The Twice Upon a Time series by Wendy Mass tells a familiar fairy tale from the point of view of both the heroine and the hero. Rapunzel, The One With All the Hair certainly takes liberties with the tale (Rapunzel is taken by the witch on her twelfth birthday instead of at her birth, for […]
Why Are Fairytales “Girl Books”?
March 27, 2013 by 5 Comments
When did fairytales end up being for girls? Is this something the Disney Princess marketing juggernaut created or something it just cashed in on? A quick tangent: As a mom, a teacher, and a book reviewer, I twitch a little when I click the “Boy Appeal” or “Girl Appeal” button to categorize a book on […]
A Tale Dark & Grimm
March 26, 2013 by Leave a Comment
A Tale Dark & Grimm takes several familiar and a nice variety of less familiar Grimm fairy tales and links them together, casting Hansel and Gretel as the main characters in all of them. The premise is that these seemingly unconnected tales are actually all parts of one story. The author is also very straightforward […]
Talking About…Twelve Dancing Princesses
March 25, 2013 by 5 Comments
About the Author Jocelyn Koehler is a writer and editor in Philadelphia. She is published by Hammer & Birch. You can sign up for her mailing list for new release updates and possible freebies. Her books are available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Apple’s iBookstore. Her new book End to End, which follows The Way […]
Entwined
March 25, 2013 by 1 Comment
Entwined is a novel length retelling of “The Twelve Dancing Princesses.” (Retellings of this tale seem to be popular—I talked to author and frequent Reads 4 Tweens reviewer Jocelyn Koehler about that.) This version deals with the logistical issue of giving birth to 12 daughters by having the youngest being born right before the mother […]
Books Based on Fairy Tales
March 24, 2013 by 2 Comments
These books are retellings of traditional fairy tales or rely on a reader’s knowledge of traditional tales. Books like The Ordinary Princess, The Princess Bride, and The Birthday Ball share many tropes and details with traditional tales, but they’re original stories that don’t reference or retell traditional tales, so I decided not to include those […]
The Princess Bride
March 22, 2013 by 3 Comments
Review written by Jonathan Lavallee. I’m sure most people have seen the movie and not read the book, turning this book into every one’s favourite book that they’ve never read. The Princess Bride is a story about William Goldman editing out all the boring bits of a beloved childhood book that his father had read […]
How to Survive Ancient Spells & Crazy Kings
March 20, 2013 by 1 Comment
In How To Survive Ancient Spells And Crazy Kings, Bianca and her cousin Melvin convince their parents to take them to the Maya ruins of Tikal to look for Zebulan, their archeologist grandfather who has gone missing. Bianca found a jade necklace that Zeb sent to her father for safekeeping. Of course, she decides that […]
Deadwood
March 14, 2013 by 1 Comment
Martin Cruz moves to Deadwood (known to most people as Lower Brynwood) to live with his “Aunt” Michelle—actually his mother’s cousin, as she’s quick to tell people—because his mother is deployed to Afghanistan and his grandmother has recently passed away. Still grieving and separated from everything he knows and loves, Martin bonds with a huge […]
Fat Vampire: A Never Coming of Age Story
March 12, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Review written by Jonathan Lavallee. I picked up Fat Vampire: A Never Coming of Age Storyhoping for a good laugh that I could share with the tweens in the house. I loved Adam Rex’s other book, The True Meaning of Smekday, and when I read that this was a parody of vampire stories and coming […]
