Bargain Ebooks: It’s Not a Fairy Tale Books for $.99 Each

It's Not Jack and the Beanstalk (It’s Not a Fairy Tale Book 1) by Josh Funk (Author) and Edwardian Taylor (Illustrator) is on sale in ebook format for $.99. Their second book, It's Not Hansel and Gretel (It’s Not a Fairy Tale Book 2), is on sale for the same price. 

Book descriptions:

“When I was a kid, my best friend was Josh Funk. Now he’s becoming a friend to a whole new generation.” —B.J. Novak, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Book with No Pictures

Jack is not fond of the bossy narrator of his fairy tale! When Jack is told to trade his beloved cow Bessie for some magic beans, throw the beans out the window, climb the ENORMOUS beanstalk that sprouts overnight, and steal from a GIANT, he decides this fairy tale is getting out of control. In fact, he doesn’t want to follow the story line at all. Who says Jack needs to enter a life of daring, thievery, and giant trickery? He takes his story into his own hands—and you’ll never guess what happens next!

With laugh-out-loud dialogue and bold, playful art (including hidden fairy tale creatures for kids to find), this Jack and the Beanstalk retelling will have children rolling with laughter till Bessie the cow comes home.

and 

Hansel and Gretel will not listen to their storyteller. For one thing, who leaves a trail of bread crumbs lying around, when there are people starving? Not Hansel, that’s for sure! And that sweet old lady who lives in a house made of cookies and candy? There’s no way she’s an evil witch! As for Gretel, well, she’s about to set the record straight—after all, who says the story can’t be called Gretel and Hansel? It’s time for these wacky siblings to take their fairy tale into their own hands. So sit back and enjoy the gingerbread! With laugh-out-loud dialogue and bold, playful art (including hidden search-and-find fairy-tale creatures), this Hansel and Gretel retelling will have kids giggling right up to the delicious ending!

SurLaLune's Small Print:

As an Amazon Associate, the SurLaLune Fairy Tale site earns a percentage from qualifying purchases as a referral incentive which helps support the site. Your cost does not increase by using the links on this site. Read SurLaLune's Privacy Policy here. 

Newish Book: Inside the Villains by Clotilde Perrin

Inside the Villains by Clotilde Perrin was published in September 2018 in the United States and the UK in English translation of the original French edition of À l'intérieur des méchants published in 2016. I got to peruse it in a small independent bookstore and was intrigued by it. There are not many pages, just three spreads devoted to the Wolf, Giant, and Witch. But this is an interactive book where you lift flaps, explore the text, and find surprises. It's not technically a pop-up book but it fits in the general category that way.

The book has a very French sensibility and some elements may be deemed too disturbing for some kids by some parents while others will adore it. There are kids in my life I would show this to without qualms and others will be waiting a few years.

The grotesque is accepted just a little bit more for French kids in their published literature in my experience. After all, France still embraces Donkeyskin, too, yay for them. From what I can see from the online images of the French version, the English translation is pretty literal of the original. But even the French reader reviews have a few warnings of the book being not suitable for the youngest kids. So I'm not trying to stereotype too much here either. Let's just say I was not surprised to see that this was a book in translation after my experiences with international fairy tale publishing...

Book description:

An extraordinary lift-the-flaps book that reveals the secrets of the most famous fairy-tale villains--the giant, the wolf and the witch--with interactive flaps, a twist on well-known tales, and personality cards for each villain. Lift the flaps to see the diabolical thoughts inside the villains' heads, what hides beneath their disguises, or the victims of their last meals (now comfortably settled inside their stomachs!).

Read all about each villain on their personality card, which shows strengths and weaknesses, pastimes, physical characteristics, their best meal and--of course--their favorite books.

And if the wolf bites your fingers while you're reading, you can always pull his tail...

In France, there is also the companion book, A l'intérieur des gentils published in 2017. It has not been translated into English. See a few pages from it at Seuil Jeunesse.

For online viewing, a video is a better way to comprehend the book. So I am sharing this video from Gecko Press which shows the French text and the book "in action":

Once Upon a Brick: Exclusive Lego Ideas Pop-Up Book Set

Once Upon a Brick: Exclusive Lego Ideas Pop-Up Book Set is available through the Lego store only or through large mark-up by resellers. A fun concept of a Lego set and a definite gift for Lego Fairy Tale fans. I don't think its coincidence that the two fairy tales represented here--Little Red Riding Hood and Jack and the Beanstalk--are popular but don't have major licensing versions from Disney.

Description from Lego:

Build, play and display the classic fairy tales Little Red Riding Hood and Jack and the Beanstalk with LEGO® Ideas 21315 Pop-up Book! This first-ever buildable pop-up book made from LEGO bricks opens to reveal the famous scene of grandmother’s forest cottage featuring opening door, bed and kitchen area. Recreate the scene when Little Red Riding Hood meets the wolf or swap out grandmother's cottage for the scene of the giant's castle in the clouds. This collectible toy features enough bricks to build both scenes or you can even build a scene of your own and makes a perfect creative gift. This LEGO set includes a booklet with a short history of pop-up books, a condensed history of each fairy tale in the set, as well as information about its fan designers and LEGO designers.

• Includes 4 new-for-November-2018 LEGO® minifigures: Little Red Riding Hood, Grandmother, the Wolf, and the Giant. Also includes 1 new-for-November-2018 microfigure: Jack.
• First pop-up book in LEGO® history features 2 different LEGO fairy tale stories: Little Red Riding Hood and Jack and the Beanstalk.
• Build and display or recreate your own stories from 2 classic fairy tales with this imagination toy.
• This LEGO® Ideas set features enough bricks to build both fairy tales in the set or you can even build your own scene.
• Includes a booklet featuring building instructions, a brief history of pop-up books, a short history of the 2 fairy tales in the set, plus information about this amazing classic fairy tale’s fan designers and LEGO® designers.
• Pop-up book measures over 7” (20cm) long and 5” (13cm) wide when closed, and over 11” (28cm) wide when open.

New Book: Story Emporium: Five Funky Fairy Tale Plays by Dean Calusdian

Story Emporium: Five Funky Fairy Tale Plays by Dean Calusdian was released in May.

Book description:

Welcome to The Story Emporium where your favorite fables are sold and told!
A collection of fairy tale plays filled with witty humor, word play and wacky characters.

In a thrilling tale of nature gone berserk, the PIED PIPER must save the town of Hamlin from an invasion of rats. But are the townspeople willing to pay the price?

Trapped in a tower with nothing but straw, a poor maiden must turn to the aid of the mysterious man known only as RUMPLESTILTSKIN. But she doesn't realize who she's dealing with.

The barnyard is on the brink of destruction and there is no time for baking bread. Only the LITTLE RED HEN can save the day when Farmageddon is at hand.

You'll experience the giant excitement of JACK AND THE BEANSTALK and be enthralled by Snow White, the classic tale of power, betrayal and deadly fruit.

Story Emporium is packed with irreverent humor that keeps older students and parents thoroughly entertained without losing the charm and warmth of the stories young children know and love.

Each individual tale has a cast size of 4-7 performers. The full length play can be performed with a cast as flexible as 8-48, making it a directors dream.

Story Emporium is ideal for educational theater programs, The individual plays are quick to memorize and rehearse, with each role created to give students equal opportunities.

New Book: A Wild Swan: And Other Tales by Michael Cunningham

A Wild Swan: And Other Tales by Michael Cunningham was released in November 2015 but just now entered my radar. It is chock full of short, dark retellings of classic fairy tales from Rapunzel to Rumpelstiltskin. Of course, the title story is drawn from The Wild Swans, Hans Christian Andersen's version of The Six Swans.

Book description:

Fairy tales for our times from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Hours

A poisoned apple and a monkey's paw with the power to change fate; a girl whose extraordinarily long hair causes catastrophe; a man with one human arm and one swan's wing; and a house deep in the forest, constructed of gumdrops and gingerbread, vanilla frosting and boiled sugar. In A Wild Swan and Other Tales, the people and the talismans of lands far, far away―the mythic figures of our childhoods and the source of so much of our wonder―are transformed by Michael Cunningham into stories of sublime revelation.

Here are the moments that our fairy tales forgot or deliberately concealed: the years after a spell is broken, the rapturous instant of a miracle unexpectedly realized, or the fate of a prince only half cured of a curse. The Beast stands ahead of you in line at the convenience store, buying smokes and a Slim Jim, his devouring smile aimed at the cashier. A malformed little man with a knack for minor acts of wizardry goes to disastrous lengths to procure a child. A loutish and lazy Jack prefers living in his mother's basement to getting a job, until the day he trades a cow for a handful of magic beans.

Reimagined by one of the most gifted storytellers of his generation, and exquisitely illustrated by Yuko Shimizu, rarely have our bedtime stories been this dark, this perverse, or this true.

Crafty Friday: Crochet Stories: Grimms' Fairy Tales by Vanessa Putt

Crochet Stories: Grimms' Fairy Tales (Dover Knitting, Crochet, Tatting, Lace) by Vanessa Putt is today's Crafty Friday offering. I couldn't find many images to share but there's enough to entertain for today.

Book description:

"Incredibly innovative, fun, and creative, Crochet Stories: Grimms’ Fairy Tales is something you can share with your loved ones for many years and it will surely inspire you to go on to create even more fairy tale characters." —Erisea Mag

Practitioners of amigurumi, the Japanese art of crocheting stuffed dolls, will adore this collection of sixteen playful patterns for fairy tale figures. Projects include the witch and the gingerbread house as well as the hero and heroine of "Hansel and Gretel"; the giant and the golden goose's eggs of "Jack and the Beanstalk," in addition to the beanstalk and Jack himself; the long-haired captive of "Rapunzel," her lonely tower, and her rescuer, the prince; the animals of "The Hare and the Hedgehog" plus a juicy carrot; and the wee subject of "Tom Thumb" and his cow.

Clear instructions for creating the characters are accompanied by color photos of the finished products along with charming retellings of all five fairy tales. An introductory chapter offers general notes and tips, including pointers on working in the round, stuffing, measurements, and finishing.

CNN Article: Some fairy tales go back thousands of years, study says by Don Melvin

CNN put fairy tales on the front page this week with the article, Some fairy tales go back thousands of years, study says by Don Melvin.

From the article:

Read "Jack and the Beanstalk" to your kids this evening, and you are probably putting them in touch with human sentiments that are thousands of years old.

Same goes if you read them "Beauty and the Beast," or maybe "Rumpelstiltskin."

A new study has found that classic fairy tales may be "much older than previously believed," one of the authors, Jamshid Tehrani of the UK's Durham University, said Wednesday. Tehrani wrote the study with Sara Graca da Silva of the New University of Lisbon, in Portugal.

Click through the article link to read more--there's not much in the article, but the study link offers the full study. It is dense but makes for interesting reading.

And, of course, this isn't brand new theory. Try Fairytale in the Ancient World by Graham Anderson for one book about fairy tales before Straparola, Basile, and Perrault that is more readable than the study for the lay reader. The topics aren't the same, but the intent is similar.

I liked the illustrations, too, and wanted to share them before they disappear into the internet ether.

New Book: The Princess and the Giant by Caryl Hart

The Princess and the Giant by Caryl Hart (Author) and Sarah Warburton (Illustrator) was released this past October.

Book description:

Princess Sophie is exhausted, and it's all because that grumpy old giant up on the beanstalk can't sleep. His stomps and stamps keep everyone awake. But as the resourceful Princess Sophie reads her favorite book of fairy tales, she wonders if she might just have the answer. She bravely climbs the beanstalk carrying a tasty bowl of porridge, a cuddly teddy bear, and cozy blanket to help soothe the giant. But nothing works until finally Sophie hits upon the perfect thing — a bedtime story! Everyone lives (and sleeps) happily ever after, but when Sophie then teaches the giant how to read himself, it is the most perfect ending of all.

Cozy Fairy Tale Mystery: Once Upon a Grind (A Coffeehouse Mystery) by Cleo Coyle

Once Upon a Grind (A Coffeehouse Mystery) by Cleo Coyle was released in paperback in September. I missed it when it was released in hardcover last December. It is the 14th book in this popular cozy mystery series and draws on fairy tale themes for the mystery this time. I haven't seen much fun made with coffee beans and Jack and the Beanstalk before. Rather surprising considering the popularity of coffee these days.

Book description:

Fresh Pick - Fresh Fiction
Top Pick - RT Book Reviews
A Best Books of the Year Pick - Kings River Life Magazine

From the New York Times bestselling author of Billionaire Blend comes an enchanting new entry in the "satisfyingly rich" Coffeehouse Mystery series.

Includes wicked good recipes. When coffeehouse manager turned amateur sleuth Clare Cosi serves "magic" beans for a Fairy Tale Fall event, she brews up a vision that leads to a sleeping beauty in Central Park; a big, bad wolf of Wall Street; and an East Side enclave with storybook secrets...

Fairy tale fever has descended on New York City. Broadway fans are flocking to Red Riding Hood: The Musical; museums are exhibiting art inspired by the Brothers Grimm; and Clare Cosi and her merry band of baristas give their coffee truck a "Jack and the Beanstalk" makeover for a Central Park festival. Clare's coffee hunter ex-husband contributes a bag of African beans with alleged magical properties. His octogenarian mother entertains customers with readings of the grinds, but Clare remains skeptical--until she receives a vision that helps her find a young model's body in the park's woods.

The police dismiss "sleeping beauty" as the victim of a drug overdose. Then Clare uncovers evidence that points to a list of suspects--from a New York Giant to quite a few wicked witches--and a cold case murder that reaches back to the Cold War. Now Clare is really in the woods with a dangerous predator on her heels and an investigation that leads from a secret Prince Charming Club right back to her own NYPD detective boyfriend. If she doesn't solve this mystery, those magic beans predict an unhappy ending.

Today Only: Bargain Ebook: Jack and the Giants by Piers Anthony & J.R. Rain for $1.99

Jack and the Giants by Piers Anthony (Author), J.R. Rain (Author) is on sale TODAY ONLY for $1.99 in ebook format.

Book description:

In a unique retelling to the classic fairy tale “Jack and the Beanstalk,” Piers Anthony and J.R. Rain take you back to the magical land beyond the clouds. Back to the land of the Giants. Back to adventure and sorcery and awe-inspiring wonder.

In the real world, Jack works for a jerk. Luckily, the pretty receptionist makes his days bearable. But when Jack discovers he’s been fired, his simple life crumbles around him; that is, until he comes across the magic beans.

Now with a giant beanstalk growing outside his downtown New York apartment, Jack has a choice to make: follow the beanstalk up or pretend it’s not there. After all, he does seem to be the only one who can see it. Moreover, the beanstalk almost beckons him...

Putting aside his fears, Jack climbs out from his apartment window and onto the beanstalk, where climbs up and up and up...finally emerging through the clouds and into a land of dreams. Literally.

Almost immediately, he’s confronted by a hungry giant...and someone else. Someone he never expected. Someone he had long admired from afar. Now a team, Jack and Harriet seek answers to their dilemma, and find themselves in the middle of an age-old war for the land beyond the clouds. Battling evil kings, gods and giants, Jack is about to discover that he's much more than he ever dreamed...and that he may never return home again. And that’s just fine by him.

After all, the land beyond the clouds isn't that bad. Of course, he just has to survive first...

New Release: Tyme #1: Grounded: The Adventures of Rapunzel by Megan Morrison

(US/UK Links)

Tyme #1: Grounded: The Adventures of Rapunzel by Megan Morrison is released this week in both the US and UK. See Tyme #1: Grounded: The Adventures of Rapunzel (UK Link). It is obviously Rapunzel inspired but there's some Jack and the Beanstalk thrown in, too.

Book description:

In all of Tyme, from the Redlands to the Grey, no one is as lucky as Rapunzel. She lives in a magic tower that obeys her every wish; she reads wonderful books starring herself as the heroine; her hair is the longest, most glorious thing in the world. And she knows this because Witch tells her so---her beloved Witch, who protects her from evil princes, the dangerous ground under the tower, even unhappy thoughts. Rapunzel can't imagine any other life.

Then a thief named Jack climbs into her room to steal one of her enchanted roses. He's the first person Rapunzel's ever met who isn't completely charmed by her (well, the first person she's met at all, really), and he is infuriating-- especially when he hints that Witch isn't telling her the whole truth. Driven by anger at Jack and her own nameless fears, Rapunzel descends to the ground for the first time, and finds a world filled with more peril than Witch promised ... and more beauty, wonder, and adventure than she could have dreamed.