Cameron Dokey's Winter's Child, a retelling of The Snow Queen, is released today as the latest in the Once Upon a Time Series by Simon Pulse. Here's the product description:
Free-spirited Grace and serious Kai are the best of friends. They grew up together listening to magical tales spun by Kai's grandmother and sharing in each other's secrets. But when they turn sixteen and Kai declares his love for Grace, everything changes. Grace yearns for freedom and slowly begins to push Kai -- and their friendship -- away.
Dejected Kai dreams of a dazzling Snow Queen, who entices him to leave home and wander to faraway lands. When Grace discovers Kai is gone, she learns how much she has lost and sets out on a mystical journey to find Kai...and discover herself.
Here's also a link to an article by Allison Fuhrman about the series: Fairy tale retellings. And a sample chapter is available on the Simon Pulse website at Winter's Child.
The Simon Pulse series has been around for several years now (since 2002). The covers are receiving a makeover--no more lush paintings by Kinuko Y. Craft which I miss. The new covers provide stronger hints as to which fairy tales are hidden inside, however. With 18 titles so far, this is an enduring series and I'm glad it continues to do so well for fairy tales. Overall the novels have been very creative in their interpretations within the confines of the series' expectations.
The next installment (#18) will be available in February 2010. Violet Eyes by Debbie Viguie intrigues me since it will be a novel-length retelling of Princess and the Pea. Gail Carson Levine wrote one with her The Princess Test for middle readers but that is really novella length at most. There's also been some romance novels, too. I have a short list available here: Princess and the Pea Romance Novels. But overall, Princess and the Pea, perhaps the shortest of the popular fairy tales, doesn't receive novelization treatment very often.
I find it a little annoying but also understandable at the same time for why there isn't much around on princess and the pea. Its one of my favourite fairytales - but I think it may worry some authors to have a protagonist who is precocious, street-smart but not necessarily book-smart (or perhaps too book smart to be popular) and not an outstanding beauty to look at.
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