchet.  Hatchet as a ruler is neither good nor popular.  He is primarily interested in gold, and raises taxes on everybody to get more of it.

In a town in the north of the kingdom a young girl, Abigail, is arrested after being forced to look for food in the mayors garden, partially the result of Hatchets policies.  When she appeals for a trial before the King after being sentenced to die, she is sent to the capital, only to find her right to a trial has been revoked by the King.  She curses him and prepares to die, but she is saved by the appearance of the dwarf, who volunteers to make all the straw in her cell appear to be gold.

A complicated set of circumstances results in her reluctantly marrying the King and promising Rumstakkelden any child she might have by him.  A revolution of the people brings down Hatchet without much involvement by Abigail. And of course, once her son (whom she names Hatchet II) is born, she realizes she cant give him up after all.  So, she must find a way to outwit Rumstakkelden.

This is all well and good.  Hatchet II is brought up to be a better king than his father.  For the first part of his life he apparently does well.  But suddenly, as he approaches middle life, he takes a fancy to a servant girl who doesnt want to marry him.  He takes her refusal badly and is driven mad as a result.  In the long two-part story, The Shoemakers he manages to set off another revolution by his obsession with killing the girl, Airem, and her parents, who are shoemakers in another city.  Airem actually escapes his vengeance to hide in the poor quarters of Fortadel (the capital), but only because another woman volunteers to die in her stead.

To escape the Kings mad vengeance the shoemakers take refuge in the forest on the border of Cynings, a place so fearsome the Kings soldiers fear to go there.  The shoemakers are saved from the forest dangers by a trio of Elves who befriend them.  In return the shoemakers make clothes for the Elves, but the Elves have to remove them when they want to be invisible.  Eventually they find out that Airem has supposedly been executed, and they decide it is their duty to somehow see that justice is done for her death.  They return to their native village to encourage an uprising, taking one of the Elves, who have all sworn not to use violence, to try to keep people from being killed in the revolution.

In the end the curse Abigail pronounced on Hatchet is fulfilled, and Hatchet II gets his wish (but not the one to marry Airem).

This was an excellent story, full of suspense even in the parts where you know the outcome, and well told over all.
3710840
It seems everyone knows the story of Goldilocks and the three bears, but Natasha Yim has put a cultural spin on it that is endearing to the readers. Goldy is supposed to have luck, but that is not the case. As her day continued things continue to go wrong, a broken chair here, messed up bed there, porridge all gone, etc. But what happens if Goldy goes back to the Chans and fixes all she has damaged? Could that possible change her luck? One will only find out if they read this book. Children and adults alike will enjoy this sweet twist on a classic fairy tale.
3893777
Very interesting rescue on the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale. It started try to the original story, but certainly had its own flavor.  Well done.