Illustrated by Sophie Bass 5 stars Absolutely stunning. Weaving together a Rapunzel narrative with the history of enslaved Africans using cornrow patterns to navigate their journey to freedom, Cooke creates a compelling, empowering, and magical tale. Wonderfully written with flowing narration. A lengthy text but certainly worth the read. I love how empowering the narrative…
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Illustrated by Rhaida El Touny 3 stars A fun new twist on the classic fairy tales Rapunzel, Cinderella, and Sleepy Beauty. Told through interconnected stories, the book follows Rumaysa who is locked away in a tower where a witch makes her spin straw into gold. I really enjoyed the endings in this book. The heroines…
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Edited by Steve Berman Featuring stories from James H. Moran, John Linwood Grant, Jonathan Harper, M. Yuan-Innes, John T. Fuller, Charles Payseur, B. J. Fry, Alysha MacDonald, Mark Ward, Evey Brett, Rob Rosen, and Ann Zeddies 3 stars Definitely a population that has been underrepresented in fairy tales, Burly Tales gives hefty gay men their…
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4 stars What a gorgeous book! Dive into seven classic tales featuring fairy tale princesses. Each story is paired with beautifully intricate book page sculptures, wonderfully lit and displayed. The written tales tone down much of the gruesomeness of the original Grimm tales. No cutting off toes or dancing in iron shoes here. Yet most…
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5 stars A) I love interpretations of fairy tales. B) I am fascinated by Tan’s stunning artistic style. It’s no wonder I loved this book. Each spread showcases a sculpture along with a scene from the fairy tale that inspired it. The photos themselves are stunning, perfectly lit, sometimes with engaging backgrounds, sometimes allowing the…
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4 stars A fascinating collection that explores the would-bes and what-ifs of fairy tale villains. These stories provide alternate explanations and prequels to give insight into the thinking of some of the most notorious villains in the fairy tale world. From the troll under the bridge and the giantess in the sky to the woman…
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3 stars Aesthetically, this books is absolutely gorgeous. Julia Iredale knocked it out of the park with those illustrations and, let’s be real, that cover is perfection. Overall, the stories were good. What Chainani did well, he did very well. The diversity of the characters is splendid. Loved the cultural elements woven in. Not just giving us…
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