3D Wood Carved Little Red Riding Hood and Frog Prince LED Lights

 

Jimeva 3D Wood Carved Frog Prince Rainbow LED Night Light and Jimeva 3D Wood Carved Little Red Riding Hood USB LED are $5.99 each at Amazon. They light up! Where do I have room for these? I love the details in these, like the prince and princess in the center of the frog and Granny Wolf to the right in Red Riding's hood. 

Here's some images of them illuminated.

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Bargain Ebook: Frogkisser! by Garth Nix for $2.99

Frogkisser! by Garth Nix is on sale for $2.99 in ebook format.

Book description from the publisher:

The last thing she needs is a prince. The first thing she needs is some magic. . . . “An uproarious adventure” from the New York Times–bestselling author! (Publishers Weekly)

Poor Princess Anya. Stuck living with her evil stepmother’s new husband, her evil step-stepfather. Plagued with an unfortunate ability to break curses with a magic-assisted kiss. And forced to go on the run when her step-stepfather decides to make the kingdom entirely his own.

Aided by a loyal talking dog, a boy thief trapped in the body of a newt, and some extraordinarily mischievous wizards, Anya sets off on a Quest that, if she plays it right, will ultimately free her land—and teach her a thing or two about the use of power, the effectiveness of a well-placed pucker, and the finding of friends in places both high and low.

With Frogkisser!, acclaimed author Garth Nix has conjured a fantastical tale for all ages, full of laughs and danger, surprises and delights, and an immense population of frogs. It’s 50% fairy tale, 50% fantasy, and 100% pure enjoyment from start to finish.

“Delightful . . . wonderfully inventive creatures . . . a captivating story.” —School Library Journal (starred review)

“The characters are so enjoyable readers are sure to miss them when the quest (and book) ends . . . Great fun with heart.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“A delightful adventure stuffed with absurdity, magic, and a spirited young heroine. Beneath these entertaining trappings lies a heartfelt message of justice.” —Booklist

“A rollicking comic fantasy . . . Well-developed characters, an unfailing sense of humor, and polished prose . . . a pleasure to read.” —Publishers Weekly

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From the Brothers Grimm Series on Folkstreams Vimeo Channel: Activities During Coronavirus

Last week one tweet I read that made me laugh was a mother stating emphatically that she's not going to do anything educational while stuck at home with her young kids. They would watch too much tv. They would eat too much junk. Essentially, they would escape anyway they could during the Corona shutdown. I laughed. I liked that she was lowering her expectations and not putting too much pressure on herself. But even those activities will get old in my opinion, so I will keep looking for fairy tale related options to share. Fairy tales and folklore are about surviving trying times.

But on the note of watching TV, I wanted to share links to the From the Brothers Grimm series by Tom Davenport. These are rentable for a few dollars each on the Folkstreams Vimeo Channel. This is just an FYI service from SurLaLune--there is no affiliate earnings with these. Davenport Films made these many years ago so they are not HD and have a folksy feel. They are also mostly set in Appalachia. They are more suitable for older kids, I'd say 3rd grade and up.

I've linked and embedded the films below but some may not embed due to privacy settings. Just follow the links to learn more. They are all viewable for a $1.95 month long rental each.

My husband's favorite (and thus one of my sentimental favorites, too) is Soldier Jack or The Man Who Caught Death in a Sack:


Soldier Jack or The Man Who Caught Death in a Sack from Folkstreams on Vimeo.

Jack and the Dentist's Daughter


Jack and the Dentist's Daughter from Folkstreams on Vimeo.

I remember when this aired on PBS, the last film they produced, Willa: An American Snow White:


Willa: An American Snow White from Folkstreams on Vimeo.

Hansel & Gretel: An Appalachian Version


Hansel & Gretel: An Appalachian Version from Folkstreams on Vimeo.

Ashpet: An American Cinderella


Ashpet: An American Cinderella from Folkstreams on Vimeo.

Rapunzel, Rapunzel


Rapunzel, Rapunzel from Folkstreams on Vimeo.

Mutzmag or The Girl Who Killed the Cannibals. This tale appears in many of the strong women of folklore collections.


Mutzmag or The Girl Who Killed the Cannibals from Folkstreams on Vimeo.

The Frog King


The Frog King from Folkstreams on Vimeo.

Bristlelip is a version of King Thrushbeard.


Bristlelip from Folkstreams on Vimeo.

Bearskin or The Man Who Didn't Wash for Seven Years--Another favorite tale of mine. Really gets the feel of how disgusting Bearskin is!


Bearskin or The Man Who Didn't Wash for Seven Years from Folkstreams on Vimeo.

The Goose Girl


The Goose Girl from Folkstreams on Vimeo.

Hans Christian Andersen at Frederiksborg Castle Gift Shop

As I mentioned in my last travel post about our day visiting the national art museum, Hans Christian Andersen at Frederiksborg Castle, the final destination by design is the gift shop in a museum. Well, we visited this one and I found a few treasures--badly photographed here--to share.

First discovery were the little glass Frog Kings pictured above. Which made me laugh since Frog Kings are so ubiquitous and have nothing to do with Hans Christian Andersen. But it's not surprising that the Frog King is the first tale to be found in the Grimms' collection. I liked this version of the frog since he also holds the gold ball that is rarely remembered from the story.

Moving on, I found some Hans Christian Andersen candy. I didn't buy any--my purchases for this entire trip were minimal and well, it wasn't chocolate. :) Besides, if the label didn't tell you, it would be hard to know this was HCA themed candy. The silhouettes aren't very distinct.

There were a few HCA fairy tale books--nothing new that I hadn't seen before and I forgot to photograph them as a result. But I found these papercut ornaments to be my favorite finds. I was tempted to buy them all until I did the math. They were expensive (about $19 USD each) so I settled on my favorite--the Princess and the Pea, of course. 

I was rather sad that there wasn't a good book to buy--the best ones were ones I already owned and I don't own that many HCA books. Well, relative to other people, I do, but he's not the focus of my folklore library. So I was hoping something would be new to me. But the papercut ornaments seemed fitting so I was happy to find one of those to commemorate the visit.

The Steadfast Tin Soldier

The Ugly Duckling

The Emperor's New Clothes

The Princess and the Pea

Sorry the photographs are dark. You can see the entire collection of HCA themed papercut art by at Oda Wiedbrecht's site with much better photographs, of course. Here is a scan of the one I bought:

Bonus round: As I mentioned, we traveled to the castle by train. I was surprised to find the following message above my head as we waited for the train that morning--whimsical and so very U.S. The world really has gotten smaller. But it was a fitting reminder of how I wanted to spend my day from an unlikely source so I was tickled by it.

And on a similar note, I saw many posters that day advertising a Danish performance of "Into the Woods" at the Tivoli which is essentially the performing arts center of Copenhagen as well as a famous amusement park. I got a bad picture of it--the goal was to get it before several people walked in front of me and to avoid glare. Not very successful. John and I are reflected in the lower right corner. 

But I found the poster again on the Tivoli site for the performance that happened on May 19th. Wonder how well the music--if it does--translates into Danish. Not sure if this was a musical version or not.

And this again shows the universal influence of the Grimms. I've really got to get to Germany next time!

Crafty Friday: Fairy Tale Amigurumi: Crochet Patterns by Lis Sun

I am trying to get organized enough to get some regular blog posts going again. So Crafty Friday is returning with Fairy Tale Amigurumi: Crochet Patterns by Lis Sun. Since most of you are like-minded and mostly want to enjoy the pictures and cleverness of the crafts, I have pictures! Enjoy!

I really do like the Amigurumi style.

Book description:

This compilation consists of the fairy tales that we grow up with. The stories of red riding hood and the big grey wolf, the nursery rhymes of dumpty humpty, the little pinocchio that grows a long nose when he lies, the beautiful rapunzel saved by the charming prince, and the famous Chinese teaching on the frog in the well.

This book consists of written pattern instruction and well illustrated pictorial instruction with generous spread of photos to guide you along.

Skill level: *Easy
*Patterns use basic stitches such as sc, dc, hdc, inc, dec, ch, sl st etc.

I found many of these images on Lisa Sun's various internet hangouts. At SAPlanet, she tells a little more about this pattern's inspiration, which is not the expected European frog, well, etc. stories:

One of the most commonly used Chinese phrase would be ‘frog in the well’ – ( 井底蛙 )

This usually refers to one who thinks too full of himself, and thinks he knows everything, neglecting the fact that there is a bigger world out there than the shallow well he stays in.

And let's not forget Humpty Dumpty...

New Book: From Fairy Tale to Film Screenplay: Working with Plot Genotypes by Terence Patrick Murphy

From Fairy Tale to Film Screenplay: Working with Plot Genotypes by Terence Patrick Murphy was released in late 2015. I haven't seen a copy of it yet, but the table of contents offers some great fairy tales and some popular films.

Book description:

In Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting (1979), Syd Field first popularized the Three-Act Paradigm of Setup, Confrontation and Resolution for conceptualizing and creating the Hollywood screenplay. For Field, the budding screenwriter needs a clear screenplay structure, one which includes two well-crafted plot points, the first at the end of Act I, the second at the end of Act II. By focusing on the importance of the four essentials of beginning and end, and the two pivotal plot points, Field did the Hollywood film industry an enormous service. Nonetheless, although he handles the issue of overall structure expertly, Field falls down when offering the screenwriter advice on how to successfully build each of the three individual Acts. This is because Field did not recognize the importance of another layer of analysis that underpins the existence of plot points. This is the level of the plot genotype.

Plot genotypes are the compositional schemas of particular stories. They are sets of instructions, written in the language of the plot function, for executing particular plots. This book will offer you a richer theory of plot structure than the one Field outlines. It will do this not by contradicting anything Field has to say about the Hollywood paradigm, but by complementing it with a deeper level of analysis. It outline the plot genotypes for The Frog Prince, The Robber Bridegroom, Puss-in-Boots, and Little Red Riding Hood, and will show how these genotypes provide the underpinnings for the film screenplays of Pretty Woman, Wrong Turn, The Mask, and Psycho. By means of a detailed study of these four Hollywood screenplays, you will be able to offer a much richer description of what is going on at any particular point in a screenplay. In this way, you will become much sharper at understanding how screenplays work. And you will become much better at learning how to write coherent screenplays yourself.

Table of Contents:

1 From the Hollywood Paradigm to the Proppian Plot Genotype 1
2 Vladimir Propp’s Functional Analysis of the Fairy Tale 9
3 A Functional Analysis of Charles Perrault’s Cinderella 16
4 Formulating the Concept of the Plot Genotype 27
5 The Robber Bridegroom Genotype 31
6 The Robber Bridegroom Genotype in Wrong Turn (2003) 46
7 The Frog Prince Genotype 56
8 The Frog Prince Genotype in Pretty Woman (1990) 66
9 The Puss-in-Boots Genotype 102
10 The Puss-in-Boots Genotype in The Mask (1994) 111
11 The Little Red Riding Hood Genotype 144
12 The Little Red Riding Hood Genotype in Psycho (1960) 151
13 Conclusion 172
Appendix: Plot Genotype Theory and the Hero’s Journey 177
Notes 182
Bibliography 188
Index 192

Bargain Ebook: The Door in the Hedge: And Other Stories by Robin McKinley for $1.99

Glory be! My ebook library of Robin McKinley's works is increasing to nearly match what I own in paper. The Door in the Hedge: And Other Stories by Robin McKinley is bargain priced for the month at $1.99 and just justified my owning another edition of this book. Not that I need justification, but I do own it already so it helps to own it again in another format at a low price.

Book description:

Ensorcelled princesses . . . a frog that speaks . . . a magical hind—Newbery Medal winner Robin McKinley opens a door into an enchanted world in this collection of original and retold fairy tales

The last mortal kingdom before the unmeasured sweep of Faerieland begins has at best held an uneasy truce with its unpredictable neighbor. There is nothing to show a boundary, at least on the mortal side of it; and if any ordinary human creature ever saw a faerie—or at any rate recognized one—it was never mentioned; but the existence of the boundary and of faeries beyond it is never in doubt either.

So begins “The Stolen Princess,” the first story of this collection, about the meeting between the human princess Linadel and the faerie prince Donathor. “The Princess and the Frog” concerns Rana and her unexpected alliance with a small, green, flipper-footed denizen of a pond in the palace gardens. “The Hunting of the Hind” tells of a princess who has bewitched her beloved brother, hoping to beg some magic of cure, for her brother is dying, and the last tale is a retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses in which an old soldier discovers, with a little help from a lavender-eyed witch, the surprising truth about where the princesses dance their shoes to tatters every night.

Bargain Ebook: Fair Peril by Nancy Springer for $1.99

Fair Peril by Nancy Springer is an ebook reprint of a now out of print book originally published by another publisher. The book is on sale today for $1.99 and is a Frog Prince retelling with a modern setting. The original cover was:

Book description:

The art of storytelling and the power of a mother’s love imbue this feminist fantasy novel—a contemporary riff on the tale of the frog prince

Once upon a time there was a middle-aged woman whose husband dumped her the month after their twentieth anniversary . . .

Divorced, overweight Buffy Murphy is not a happy camper. One April afternoon, she walks into the woods . . . and meets a talking bullfrog. He asks her to kiss him so he can transform back into his princely self. This being modern-day Pennsylvania, Buffy figures she’s better off with a talking amphibian than a cheating husband, so she takes him home. The fun really starts when her rebellious teenage daughter, Emily, kisses him.

Suddenly, Emily and her handsome prince have vanished into the land of Fair Peril, an enchanted realm that can only be accessed through a portal in the local mall. Aided by a gay librarian named LeeVon and hindered by her fairy-godmother-in-law, Fay, Buffy shuttles back and forth between the real world and Fair Peril. Does Emily really want to be rescued, or does she just need someone to love her? It’s up to Buffy to figure out the key to reclaiming her daughter—and maybe herself, as well.

Crafty Friday: Toad Alley Ring and Frog Prince Necklace by Heidi Daus

I have shared Heidi Daus jewelry in the past--she most famously did a collection for Snow White and the Huntsman for HSN a few years ago. I came across this ring and wanted to share it here. It, too, is available though HSN. 

Colorful and very Frog Prince and would drive me nuts to wear on my hand, but it is pretty to look at!

Daus is rather known for her insects and animal themes. She likes the Frog Prince especially when it comes to fairy tales and has many variations of her Frog Prince Necklace, one of the more recent iterations is shown below:

Fairytale Gloom

Fairytale Gloom, by Atlas Games, is part of their Gloom series but is standalone and doesn't require the other versions of Gloom or familiarity with them. Here are some of the game cards. There are definitely familiar fairy tales included.

The biggest criticism I am seeing for the game is that it is better to play with creative people. That is my same observation with my beloved Dixit. It's my family's favorite game but when I tried it with a bunch of teenagers, it wasn't as successful. Not a failure, just not as creatively fun as when my family (ranging in ages from 8 to 69) plays it.

Game description:

The Game of Grim Incidents
and Unhappily-Ever-Afters

A fairytale toad in a prince's crownLet's face it: Fairy tales are awful. Wolves and old women eat children, giants fall from the sky, and even young girls break-and-enter to steal porridge from unsuspecting families.

In Fairytale Gloom, custom collections of fairy tale characters like Jack, Gretel, Puss in Boots, and Little Red Riding Hood do their best to stay happy, but circumstances conspire to rain woe on their sad, benighted heads.

These heroes become beasts, give up on Grandma, and cry wolf once too often. Even though they look into magic mirrors and kill golden geese, most end their days living in giant shoes… or worse.

Eventually, enough Unhappy Endings come to pass that the game ends. And then? The most miserable collection of characters wins.

Fairytale Gloom is a stand-alone game that's also compatible with all existing Gloom core games and expansions.

In Fairytale Gloom…
Each player chooses their own collection of fairy tale protagonists.
Modifiers add or subtract points. You could play "Dwelt With Some Dwarfs" on "Rapunzel," for example.
Unhappy Endings lock in points for good or ill. Perhaps "Goldilocks" "Cried Wolf Once Too Often."
It's all about storytelling: Players weave tales around what comes to pass. What happened, exactly, when "Joe the Giant" "Married a Murderer?"
With transparent cards, the points you can see are the points in play — it's that simple!

Designer: Keith Baker | Artist: Jaume Fabregat
Stock Number: AG1332 | ISBN: 978-1-58978-158-0 | MSRP: $24.95 US
Format: Two decks of 55 transparent cards, and a rules sheet in a tuckbox
Release Date: June 2015