fairy tales

Changing the future…

Sophie Rosen , ,

Bucay, Jorge. The King and the Magician. New York: Abbeville Kids, 2014.
A powerful and feared king, who commands his subjects to not only obey him and but also admire him, hears of a much loved magician who can foretell the future. Consumed by jealousy, the king plots the magician’s demise. This spell-binding picture book from Argentina – full of magnificent pictures by Gusti, an award-winning illustrator – will be appreciated by readers 8 to 13 years old. [Jealousy; Kings, queens, rulers, etc.; Wisdom; Wizards] 

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Love is the master key that opens the gates of happiness, of hatred, of jealousy, and, most easily of all, the gate of fear.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., American physician and poet

Hans Christian Andersen

Sophie Rosen , ,

Varmer, Hjordis. Hans Christian Andersen: His Fairy Tale Life. Toronto: Groundwood Books, 2005.
An 11-chapter 111-page biography of the famous writer of fairy tales. Elegantly written by a renowned Danish children’s book author and beautifully illustrated by an award-winning artist, this book is highly recommended for inquisitive readers 10 years old and up. Translated from Danish.

“So you see, good can come even out of old rags, once they leave the rag heap and are transformed into paper on which truth and beauty are written.” – The Rags

Yolen, Jane. The Perfect Wizard: Hans Christian Andersen. New York: Dutton’s Children’s Books, 2004.

Quotations from Andersen’s fairy tales and full-page illustrations by Dennis Nolan accompany this lovely picture book biography highly recommended for readers 7 to 14 years of age.  

More biographies HERE

 “Come close, I want to tell you a story about luck. To some it comes daily, to others once a year. A few may be lucky only once in their lifetime. But we all have good fortune at least once.” – Luck Can Be Found in a Stick

Sophie Rosen , ,

Lesser, Rika. Hansel and Gretel. New York: Dutton Children’s Books, 1999, c1984.
This fairy tale is one the first oral stories collected by the Brothers Grimm in Kassel, Germany. While there are many other versions, this one is closer to the original story from the early 1800s.  Interestingly, there is no stepmother in this story; it is the mother herself who does not want her children. The emotive illustrations by Paul O. Zelinsky enhance the dark foreboding storyline as well as the joyous ending.  Highly recommended for ages 6 and up.

More fairy tales HERE.